Truly, you could not make this up…

A single mother put police and journalists to shame in their attempts to unravel the mysterious reappearance of the canoeist John Darwin by using a simple Google search, it emerged today.

The woman found the picture that apparently shows Darwin with his wife, Anne, in Panama City in July last year.

When confronted with the picture, which was printed in the Daily Mirror yesterday, Anne Darwin is reported to have admitted: “Yes that’s him. My sons will never forgive me.”

It was found by the anonymous woman after she tapped in the words “John, Anne and Panama” into Google. She then forwarded the picture to both Cleveland police and the Mirror.

She said when she forwarded the picture to detectives, she was told: “You’re joking.”

She turned to the internet after becoming suspicious about the story, which has gripped the world’s attention, and she admitted her scepticism had paid dividends.

Thanks to Adrian Monck for spotting it.