Olympian Grant Hackett ‘missing’ after dramatic arrest following outburst at parents’ home

THE troubled Olympian has been found on the Gold Coast after his disappearance but is now in hiding from embarrassment.

GRANT Hackett has been found on the Gold Coast after his disappearance early this morning had his family pleading with the public to help find him.

The Olympian was found “safe and well”, Queensland Police told news.com.au.

His father told Channel 10 that his son had been found “sober”.

“Grant has been found alive and sober. He has spoken with the police. He doesn’t want anybody to know his whereabouts,” Nev said.

“He is actually in hiding because he is very, very embarrassed by all of this.”

Speaking earlier outside the Gold Coast home where the former Olympian was arrested on Wednesday night, Grant’s father Nev said no one could find the “disturbed” 36-year-old.

He said it was “vital we find him as quickly as possible” as the swimming champion was “very depressed and not in a good condition” when he was last seen at Gold Coast’s Versace Hotel at 7.30am.

“We can’t find Grant,” he said. “We’re extremely worried about him. His doctor can’t find him, he hasn’t kept an appointment with his lawyer.

“When we spoke to him hours ago he just hung up when we asked him where he was.

“We believe at best he’s probably in a hotel somewhere on the Gold Coast, that would be the best scenario I could imagine.

“He’s definitely a missing person and he’s mentally disturbed and needs urgent help ... If anybody has seen him contact the media or the police or the Hackett family.

“We need to get him some help immediately and urgently.

“Grant, let us know where you are. We love you and we want to help you.”

Nev had talked to his son on the phone saying “I love you”, but the former swim star hung up when his father asked where he was, according to Channel 9.

Earlier on Thursday, the troubled former swimming star took to Instagram to share a photo of his bloodied and bruised eye.

In the post, he made unsubstantiated allegations that his brother Craig “is an angry man” who “beat” him.

Grant Hackett posted on Instagram on Thursday morning.

It’s not clear when the photograph was taken but the 36-year-old did not appear to have the facial injuries when he was arrested on Wednesday.

“My brother comments to the media... but does anyone know he beat the sh*t out of me. Everyone knows he is an angry man,” Hackett wrote this morning.

The Hackett family this afternoon refused to comment on the accusations that Craig and Grant came to blows.

The Instagram post comes a day after Hackett broke down in his parents’ Mermaid Beach home. It was there that he is believed to have become a “danger”, according to family.

Witnesses say he was “going off” and stabbing a knife into a chopping board when his family called 000, but clarified later that nobody was harmed.

Hackett was pictured being driven to Southport police watch house in the back of a police car wearing shorts, a T-shirt and a baseball cap.

He held his handcuffs up to the window for photographers to see before the vehicle pulled away.

Outside the family home, Craig Hackett spoke to reporters about his sibling’s struggle.

Witnesses said the troubled star was ‘going off’ and stabbing a knife into a chopping block before he was detained. Picture: Channel Seven

He said the swimming champion had gone from being someone with “the world at his feet” to the point where “we don’t know what’s going to happen — it doesn’t look encouraging.”

Standing where the dazed-looking star was earlier handcuffed and driven away, Craig admitted the family no longer knew how to deal with Grant’s erratic behaviour.

“He’s a danger to himself. He’s a danger to the community,” Craig said.

“The Grant Hackett that Australia fell in love with, they can still have that affection towards him,” he said. “This is not Grant Hackett. This is a completely different person. I don’t know this person, my mum and dad don’t know this person. He’s there in body, but he’s not there in mind, soul or spirit.”

Craig said this was now a “chronic problem“ and that he hoped something could be done.

Hackett was released without charge about three hours after being arrested. He mumbled a few words to waiting media, saying he was “not great” and “probably needed to” go into rehab.

He was believed to be receiving treatment in a Gold Coast hospital this morning.

The report of the incident was a necessity, the family said, after Hackett “flew into an uncontrollable rage”.

He was apparently asleep when eight officers arrived and arrested the talented distance swimmer.

His father Nev said he was forced to call the police after Hackett, who had been drinking heavily, became abusive and aggressive.

“Grant’s got a medical problem and it manifested itself here this morning ... he was raving and ranting,” his father told the Gold Coast Bulletin. “He’s been receiving treatment from a doctor. He’s big and powerful when he’s not happy.

“We decided he needed some treatment but there was no way he was going to go and get treatment this morning so we called the police.

Hackett’s brother Craig and father Nev said the family were at a loss over what to do. Picture: David Clark

“The only way the police can do anything under the law of the land is to arrest him for domestic violence.”

Nev said his son “didn’t even make any threats but was not what you say is a normal person”, adding that his doctor was likely to take him to Pindara Private Hospital when he was released.

Craig said the family had “done everything that we can but now it’s kind of out of our hands”, as father and son faced the cameras outside the Mermaid Waters home.

A former policeman himself, Nev said officers settled his son down before convincing him to go with them.

“We’ve got a long battle,” he said of the family’s challenge to help their struggling son. “We’ll do anything to help him. Anything at all but it’s hard for people with this sort of problem.”

Craig said his parents were “nervous wrecks” after dealing with his brother’s mental health issues for a long time. “This is now a chronic problem and it looks like it’s not going to go away in a hurry,” he said. “From a mental health perspective I hope something can be done.”

Queensland Police said in a statement they had arrested a man following a disturbance at an address in Mermaid Waters at around midday.

Hackett pictured leaving Southport police watch house on Wednesday 15 February. Picture: Jerad Williams

Fellow Olympian Daniel Kowalski said there had been warning signs about his mental health issues. The Australian Swimmers’ Association boss said he was hopeful Hackett would receive the help he needs to overcome his problems.

“You rely on people talking and seeking help and advice and going to someone, but it’s a really taboo subject still,” Kowalski told SEN Radio. “(He needs) some tough love and (to) go to a place that won’t let him check out of rehab early.

“Hopefully he can look in the mirror now and say, ‘right, it’s now or never’.”

Swimming Australia President John Bertrand told SEN radio the incident was “a tragedy”. He said he had spoken to the star before Christmas and the former Olympian had been excited about studying for an MBA and his business interests were going well.

“For him to fall in a heap like this, it’s a real setback for Grant,” he added. “It’s still clearly a long road.”

Bertrand said Hackett had a “coterie of friends, including Swimming Australia” and was supported by an excellent network of health professionals. He said he wasn’t aware of a drugs connection but that the star was “extremely sensitive to alcohol, much more dramatic than most people and that’s always been the reality of just the way his body reacts.”

Bertrand said he didn’t believe Hackett was involved with drugs but “clearly he’s got demons”.

He observed that many sporting greats struggled with the challenge of finding a new passion that captured their imagination after the intensity of their careers.

Australian Olympic Committee President John Coates offered support for Hackett. “We are concerned for Grant’s welfare,” he said in a statement. “This is not the Grant we know and respect.

“Grant is a great Olympic champion, one of the greatest swimmers of all time, and his contribution to the Olympic Movement and to sport in general should not be forgotten.

“We hope he can overcome his current challenges and we have offered him any support he needs.”

One of the greatest distance swimmers in history, Hackett is best known for winning the men’s 1500 metres freestyle at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and at Athens in 2004, and captained the Australian swimming team for three years from 2005.

He retired after finishing with silver at Beijing in 2008, making a brief and unsuccessful comeback attempt in 2015.

The 10-time world championship gold medallist has faced a very public struggle with his demons in recent years.

In April last year, Hackett apologised after being accused of “forcefully” groping a passenger and “tweaking” his nipple on an interstate flight following a dispute over a seat being reclined too far.

Hackett phoned his alleged victim to apologise for his actions on the flight from Adelaide to Melbourne. He pledged to donate a sum of money to a charity of the man’s choice.

“I seriously and genuinely regret my poor behaviour,” he said in a statement. “I have stuffed up more than once and am working on these issues.”

It came a couple of years after the former Olympic hero spent time in a US rehab clinic where he was treated for a sleeping pill addiction after photos emerged of him looking lost with a singlet wrapped around his waist as a pair of shorts.

Before that there were two other high-profile controversies. In 2011 he trashed the Melbourne apartment he shared with then wife Candice Alley, who was home with their twin sons.

Eight police cars were called to the luxury apartment after a distressed 000 was made to police.

Pictures emerged of the damage caused in the apartment — which included some of the items his wife most cherished like her piano, a dresser and framed photographs. A bedroom door was also destroyed, as were some of the children’s toys. The couple later said they were dealing with some “private issues”.

Months later, Hackett had an alcohol-fuelled night at Crown Casino during and after the Logie Awards in April 2012, where he was asked to leave a Channel 9 party and fell asleep in a stairwell.

At about 3am, the Olympian was approached by bouncers at a nightclub in the casino complex and told he should “call it a night”. Hackett is said to have fully co-operated with staff and left promptly without an escort.

The following morning, Channel 9’s Today aired footage of a sweaty Hackett at the party struggling to form a sentence. Asked by a reporter for his favourite song, Hackett stumbles: “I don’t know my favourite song ‘cos there’s are so many favourite songs. ‘Cos if I could name one I would.”

He and Alley split a month later and he was dumped from his ambassador role at the Alannah and Madeline Foundation which aims to protect children from violence.

If you or somebody you know needs help, phone Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit Lifeline.org.au.

If you have any information on Grant Hackett’s whereabouts, email [e-mail] or call 0423 346 912.

— With wires