On the morning of Thursday, March 21, 2002, John Darwin took his red canoe, called the Orca, out for a paddle at the seaside of Seaton Carew in Hartlepool. After John didn't return that evening, an extensive search was undertaken across the coastline to find him. The wreckage of his canoe and a double-ended paddle were recovered, but with no sign of John. A death certificate was issued and said he’d probably encountered difficulties and, as a result, most likely died at sea. However, the ocean was reported as being rather calm on the day of his disappearance. What at first seemed to be a simple death by misadventure turned out to be more complex than first imagined…