Jackson Vanishes From Public View

Entertainer Michael Jackson vanished from public view Saturday, one day after he canceled his world tour saying he would seek treatment for an addiction to painkillers.

Published and televised reports said that Jackson, along with his friend Elizabeth Taylor, made a stopover in London en route to Switzerland, where Taylor has a chalet in Gstaad.

But airport staff said Jackson was not with Taylor and two other passengers who got off a chartered MGM Grand Air jet in Geneva, according to the Sunday Times of London.

“Michael Jackson is not in Geneva,” another airport official said in a telephone interview. Swiss police said they had no knowledge of Jackson arriving in the country.

A rumor that Jackson remained in London sent reporters and photographers to the exclusive Charter Clinic, which provides drug rehabilitation treatment. Clinic officials would not confirm or deny that Jackson was there.

In a recorded message released Friday, Jackson, 35, said he became addicted to painkillers prescribed after reconstructive surgery for burns to his scalp. He said his addiction was caused by stress over an extortion attempt and allegations that he molested a 13-year-old boy.

Howard E. Weitzman, Jackson’s criminal attorney, would not comment on the pop superstar’s whereabouts. He said he would have nothing to say until a news conference Monday.