Police After Missing Canoeist's Wife

LONDON, Dec. 7, 2007 — -- The saga of John Darwin, the missing British canoeist who turned up last week five years after vanishing on a kayak trip, took a bizarre turn today.

His wife, who reportedly admitted that she helped her husband fake his disappearance and said she would return to England to face charges, has turned up in Miami, according to the BBC. She is holed up in a Miami hotel under the protection of journalists to whom she has given her story, the BBC reported.

Anne Darwin, 55, who has been living in Panama, was quoted Thursday as saying she was going to return to England. "I don't want to spend my life as a fugitive," she told British media. If she returns, she will be greeted by outraged family members and a degree of interest from the authorities, to say the least.

A Cleveland, England, police spokesperson told ABC News that authorities could not confirm whether Darwin was in Florida or was returning to England. However, the spokesperson added, "we will be speaking to her when and if she arrives."

Meanwhile, John Darwin, 57, remains in jail at least until Saturday evening for questioning on suspicion of fraud, police say.

An ex-prison officer, Darwin disappeared five years ago, after his wife said he went on a kayak ride in the North Sea off the coast of England.

Police at the time launched a massive air and sea search. A few weeks later his smashed kayak was located, but there was no sign of Darwin, until last weekend.

In 2003, a coroner's inquest declared Darwin dead. His wife reportedly collected life insurance and work benefits.

Earlier this week, the Daily Mirror published a photo that apparently showed Anne Darwin with her "dead" husband in a Panama apartment last year.

Authorities say Darwin walked in unannounced to the West End Central Police Station last weekend and declared that police may be looking for him. Darwin claimed to have no memory of the last five years.

Now authorities reportedly believe that sometime during those five years he moved with his wife to Panama, after his wife sold their properties in England for about $1 million.

John Darwin's father has reportedly struggled with the idea that his son has been dead for the last five years.

The 90-year-old was said to be relieved that his son was alive, but understandably disappointed that his family had lied to him.

"I don't understand what has happened to him," Ronald Darwin told the British tabloid The Daily Mirror. "I sometimes think that he is in a bit too much of a hurry to make money."

Until Thursday, it appeared that Anne Darwin had let their sons believe that their father was dead.

"My sons will never forgive me," Anne Darwin told the British tabloid the Daily Mirror. "They knew nothing. They thought John was dead. Now, they are going to hate me."

In a statement released by Cleveland, U.K. police, the couple's sons, Anthony and Mark, expressed their "anger and confusion" at the news that their mother had let them believe that their father was dead, while the couple was actually enjoying life in Panama.

"We have gone through a roller coaster of emotions," the sons said in the statement. "How could our mom continue to let us believe our dad had died when he was very much alive?"

Anthony and Mark said Thursday they had not spoken to either of their parents since their father's arrest and didn't want any further contact with them.

However today, the British media reported that both sons had recently left their jobs.

Also, the British tabloid The Daily Mail reported that Mark Darwin moved from his flat Thursday morning, without giving any explanation to his roommates.

"I am a bit freaked out by all that," one of Mark Darwin's flat mates told the Daily Mirror.

"When we spoke to him on the phone earlier this week, he said 'don't tell the police I live there, say I've moved out."

The Darwin story has drawn massive media attention in the United Kingdom and worldwide.

"It's easy to turn up to the police and say that you don't remember anything," former Metropolitan Police Officer John O'Connor told ABC News. "Saying that he lost his memory was probably his last to attempt to fool the authorities."