Darwin to appear in court

A man who walked into a police station five and a half years after he was feared drowned in a canoeing accident will appear in court today.

John Darwin, 57, will appear at Hartlepool Magistrates’ Court in England today charged with making an untrue statement to procure a passport and obtaining a money transfer by deception in relation to a life insurance policy.

His wife, Anne, was arrested on suspicion of fraud after flying into Manchester Airport yesterday morning from Atlanta.

The 55-year-old was held at the airport for around three hours before she was driven back in a police convoy to the North East.

Cleveland Police said Mrs Darwin was undergoing a medical examination before any formal interviews could take place.

Mr Darwin remained in police custody yesterday at Kirkleatham police station in Redcar, roughly 16 miles from where his wife was being held.

Police said an application will be made today to remand him in custody.

Mr Darwin was arrested on Tuesday at his son’s house in Basingstoke, Hampshire, on suspicion of fraud and was then taken to the North East for questioning.

He disappeared from his home in Seaton Carew, near Hartlepool, in March 2002 and was presumed drowned after his wrecked canoe was found.

But on December 1 he walked into a London police station, saying: “I think I am a missing person.”

Mrs Darwin, who sold the family home in Seaton Carew and moved to Panama seven weeks ago, has given several interviews to journalists since her husband’s reappearance.

Officers from Greater Manchester Police arrested her on the plane at around 9.25am yesterday.

Last week, a photograph emerged of Mr and Mrs Darwin that appeared to have been taken in Panama last year. It had been published on the website of Move to Panama, a company which helps people find property in the Central American country.

On Thursday the couple’s sons, Anthony and Mark, released a joint statement saying they were “very much in an angry and confused state of mind” after their mother told reporters she had known their father was still alive before he handed himself in to police.

In the statement, their sons said they wanted no more contact with their parents.

Police have not said whether the investigation will look at other members of the Darwin family.