A canoeist who disappeared more than five years ago and was thought dead turned up at a police station in London earlier this month, very much alive and in good health, police said.
The remains of John Darwin's canoe were found on a beach in northeast England in March 2002.
A widespread search for the prison officer, then 51 years old, was mounted but yielded nothing. His wife, Anne, said six months after his disappearance that she could not move on without his body being found.
PHOTO: EPA
She has since moved abroad, according to media reports.
But earlier this month Darwin, father of two, appeared at a police station in the heart of London's West End theater district. His family has been informed, and police are baffled as to where he had been.
"The guy can't remember anything about what's happened or why he's come forward," said inspector Helen Eustace.
"He has no memory at all. He has obviously been somewhere for the last five years and a lot of questions need answering ... We have no account of what's happened in the last five years.
"He walked into a police station and said, 'I think I am a missing person'."
Darwin's brother David said, "All the family is so relieved that John is alive.
"It is the best Christmas present any family could wish for."
Darwin's 90-year-old father Ronald said, "I always said to the police that there might be more to this than it appeared at first.
"When his canoe was found but he wasn't, it didn't seem right." (AFP)一位划獨木舟者失蹤了超過五年,大家都以為他已經罹難,結果他卻在本月初現身在倫敦一所警察局。警方表示,他不但活著,還非常健康。
二OO二年三月,約翰.達爾文的獨木舟殘骸擱淺在英格蘭東北一處海灘。
警方發動了大規模的搜尋行動,尋找當年五十一歲的監獄官約翰,結果卻一無所獲。他的妻子安表示,出事半年後還沒有找到遺體,她根本無法走出傷痛繼續生活。
根據媒體報導,從此她就移民海外。
但在本月初,兩位孩子的父親達爾文出現在倫敦西區劇場區中心的一所警局。警方通知了他的家人,但他這幾年的去處,讓警方摸不著頭緒。
「這個傢伙不記得發生了什麼事,或他為什麼忽然出現,」調查警員海倫.尤斯提說。
「他完全失憶,他想必是在某處度過過去這五年,很多問題需要被解答…我們對過去五年發生了什麼事一無所知。」
他就走入一所警局,並說:「我想我是失蹤人口。」
達爾文的哥哥大衛說:「得知約翰還活著,所有家人都如釋重負。」
「這對我們家來說,真是最棒的耶誕禮物。」
達爾文九十歲的老父羅納德說:「我總是向警察說,這個案子一定還有什麼被忽略的地方。」
「當他的獨木舟被尋獲,卻沒有找到他的遺體時,整件事感覺起來就不太對勁。」(法新社/翻譯:袁星塵)
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Everyone has seen a piece of fruit turn brown after being cut. Have you ever wondered why that happens? It is a common phenomenon that occurs due to a chemical reaction called enzymatic browning. The appearance, flavor and nutritional value of the fruit are all affected by this reaction. Some fruits, such as apples, pears, bananas, avocados and peaches, are more prone to enzymatic browning than others. These fruits contain high levels of an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, or PPO for short. __1__ This causes a chain of chemical reactions that ultimately transforms the phenolic compounds into
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