Man Missing at Sea Returns Five Years Later with Fishy Story

By Anastacia Mott Austin

The "miracle" story of a missing man who was presumed dead for five years has taken a fishy turn.

John Darwin, 57, went missing five years ago after he reportedly went kayaking and was never heard from again. Until this week. Darwin walked into a London police station this week and announced, "I think I am a missing person."

After his kayak and paddle washed ashore in 2002 without him, Darwin was presumed dead, and his family tried to move on, they told reporters.

They also said they were shocked and delighted to discover that he was actually alive. Darwin told family members he could not remember anything since a family trip in the summer of 2000.

However, some information has come to light that prompted police to arrest Darwin this week on suspicion of fraud. Police superintendent Tony Hutchinson told reporters that police had received a tip some months ago that led them to begin an investigation into the case. "There was some information which was reported to us three months ago to suggest that perhaps there was something suspicious with regards to his disappearance, and as a result of that information we then began to conduct some inquiries on a financial basis."

The details of the nature of the information were not released to the public.

Hutchinson is quick to point out that the detectives did not know that Darwin was alive.

However, a photograph has surfaced that would seem to point to the fact that not only was Darwin alive, but that his wife, Anne Darwin, 55, knew it. The photo, reportedly taken last year, shows the couple together in Panama, standing next to a representative from a moving company.

Said Hutchinson, "The photograph has to be verified. I have seen the photograph, I've seen the date that is on that photograph. But of course, as we all know, photographs can be doctored, so it’s very important from our point of view that the validity of that photograph is inquired into."

As for his family, they’re not sure what to believe. Darwin’s sons, Anthony, 29, and Mark, 31, issued a press statement in which they said they were thrilled to have their father back, and emphasized that their mother was equally elated.

But Darwin’s aunt, Margaret Burns, 80, told reporters, "We don’t know the truth of the story, but I think we will if we wait a bit. But what's the point in speculating, when we don’t know?"

Added Burns, "I’m as intrigued as anybody about what happens next."