Family supports returned canoeist

The family of a man who disappeared for five years only to turn up last week have insisted he has no memory of where he has been.

John Darwin, 57, last seen preparing to go out in his canoe on 21 March 2002, walked into West Central police station in London on Saturday and said: "I think I am a missing person".

Yesterday his two sons Mark, 31, and Anthony, 29, said their father could remember nothing of the moment he disappeared, or the two years previous to that.

His wife Anne, who is thought to have moved to Panama a few months ago after selling their home in Hartlepool, has been kept informed, her sons said. She was said to be "delighted".

Cleveland Police said it could be days before they interview Mr Darwin. "We know the family has had a massive shock and we just want to let him settle back with his family," a spokesman said. Police would not comment on allegations that they had been told of cash transfers to Panama.