Missing canoeist

Missing canoeist

news.bbc.co.uk

A canoeist who walked into a police station five years after going missing has no memory of what happened, police have said.
John Darwin was presumed dead after the remains of his canoe were found washed up on a beach in Seaton Carew, near Hartlepool, Teesside, in March 2002.

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This all seams a bit bizzare to me! There was a very large search and rescue operation launched with people combing beaches, 6 life boats, fixed wing planes and even an R.A.F nimrod.

Do many people just vanish for 5 years and then walk into a police station with no idea who they are?

His wife was quoted at the time as \"\"I have no reason to think he would have left and stage-managed this.\"

Anyway strange one, something more sinister?

Also he was examined at the police station and found to be in perfect health!

news.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

If he wasn't found with any blunt trauma injuries or signs of them on the head, I'd say the cause of his amnesia is psychological. Somewhere down the line, I bet, something happened wherein he just couldn't handle his memories.

Well, as suspect in some other threads -- fraud. I think it's going to be over his life insurance policy, as I've seen mentioned in some other articles:

He was arrested by Cleveland Police on suspicion of fraud after walking into a London police station at the weekend.

Mrs de Lopez told the BBC she had "no doubt" the man who lived in her building was John Darwin.

"Last July I met a new neighbour in the building. When I speak with him, he told me he was new in the building. He told me his name was John," she said.

news.bbc.co.uk...

Originally posted by anhinga

Well, as suspect in some other threads -- fraud. I think it's going to be over his life insurance policy

Would it have made a difference if he had left it another year so the 6 year 'statute of limitations' came into effect?

Does this legal caveat apply to insurance documentation, as I watched an episode of CSI not so long ago where the victim they are tracing was a spouse declared missing for over 5years and then shows up just before the rest of the family is due to recieve a life-insurance payout and murdered...

I couldn't resist posting my attempt at satire with this li'l ditty...

Row, row, row your boat
Commit insurance fraud.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Start a new life abroad.