Glyn Davies, 84, of Woodlands Road, Froncysllte, died in water near the Irish Bridge over the canal in Pentre, near Chirk, on November 5 last year.
North East Wales coroner John Hughes said there was no reason to suspect Mr Davies, who was describ
ed as a 'positive man', had committed suicide.
Mr Hughes said: "I have not got a shred of evidence to say he was suicidal – he wasn't depressed, he was optimistic.
"I simply don't know how he came to be in the water, and no-one will."
The hearing in Flint was told that Mr Davies, a World War Two veteran and former joiner, had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2004.
He recovered but suspected the cancer had returned, and was due to see a consultant at Wrexham Maelor Hospital on the day he died.
The night before he packed his bag and seemed ready to go into hospital, the inquest heard.
But on the morning of November 5 his wife, Alwena Davies, awoke to find Mr Davies had left the house.
When he didn't return Mrs Davies and her two daughters, Delyth Venables and Heulwen Brown, grew concerned and called the police.
His body was found and identified soon after.
Mr Hughes said: "Mr Davies was a keen walker and the Irish Bridge area was familiar to him – he often walked there when he had things on his mind.
"He had left the house early in the morning and his family didn't know where he had gone.
"It's most likely he wanted to think about his admission to hospital.
"He didn't know if his cancer had come back but he suspected it may have done.
"It's possible it was either an accident or he had put himself in the water."
Mr Hughes recorded an open verdict.
The full article contains 326 words and appears in Evening Leader Wrexham newspaper.
