"Dead" canoeist arrested after being missing for over 5 years

December 5, 2007

John Darwin, a canoeist who has been missing for over five years after disappearing while canoeing in 2002, has been arrested by Hampshire Police after walking into a police station in London, England. He is to be charged with fraud in connection with his disappearance in 2002. It is believed that he has been charged with fraud after a photo of Mr Darwin was released in a tabloid newspaper, the Daily Mirror, apparently showing him in Panama with his wife last year. His wife, who recently moved to Central America denies these claims saying that she had claimed the life insurance money and moved as she thought he would never return.

Detective Superintendent Hutchinson, the officer in charge of the case, said that "He was in apparent good health, tanned, well nourished and dressed," when he walked into the West End Central Police station in London four days ago. He also said that the disappearance of Mr Darwin "raised a lot of questions."

A public appeal for information about this incident was launched and it was made clear that the police believe that someone knows what happened to Mr Darwin. Also the police have confirmed that they had recently re-opened the investigation into Mr Darwin's disappearance due to "new evidence" being received.

Mrs Darwin has said that she may struggle to repay the £300,000 she claimed on the life insurance as she has started to spend some of the money.