On December 1, 2007, the same man walked into a police station in London, claiming he had no memory of the last five years.

But as the world waited for answers to a great unsolved mystery, no-one expected his disappearance to be part of an elaborate plot to fake his own death and claim insurance cash.

Emergency crews involved in the search for John Darwin described the sea as smooth as a millpond on the night he vanished.

A 999 call came after he failed to turn up for a night shift at Holme House where he was a prison officer.

The last sighting had been made by a walker on the beach who saw his red canoe heading towards the mouth of the River Tees.

An air and sea search continued through the night with crews sweeping 62 square miles of coastline.

Tug Wilson, 60, was on duty for voluntary organisation Coastwatch when the alarm was raised. He says the prison officer's disappearance was "a mystery" to his team.

As Darwin's wife Anne and his sons waited for news, his paddle was found washed up at North Gare the next day.

The search was eventually called off after four days, and with it any hope Darwin would be found alive.

Several weeks later on May 7, the wreckage of his canoe was found washed up at North Gare.

The Mail reported how the red canoe called Orca was found "in several pieces at around 5.30pm yesterday".

Hartlepool's inshore lifeboat, the coastguard and a police spotter plane attended the scene to conduct a search. A yellow waterproof jacket was also discovered at the time, we reported.

Inspector Martin Cook, of Hartlepool Police, today confirmed that Mr Darwin's family had attended to examine the canoe. He added: "It was in two or three parts. The family have attended. There's no sign of Mr Darwin."

Six months after her husband vanished, doctor's receptionist Anne Darwin gave an interview, saying: "People die, have a funeral, they have a headstone, there is something to mark the fact they existed on this earth. But without a body, I don't know how we can mark John's life. All I want is to bury his body. It would enable me to move on.

It's difficult to grieve without bringing things to a close, but as it is I'm in limbo and there's nothing I can do."

In April the following year, John Darwin was officially declared dead at an inquest attended by his wife.

But not everyone was convinced John Darwin was dead. Retired Police Inspector Bob Bussey, who carried out the original investigation, said he always believed the damage to John Darwin's canoe was not accidental.

His doubts were realised on December 1 last year when a dishevelled John Darwin strolled into London's West End central police station telling officers he believed he was a "missing person".

Despite the delight of his dad and sons, the Darwin mystery would take a much more sinister twist.

Just days after he reappeared, John Darwin was arrested on December 5 for faking his own death to claim life insurance cash.

The arrest of his wife followed four days later.