Police are today questioning a British man who turned up five years after he was believed drowned.
Undated Cleveland Police handout picture of John Darwin
It emerged that a photo was apparently taken of John Darwin and his wife last year.
Cleveland police said a 57-year-old man had been arrested in relation to their investigation into the disappearance of Mr Darwin.
His wife, Anne, yesterday told reporters she had believed her husband was dead and had claimed, in "good faith", on his life insurance.
But today the Mirrorreported that a photo of the Darwins was apparently taken in Panama last year when they stayed in an apartment, rented through the firm Move to Panama.
A couple named John and Anne are pictured on the company's website with the firm's boss Mario Vilar, but Mr Vilar said they had not used the surname Darwin.
According to the BBC, detectives began reinvestigating the disappearance of Mr Darwin three months ago after receiving information that raised suspicions.
Mr Darwin disappeared after paddling out to sea in his canoe in Seaton Carew, near Hartlepool in March 2002. No body was recovered but, the following year, an inquest was held into his "death".
Mrs Darwin (55) said she heard her husband was still alive in a phone call on Saturday night. When her husband came on the line, he told her he could not remember anything since a holiday to Norway in 2000, she said.
The front page of today's 'Mirror' newspaper
"There must have been an accident when he went out on the canoe. He must have hit his head or something," she told reporters.
She said the insurance payouts which she claimed after Mr Darwin was declared dead by a coroner in 2003 may now have to be repaid.
"If that happens it won't be easy, but I'll deal with it. It's one of the things I'm struggling to come to terms with," she said.
Mrs Darwin said she could not wait to see her husband again but needs to sort out her visa for Panama before flying back to Britain. Mrs Darwin said she hopes her husband will join her in Panama.
She said she no longer wanted to live in Britain as she did not like the cold weather and added that she fell in love with Panama when she took a holiday there two years ago.