Wife knew about canoe man
Updated on 06 December 2007
Late last night, at Kirkleatham police station near Middlesbrough, John Darwin hid behind a newspaper in the back of a car.
"My sons are never going to forgive me... They thought John was dead... They're going to hate me. It looks as if I am going to be left without a husband, a home or a family now."Anne Darwin, canoeist's wife
The no longer dead canoeist has so many questions to answer - the police started interrogating him this morning.
His wife Anne still in Panama - revealing more to reporters every day - appearing to accept she too must come home and face the music.
She told the Daily Mirror she originally believed her husband had died in a canoe accident in 2002 - it was, quote, "years later" before she knew the truth - her sons had no idea.
Q&A: canoe's that man?
Q: Why did Darwin disappear?
A: Darwin claims he cannot remember anything since 2000. Theories on the reason for his disappearance range from personal debt to rumours of an internet lover in the US.
Q: Despite being 'dead', could he still use a passport?
A: Darwin's passport would still have been valid as long as his family did not notify the Passport Office. He would have been free to travel abroad until it expired.
Q: Where has Darwin been for five years?
A: Police have only had one sighting of Darwin in Hartlepool, while photos are in the public domain of Darwin and his wife in Panama City in 2006.
Q: Why did he walk into a police station?
A: Reports range from theories that Darwin knew the police were onto him, that his passport had expired, or a family feud.
Confonted with the picture of the pair posing together 18 months ago for a 'move to Panama' website - Mrs Darwin broke down in tears. Incredibly an unnamed woman found the photo by Googling the words John, Anne and Panama - and contacted the police.
A Daily Mail reporter asked Mrs Darwin if she accepted she'd lied: "Well, I guess that picture answers a lot of questions... Yes, that's my husband", she said.
She moved to an apartment in Panama 6 weeks ago - the police by then already investigating cash transfers to the Central American country.
But when did she find out a man officially declared dead, was far from it?
"We feel we've been the victims in a large scam"Antony Darwin, canoeists's son
Family affair
In another intriguing twist, it's reported one son quit his job in August, the other an international property consultant left his just one day before his father turned up in a London police station.
One of them, Antony Darwin, said today if his mother's confession was true "we feel we've been the victims in a large scam".
