The Waimanalo home of fictional character Thomas Magnum in the 1980s television drama “Magnum, P.I.” was demolished this week as shooting wraps up for the pilot of a reboot of the once popular series.

Georgia resident Debbie Best is a huge fan of “Magnum, P.I.” who hoped to catch a glimpse of the Waimanalo estate where the popular 1980s television series starring Tom Selleck was filmed when she visits in May with her cousin.

So when she found a report on the internet that the oceanfront property was to be torn down by its owner, Best immediately texted her daughter, Tiffani Bennett, 30, who lives in Kailua, to get a picture of the famed mansion before it was razed.

“I was so upset,” she said. “We’re still going to go and see what we can see. I wish Magnum was there.”

Chicago businessman Marty Nesbitt, through Waimanalo Paradise LLC, bought the 3-acre property for $8.7 million in 2015. Nesbitt is a good friend of former President Barack Obama, who was born in Hawaii and vacationed in Kailua during the Christmas holidays while in office.

The seller was former state lawmaker Eve Glover Anderson, whose grandparents built the home in 1933 with an 11,054-square-foot, five-bedroom main house, a gate house and a boat house, as well as a tennis court and bath house.

The city issued a demolition permit to the new owner at the end of March. It is not yet known what Nesbitt has in mind for the property.

On “Magnum, P.I.,” Selleck’s character, a former Navy SEAL turned private investigator, lived in a cottage on the estate, which was owned by reclusive author Robin Masters and managed by Jonathan Higgins, portrayed by the late John Hillerman.

“I loved it. I always watched it. It was a part of my life back in the ’80s,” Best said. “I saw the beauty (of Hawaii on the show). That’s why I wanted to go out there, to see all the beauty.”

Even though she’s afraid of heights, Best flew in a helicopter during a 2016 visit to Hawaii because “Magnum was always getting into T.C.’s helicopter,” she said, referring to the private eye’s war buddy who owned a charter helicopter company.

“Magnum, P.I.” ran from 1980 to 1988 on CBS, and Best may find her fandom renewed by a reboot of the show with Jay Hernandez in the lead role. Peter Lenkov, show-runner of CBS’s current “Hawaii Five-0” series, is executive producer of the new “Magnum, P.I.,” which is wrapping up filming of its pilot episode.

If the “Magnum” reboot is picked up, there would be two major network shows shot in Hawaii in production, potentially generating millions of dollars in direct and indirect spending. A typical TV series production pumps about $80 million annually in direct spending into the economy and roughly $140 million in overall economic activity, while giving Hawaii valuable exposure to a global audience, according to the Hawaii Film Office.