A British man, missing and presumed dead after the remains of his canoe were discovered in March 2002, is alive and under arrest.
John Darwin, 57, walked into a London police station this past weekend and said he didn't know who he was and couldn't remember anything since June 2000.
He appeared to be tanned and in good health. Police have charged him with fraud.
The Daily Mirror, a British tabloid newspaper, has printed a photograph of Darwin with his wife Anne in Panama. The photo has yet to be confirmed as authentic.
"The suspicions were raised because his wife six weeks ago sold several properties they own in this country," CTV's Tom Kennedy told Canada AM from London on Wednesday.
Anne Darwin made more than $1 million from those sales and quickly moved to Panama, he said.
"She has been reached by telephone and is as delighted as anyone else that her husband has turned up alive," Kennedy said.
However, police arrested John Darwin Tuesday night, "so there's a suspicion there might be some tawdry fraud behind this, and not this case of amnesia, which is what Mr. Darwin says it is," he said.
Kennedy said there was a large insurance settlement when Darwin was declared dead, adding Anne has admitted the money may have to be paid back.
Darwin also has two sons, Anthony and Mark. They have also appeared amazed their father is alive. He has been staying with one since turning up on the weekend.
"So the impression given by the entire family is that they are as utterly surprised and shocked as anyone that he suddenly walked into the police station this weekend," Kennedy said.
Anne Darwin had reported him missing after he failed to return from an excursion on the North Sea near their home in Hartlepool, Cleveland.
Aircraft, lifeboats and a Royal navy ship were deployed in the subsequent search, but no trace was found of Darwin until his watercraft was discovered.
A coroner declared the former prison officer dead in 2003. No body was ever recovered.
Police say they received a tip about three months ago that there might be something suspicious about Darwin's disappearance and purported death.
Det. Supt. Tony Hutchinson of the Cleveland police appealed for help in tracing Darwin's movements since the suspect's disappearance. But they didn't know Darwin was alive until he showed up on Saturday.
"There will be people out there who will know where he has been over these last 5 years, where he has been living, what he's been doing," Hutchinson said at a Wednesday news conference.
