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Darwins Were Planning Panama Canoe Resort

'Dead' boater and wife were working on a Panama paradise

By Katherine Thompson,  Newser Staff

Posted Dec 8, 2007 8:56 AM CST
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(Newser) – The British man who faked his own death in a boating accident had been planning with his wife to open an eco-tourism resort offering idyllic canoeing holidays, the Times of London has discovered. John and Anne Darwin spent almost half a million dollars on property in Panama, including $390,000 on a swath of virgin forest on the banks of Lake Gatun, home to tapirs and toucans.

"We were really happy they bought the land and with their plan to create the eco-tourism resort because it meant jobs for the town," said the magistrate of the village of Escobal. Though the Darwins protected their identities with a front company and paper trail, Anne signed her name to a letter of complaint to local authorities. She faces arrest upon her return to England.

In this undated image released by Britain's Cleveland police Monday Dec. 3, 2007, John Darwin, who was reported missing more than five years ago, is seen at an unknown location. The last trace of Darwin was the wreckage of his canoe, which washed up on a beach in northern England....
In this undated image released by Britain's Cleveland police Monday Dec. 3, 2007, John Darwin, who was reported missing more than five years ago, is seen at an unknown location. The last trace of Darwin...   (Associated Press)
In this undated handout photo provided by the Cleveland Police is John Darwin, 57, a former prison officer who reappeared Saturday, Dec. 1, at a London police station after going missing five years ago. Cleveland Police in northeast England, said Darwin was arrested in southern England on Tuesday night in...
In this undated handout photo provided by the Cleveland Police is John Darwin, 57, a former prison officer who reappeared Saturday, Dec. 1, at a London police station after going missing five years ago....   (Associated Press)
John Darwin, 57,the back-from-the-dead canoeist, leaves the Magistrates Court in Hartlepool, England, Friday Dec. 7, 2007, after police were granted another 36 hours for further questioning. Darwin's disappearance five years ago is being investigated as part of a fraud inquiry, which also involves his wife Anne, who collected the...
John Darwin, 57,the back-from-the-dead canoeist, leaves the Magistrates Court in Hartlepool, England, Friday Dec. 7, 2007, after police were granted another 36 hours for further questioning. Darwin's...   (Associated Press)
John and Anne Darwin invested half a million in property in Panama in hopes of starting a boating resort.
John and Anne Darwin invested half a million in property in Panama in hopes of starting a boating resort.   ((c) laszlo-photo)
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Darwin's case has been coup for tabloids
Guardian (UK)

Anne Darwin explains why she went along
AFP

 
fraud • Panama • England • ecotourism • insurance • accident • missing person • John Darwin • Anne Darwin

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