Missing man reappears after five years

A canoeist who turned up after being missing for five years cannot remember anything since June 2000, his sons said.


John Darwin, 57, disappeared after paddling out to sea off the coast near Hartlepool in March 2000, before he appeared at a London police station on Saturday to declare "I think I'm a missing person".
Sons Anthony and Mark said they were delighted to see him again but added that their father cannot remember anything since June 2000.
The sons said their mother Anne shared their delight at the news.
She is believed to be living in Panama after she sold the couple's seven-bedroom seafront house in Seaton Carew.
In the statement issued through Cleveland Police, Anthony and Mark said: "The news of John's appearance came as a huge shock to the whole family.
"We are extremely happy that he is alive and we are looking forward to spending time with him. Anne has been informed of the good news and is delighted to hear it.
"We have spoken with John and he appears to be in good health, however he currently has no memory of events since June 2000. We appreciate that there is huge media interest in this story however due to John's memory loss there is little more we can add.
"Since Saturday evening we have been through a traumatic and emotional time and this continues to be a stressful time for John and the family.
"We hope the media will give us privacy so we can come to terms with this news."

This is a weird story as just as he showed up his wife leaves for Panama and how the hell can a guy that has lost his memory even know that he is missing and where his son live. I know soime people will think this a far out idea but I wonder if he was doing some kind of government work or something he nevere used his passport, he nevere used his bank account and this whole Amnesia thing is not only convienent but also near impossible to prove.

Anyway he has got a few busy weeks ahead of him because he is officially dead plus I think his wife will have to hand back the life insurnace cash as he is obviously not dead.

Wow, that's an incredible story.

Wonder what he was doing for those 7 years he's forgotten.

Dunno, by BS radar is going off.

It is an incredible story, and I'm not so cynnical as to automatically file it under 'bogus', but this sounds a bit shady for some reason.

-HECK!

Probably trying to figure out who he is. He probabl saw a missing persons poster or bulletin somewhere and said hey that's me. Or maybe he decided to hire someone to find out who he was and saw a missing persons report that matched his description.

Or maybe it was an elaberate scheme to get his life insurance money. Delcared dead after seven years and then he pops up. Maybe he didn't know he would have to give it back.

maybe it was like on Over Board and someone claimed him and he just now found out that they weren't really his family

Yeah I am beggining to think the life insurance thing is the right one. After all in the UK if you are missing for 3 - 5 years you can be declared legally dead and all death benefits will be paid to your widow or next of kin. Now maybe just maybe he was sitting in Panama keeping in contact with his wife then when the insurance money is paid she leaves and he arrives with his story about amnesia. They found his wife and she is not exactly breaking her neck to get back here to see him I know people move on but you would think she would come back . Also lets just say this was insurance fraud he and his wife could be looking at some serious jail time unless you are in a country that is far away, where you could live like a millionaire and that has no extradition treaty with the UK somewhere like ohh I don't know Panama.

Hahaha didn't see that the first time around. She's in Panama? What are the chances...

I'm sure they'll run a number of tests. I'd say amnesia isn't as easy as saying "I just don't remember anything from here to here," there'll be bits and pieces of this and that that doctors would expect to see in a patient genuinely suffering from amnesia.

I wonder if she decided to go to Panama after watching Prison Break

Well she's apparently walked into Panama with close to £500,000 for those of you in the states that is roughly $1 million anyway the Police want to know why he was missing for five years and like Gaboman was saying I doubt that "I don't remember is going to cut it" hell if nothing else he has to rembere who was feeding and looking after him and where he was before he appeared in London, I mean I doubt he was working for the men in black for all this time.
Also never knew this but he went out in a canoe in the late afternoon as it was about to get dark WTF and why is it that sea king helicoptors, lifeboats and a Nimrod spy plane could not see him in the water unless he was never in the water.

Anyway this is the guy there are suggestions he may have been in America anybody recognise him? he may have been handing insurance fraud classes.

so is he saying he dont remember anything about the past 7 years, cause it says he don't remember anything before 2000.

Yeah that's what he is saying, best way to find out get a physcologist and a lie detector then see what he says.

The guy has been charged with fraud, seems a photo they found a photo of him and his wife not a big deal I hear you say but when you consider that it was taken very recently in Panama city well the alarm bells start ringing.

Yup, sounds about right. What a dildo that guy is.

-HECK!

Surely if you are trying to fake you own death you don't pose for pictures

He got lazy after that many years. Probably took more and more risks until he slipped up.

-HECK!

How'd they get a hold of the picture though? He leave it lying around for the police to find? Lame.

I guess he'll be doing hard time while his wife lives the good life in Panama.

But how'd he get from Panama to the UK; he wouldn't be able to use a passport, would he? And how'd he get to Panama in the first place, if he was already missing by that point?

why the fuck did he leave if he was there?? he was scott-free!

That's the other thing. He was probably, "oh, snap, I left the iron on."

The photo of him was posted on a web site, read that on Yahoo news. The guy that posted it said that the guy and his wife didn't introduce themselves by their real last name. The guy's 80 year old aunt was asked about if she thought he really had wrecked the canoe and had amnesia, and she said she didn't think "even got his feet wet". ROFL....there's a lesson for you. Always be nice to Aunt Bessie, even if she does smell like mothballs and insists on knitting sweaters for you...

There are more twists to this story. It appears that not only did this guy not get wet he only was away for 11 months. His wife claims that 11 months after he went missing he appeared on her doorstep and moved into a bedsit next to her room ( she owned a guest house) when the kids came round her husband hid in a closet. He also obtained a false passport and travelled to Spain, Panama and the USA he tired to buy a boat but that fell through and decided to live in Panama and it appears the reason he came back was because he missed his boys and wanted to tell them that dad was ok they have now disowned him and thier mum as well. In a further twist the younger son has gone missing after it came to light that he legally paid his mother £80,000 when she was in Panama, friends say he feels he has been robbed and is hurt and just needs to sort himself out,I hope that all it is.
I can understand why the kids have disowned thier parents anyone that puts somebody through that kind of hurt is sick and should be disowned.

The guy is in some srious trouble with the police he is looking at fraud, wasting police time and obtaining a passport illegally and that just for him and for starters.

that is crzy.

I can't believe he hid in the closet. Why did he want to hide from them in the first place.

Well he was practically bankrupt and needed the life insurance money so his wife could pay off debts and have the mortgage cancelled etc etc and I guees he thought the less people that knew about his fake death then the less chance of it getting out.

Anyway he was offcially charged thie evening with obtaining a passport by deception and obtaining monies by deception. These charges are just the tip of the iceberg and more will follow these charges just mean they can hold him in custody for a lot longer

Bummer for him. His obviously highly thought out and intricate plan was foiled by the fact that he's a complete numb nuts.

I saw that they were talking about this on CNN the other day. I couldn't hear what they were saying though because that channel has no sound...

The subtitles read that the wife was arrested in Manchester.

Yeah his wife was grabbed coming off the plane and was held overnight in Manchester and sent to Clevland police which is in the North of England this morning. the police have a minimum of I think 48 hours to question her they can then get a further 24 hours if a Judge or a JP agrees and after that 24 hours they have to charge her or let her go, it should not be a problem charging her though she has laready told her story to practically every British paper and admitted her guilt in every one of them as well hell if this goes to trial half of fleet street will be called as a witness for the prosecution.

Daing, the woman's going down.

Once again, why'd she come back?