How weird is this whole case? About a man presumed dead after his canoe turned up five years ago and last week he walks into a police station. And only six weeks ago his wife sells up everythign and moves to Panama. Odd odd odd.

Everyday there seems to be a new twist and this story today from the Sydney Morning Herald says he's now been arrested. Perhaps the English papers are giving more details.

SMH story

How could he have kept himself hidden all these years?

Wow, an almost identical story that happened to a friend of my former boss years ago. He (the friend) went bicycle riding and failed to show up at home later. His bike was found by the river and it was thought that there was foul play that either had him jump in the river or was thrown in. His body was never found and he was presumed dead. Funeral services were even held. Then 7 years later he shows up in another State. I don't remember the whole story, but he ended up going to prison, because, I think, his wife knew of the scam and had cashed in the insurance. I don't remember what happened to the wife. It's easy to hide for awhile, probably, then something always happens to bring them out later. If this John Darwin faked his death, he needs to be punished also.

Both of these guys going through mid life crisis by any chance?:) Some who feel stuck in a rut hanker for a totally fresh start to their lives might go to such extreme measures if there's some emotional instability there.

How crazy to read such a story (even though there do seem to be different versions of this sort of hooliganism popping up somewhere every several years, it still makes me giggle in a puzzled sort of way). Here's what I think: all scammed monies should be collected, the scammers should be punished without a bit of sympathy and whatever's left over should go directly to the elderly aunt mentioned in the article. Don't you think ? In regards to her nephew's unfortunate "drowning" ~

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"To be honest I don't believe he ever got his feet wet," she said.

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Priceless! Worth a half a million something, I'd say. If for nothing else, for that she had the good sense to sum up the situation just the way it looks to most of us....

Shades of D. B. Cooper. He's never turned up. Just disappears -- but Cooper has never surfaced. Could be this one is actually gone.

D. B. Cooper

According to CNN John Darwin has been arrested for insurance fraud.

I had to laugh when I read the article and saw what you were referring to, Copago, about the wife "leaving" 6 weeks ago. She emigrated to Panama City after selling 1/2 million pounds worth of property because her "pet dogs had died". Uh, yeah, OK, under the circumstances THAT doesn't look suspicious! I know there will be more forthcoming, but this is right at the top of the "dumb moves" list. Sandy

LOL yeah ... she didn't move when her husband pops off the face of the earth but when the dog dies she does?? Must have been some dog!

It just gets better and better. Turns out the wife knew all along. The wife knew about the scam.

So many questions! If the parents planned this whole thing, how could they in good conscience let their sons continue to believe the father was dead. If the sons really did know he was alive, then they are in on it, too.

The wife stated she had not seen him in the last five years, yet she was with him in Panama last year. And, if he has amnesia, as he claims, then why didn't she try to get him help and let the sons know dad was alive?

One of ther least intelligent things they did was to let themselves be put on the web.

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The manager of a holiday firm in Panama said the couple rented a room in the Panamanian capital and agreed to pose for the picture for the company's Web site, the Daily Mirror reported.

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One of ther least intelligent things they did was to let themselves be put on the web.

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When are people going to realize that it really is a small world afterall. It really isn't that easy to hide anywhere successfully anymore.

Oh my goodness! He was actually at home with her almost the entire time he was presumed missing!

Here are the latest developments!

It is certainly a most bizairre case. You can't blame the sons being "slightly annoyed" being lied to not by one, but both parents

Oh man, what a mix up. But is it really worth the bother of trying to hide for all those years? And how hard it must have been to pop into the bedsit (do Americans call them bedsets? ) everyone time visitors came over ... especially his own sons.

So he was in debt - i'm sure he's not the Lone Ranger there but even a debt in the "in the tens of thousands" is reachable if you own the properties they did.

And why why why why why why why why did he turn himself in??

This case is so bizarre and all the more interesting being on the doorstep for us.

Who is the real culprit, the wife or the husband, who committed the worst crime? How many more red herrings are going to come out and has the wife been found yet??

Its certainly been a talking point of late anyway!

Ive edited this to give you the latest update-Mr Darwin has been charged!

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20071208/tuk-uk-britain-canoeist-fa6b408_6.html

That's exactly what I was wondering, Jill! What ever possessed him to turn himself in at this point? It took them no time at all to figure out that he had NOT been missing at all! What in the world did he expect was going to happen?

It's safe to say that John Darwin and wife are on my naughty list.

Santa is always watching!!

The latest on this satire is that Mrs Darwin has been arrested in Manchester..

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20071209/tuk-uk-britain-canoe-fa6b408_6.html

Maybe it will die down a bit now!

I am still in wonderment that anyone could pull this off and not have the guilt just eat them alive. The hell the sons were put through and now to find out their father was basically in the same residence with their mother all this time. I know it's been said over and over that some will do anything for money, but I just cannot fathom this one. I guess I may be too honest to be a crook, huh? Sandy

That was my first thought Sandy. However, I'm reserving judgement on how I feel about the sons at the moment. I do feel terribly sorry for the 92 year old Mr Darwin senior. He at least seems blameless, although the way things are going it wouldn't surprise me if half of Hartlepool were in on it! The elder Mr Darwin is putting the lion's share of the blame on Mrs Darwin. Entirely understandable, no-one wants to believe that their child could be so cruel towards them.

I know I mentioned this on the chatboards, but apparrently one of their planned projects in Panama was to run canoeing holidays. Priceless!