UPDATE, Thursday, 2.46pm — Family says Grant Hackett is missing, ask for help finding him.
“He’s definitely a missing person,” Hackett’s father told media on Thursday.
“He’s mentally disturbed and needs urgent help. If anybody’s seen him contact the media or the police or the Hackett family.
“Grant, let us know where you are, we love you… and we want to help you.”
“Grant, let us know where you are. We love you… and we want to help you.” – Grant Hackett’s father. #9News pic.twitter.com/jnC8H48DDF
— Nine News Gold Coast (@9NewsGoldCoast) February 16, 2017
Earlier Hackett shared a photo on Instagram of himself with a bloodied and bruised eye.
He made unsubstantiated allegations that his brother Craig “is an angry man” who “beat” him.
“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 on Thursday morning.
Hackett did not appear to have any facial injuries when he was arrested on Wednesday.
WEDNESDAY…
UPDATE, 4.15pm — Grant Hackett released from police custody, no charges laid.
Grant’s brother Craig had this to say to media:
“Poor mum and dad have tried to look after him so much. I’m concerned for their welfare. If there is anyone out there who can help him, we’re all for it. I think we’ve reached the end of the road at this point. It doesn’t mean our love reaches the end of the road, we just don’t know what to do.
“The Grant Hackett that Australia fell in love with…they can still have affection towards him. 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.”
EARLIER…
9 News Brisbane reporter Jess Millward has told Rowey and Bicks Grant Hackett “didn’t look well” after he was arrested on the Gold Coast on Wednesday.
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“He appears very dazed,” Jess reported. “At one point he held his hands up to the cameras and he’s clearly handcuffed, and then he hid his face as the car drove around the back of the watch house.”
“Exactly why he’s been arrested we don’t yet know. His father’s told some media that it is due to mental health issues. There are also some reports that he had a knife and was using that to stab a chopping block… very unusual reports coming out of the Gold Coast this afternoon. As yet no charges have been laid.
“He didn’t look well.”
WATCH HERE:
The 36-year-old former Olympic champ was arrested on Wednesday afternoon and driven to the Southport watch house in handcuffs.
A Queensland Police spokesman confirmed Hackett had been arrested at a home at Surfer’s Avenue, Mermaid Waters following reports of a disturbance.
It’s understood Hackett’s father Nev called police to the address because his son was in an agitated state and apparently intoxicated.
Nev Hackett told News Corp Australia his son had been arrested over “mental health issues” but would not comment further.
Seven News has reported witnesses claim Hackett was “going off” and stabbing a chopping block.
No charges have been laid at this stage.
Regarded as Australia’s best 1500m swimmer of all time, Hackett won gold medals in the long-distance event at the Sydney and Athens Olympics and finished with silver at Beijing in 2008 when he was the swim team captain.
He also won gold in the 4×200 freestyle relay at the Sydney Games and silver behind Ian Thorpe in the 400m at the Athens Games in 2004.
Hackett retired after his near miss at the Beijing Games but made a comeback at 35 last year in an unsuccessful bid to make the Rio Olympics.
He previously ran into trouble on a flight from Adelaide to Melbourne last April where he abused a fellow passenger, later apologising for his “poor behaviour”
“I have stuffed up more than once and am working on these issues,” he said at the time.
In 2011, police were called to Hackett and then-wife Candice Alley’s trashed Melbourne apartment.
He said he was dealing with “private issues” at the time and the couple announced their split less than a year later.
He also courted controversy in 2014 when he claimed he had lost his son at Melbourne’s Crown Casino, and when he was photographed just with a singlet wrapped around his waste.
The swimmer sought treatment in the US for sleeping pill addiction.
-With AAP
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