Dr. McDreamy In East Texas

Patrick Dempsey's star has been shining bright since Grey's Anatomy debuted last year, but his female fans, like Suzanne Hogg, remembers him from long before that.

"He was appealing when he was in Can't Buy Me Love, like forever ago, in the eighties, and then this, on the show, he's just a good guy, ya know?"

Like a lot of women, Suzanne watches Grey's Anatomy religiously. When she spotted him shopping in Tyler's Target the other day, she was totally star struck.

She said, "I called my friend Marla, who loves him too, and she said, Take a picture.' And I went, 'Oh yeah, I have my camera phone."

That picture was sent to people all over East Texas, and ended up in my inbox. After a little investigative reporting, I learned Dempsey bought a home on Lake Jacksonville. In fact, it's just down the road from this bait shop.

The store owner, Franklin Hassell says I'm not the only one looking for him.

"Everybody that comes in asks, 'Has Patrick Dempsey stopped in your store?' And I'm like, 'I haven't seen him.'   I look for him all the time, but as far as I know, he hasn't stopped in here while I've been here," Hassell said.

Ron Davis owns Stacy's Barbeque in downtown Jacksonville, and he lives on the lake, too. He said when Dempsey moved in, it caused quite a wave.

"First few weeks, there was row boats, paddle boats, anything to get up next to his house," Davis said.

At Target, DVD's from the popular show line the shelf. When Dempsey was shopping here the other day, Target employee K'lyah Phillips said they all tried to keep there composure.

"Oh, there all like, 'There's Patrick Dempsey.  There's Patrick Dempsey."

We tried to track down the hunky doctor, but his neighbors tell us he's not in town right now.  He must have gone back to the set of Seattle Grace Hospital.

Lindsay Wilcox/Reporting: lwilcox@kltv.com