UK UK - Richard Edwards, 27, London, Feb 1995

[kitbits]

News story here--Richey Edwards from the Manic Street Preachers, missing since 1995. His family has had him declared 'presumed dead':

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7745273.stm

Here is the Doe Network link:

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1277dmuk.html

I'm not entirely convinced because it says he withdrew £32,000 within 10 days prior to his disappearance...hmmmmm.

 

[Hilda Swenson]

Fascinating case. This only came to my attention recently and I am struck by the timeline of events following Richey Edwards' disappearance.

From 1998

His fellow band members Nicky Wire, James Dean Bradfield and Sean Moore have refused to accept Edwards took his own life, and have set up a trust fund for his share of the royalties from the multi-million-selling album Everything Must Go, which he co-wrote. Three of the album's songs were discovered in the hotel room which Edwards left.

From 2002

But they continue to split their earnings four ways with a quarter going into a trust for Richey in case he returns one day.

From 2008

Because Edwards died without leaving a will, and had no spouse or children, his entire estate of £455,990, reduced after death duties to £377,548, is inherited by his parents.

As I understand this, Mr. Edwards' family refused to have him declared dead in 2002, hoping for his eventual return and they had no control over his estate or earnings. His band mates generously set up a royalties account with 25% going to Edwards should he ever return.

In 2008 after another 6 years with (presumably) no word on Mr. Edwards' whereabouts, they decided to have him declared legally dead to get his affairs in order.

Was there any activity to his account before 2008? Was it "frozen" by law enforcement in the UK in an attempt to monitor any activity on the account?

It is said he withdrew large sums of cash in the month or so leading up to his disappearance. For those who believe he is alive and out there some place, details on any account activity is a good place to start. It might not have been tracked by law enforcement and may be unknown to family and band members.

I have not seen any discussion of this matter elsewhere, which is why I'm bringing it up here. I hope he is well, wherever he may be.

 

[wfgodot]

The first part of a Richey Edwards documentary (other parts at YouTube):
Manic Street Preachers - The Vanishing Of Richey Manic (Part 1) - YouTube

 

[Hilda Swenson]

Thanks very much for posting the documentary. I found this interview on the program Missing from 2011 with Edwards' sister Rachel Elias to be intriguing as well:

http://youtu.be/jkkRXRY4_MA
(sorry couldn't figure out how to embed the video code here)

His car had been lived in for a couple of weeks after he was last seen and the police assumed that he had voluntarily decided to disappear. No evidence of foul play or suicide. He had no cell phone and there was limited CCTV footage in 1995.

Interesting that his toiletry bag was found in 2005 and no DNA matches were made from his hairbrush or toothbrush.

Ms. Elias appeared on Missing 2011 with her lawyer to discuss legislation that would make it easier for families of missing persons to get legal closure and presumably take control of financial particulars, but the details of the legislation are unclear. Also unclear to me is Edwards' family's experience with having him declared legally dead and attending to his estate matters. What I have read up until now has not pointed to any legal difficulty per se but rather their reluctance to admit to his possible death, at least until 2008.

 

[Seajay]

I watched the documentary.

Interesting that 4 years prior to his disappearance he stated that he never though of suicide and would never consider it, that he was stronger than that.

Odd how he possibly had a taxi driver driving him around from one place to another and ended up at the Severn Bridge where his car was found a few days later, with a dead battery.

It sounds like he was a tormented and tortured young man. Boy George thinks he just walked away from it all because once he got to fame and fortune, there was something lacking he couldn't attain there.

He'd be 44 years old now.

 

[EdinburghLass]

There's been lots of alleged sightings of Richey over the years. Here is an article about a possible sighting in Goa

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/its-easy-to-disappear-in-goas-hippy-haunts-1271892.html

 

[Hilda Swenson]

From the article:

Vyvyan Morris, 48, a lecturer in media studies at Neath College in South Wales, learnt that the long-haired man with familiar features had been in Goa for 18 months. But he did not approach the lean figure, known as Rick to the old hippies in the area, and now regrets that his belated report of this casual sighting caused "palaver and stress" after the guitarist "had worked so hard to gain this anonymity".

At first glance , I believed that he indeed met his end by jumping off the Severn Bridge due to his history of substance abuse and depression. After looking a little further into it, I am not as convinced. For one, his car appeared to have been "lived in" for a couple of weeks after his disappearance and before it was found with the dead battery hints at someone who did not take his life right away. Certainly not within that initial time frame.

Richey Edwards's fellow band member, Nick Wire, is quoted on the Internet as saying: "Wherever Richey is, he's made his own choice and he's doing what he wants. Unless he's gone insane. Maybe he'll disappear for five years and come back with the greatest book ever written, a huge beard, and be really happy."

The fact that he would be 44 now only adds to the unlikeliness of him being recognized after 17 years. It only gets easier to remain anonymous as the years go by.
:fence:

 

[Seajay]

When that one guy was talking about the river below the bridge and how someone can jump and their body never be found, I also thought maybe he jumped and ended it all.

But there have been several sightings that bring whether or not he committed suicide into question.

I guess the only question I would have about that would be: What about his family? What about his parents and sister?? Again, why would someone walk away from their family the people who love them and not look back, not want to contact them or let them know they are ok, just not wanting their old life anymore??

 

[Seajay]

Goa definitely sounds like a good place for him if that's where he went.

 

[JaimeSommers]

When that one guy was talking about the river below the bridge and how someone can jump and their body never be found, I also thought maybe he jumped and ended it all.

But there have been several sightings that bring whether or not he committed suicide into question.

I guess the only question I would have about that would be: What about his family? What about his parents and sister?? Again, why would someone walk away from their family the people who love them and not look back, not want to contact them or let them know they are ok, just not wanting their old life anymore??

BBM. A fair question, but -- purely my opinion only -- sometimes we have to put our own filters aside and look at things through the filter of the disappeared. From what I recall, Richey appeared to be mentally unwell -- to him, if he disappeared, it may have made perfect sense to him why he left, even if it made no sense to others. Again, IMO.

 

[wfgodot]

I think it's fair to conclude that Richey was a sort of Syd Barrett figure, a casualty who chose to withdraw but didn't choose to do so by retreating to his family for succor - as Syd did, choosing to live in the basement of his mother's home in Cambridge.

Sadly, I think Richey is dead and has been dead for some years now.

 

[Seajay]

BBM. A fair question, but -- purely my opinion only -- sometimes we have to put our own filters aside and look at things through the filter of the disappeared. From what I recall, Richey appeared to be mentally unwell -- to him, if he disappeared, it may have made perfect sense to him why he left, even if it made no sense to others. Again, IMO.

Thank you for your reply. Very true. And if his mental state was not treated, then he might never think or feel anything different.

 

[JaimeSommers]

I think it's fair to conclude that Richey was a sort of Syd Barrett figure, a casualty who chose to withdraw but didn't choose to do so by retreating to his family for succor - as Syd did, choosing to live in the basement of his mother's home in Cambridge.

RSBM. Precisely who I thought of, too, wfgodot!

 

[KateB]

Sister of missing Manic Street Preacher Richey Edwards backs new help for families
Posted: June 28, 2014

THE sister of former Manic Street Preachers’ guitarist Richey Edwards has given her backing to a new project to support missing Welsh people and their families.

In the UK around 327,000 people are reported missing each year, with most being children and young people between the ages of 12 and 17.

Of the 13,390 people reported missing in Wales in 2011/12, some 39 per cent went missing again during that year.

more at the link.

 

[wfgodot]

Manic Street Preachers' sister speaks ahead of 20th anniversary of Richey Edwards' disappearance (walesonline.com)

[video=youtu;a_LH1LUgOLA]http://youtu.be/a_LH1LUgOLA[/video]

 

[Martha Morris]

Wow 20 years!

I can't hardly believe that. I know it's a cliche to say something seems like it happened yesterday .. but 20 years?!

I'm getting so old!

 

[wfgodot]

Richey's sister Rachel Elias does a good job keeping this case alive in the public eye.

 

[wfgodot]

Sister of Richey Edwards describes anguish of father (Scotsman)

---
Eventually his silver Vauxhall Cavalier was found at a service station next to the old Severn Bridge. The car, which had been lived in and had a flat battery, was later transported to his parents’ house in Caerphilly, Wales.

Initially, police launched a missing person’s inquiry, even visiting his parents’ home at 3am one morning in order to search it. Elias said: “Possibly they thought it was a publicity stunt or foul play.”

But then the rumour mill kicked in. “People said he was hiding at a fan’s house or that we knew where he was. It was totally fabricated. That hampered the police investigation. But in retrospect, there wasn’t that much active searching done. One officer even said he had a right to go missing.”
---

 

[Little Jedi]

Wow 20 years!

I can't hardly believe that. I know it's a cliche to say something seems like it happened yesterday .. but 20 years?!

I'm getting so old!

:lol: That's exactly what I thought when I read it

eta: *Why has title got London England ?
The Welsh won't like that ! :wink:

 

[wfgodot]

More Richey on the 20, this from Irish Examiner:

Manic's Richey Edwards turned down school scholarship