29 years since Manic Street Preachers' Richey Edwards disappeared

The Manic Street Preachers guitarist disappeared on February 1, 1995, aged 27, just before the iconic rock band was due to make a promotional trip to America.

What happened to him has become one of British music's most enduring mysteries.

When he vanished he is thought to have been staying in the Embassy Hotel in London. His car was later found near the M48 Severn Bridge and his passport was at his home in Cardiff.

Mr Edwards - known to his family as Richard - was officially declared "presumed dead" in 2008, although he is still listed as a missing person.

Manic Street Preachers Performing Live At The Zap Club, Brighton 07/08/1991. Picture: Mark Baker/Sony Music Archive/Getty Images (Image: Mark Baker/Sony Music Archive/Getty Images)

His sister, Rachel Elias, has spent the past 28 years working tirelessly to support other families with missing relatives, and in 2017 appeared as a finalist on Britain’s Got Talent as a member of Missing People Choir.

Speaking last year Ms Elias said: “Understandably, some find the term ‘presumption of death’ upsetting, but it is necessary to wind up complex financial issues. Our father was dying, and his wish was that Richard’s estate was in order.

“At the time, it was an extremely difficult process to obtain presumption of death.”

Speaking to the Argus in 2015 Ms Elias said her family still go through a daily trauma of not knowing what happened to him.

Ms Elias learned of her brother's disappearance when her mother was called by the band's manager Martin Hall and told bandmate James Dean Bradfield had knocked on Mr Edwards' hotel door but received no answer - and the room was found to be empty.

Mr Edwards' sister said the search for her brother, who suffered with depression, was made more difficult by some attitudes displayed by the police.

“I was frustrated," she said. "He was classed as a vulnerable adult. That box was ticked, but to me that wasn’t reflected in the way they searched for him."

Ms Elias successfully campaigned to change the law so families were able to deal with their missing loved one’s financial affairs in a more simplified way.

In 2013, the ‘Presumption of Death Act’ became law, meaning the application process for the presumed declaration of death became less complex.

Ms Elias was also a key member in the formation and implementation of the National Crime Agency (NCA) UK Missing Persons Unit and is a voluntary director for the National Missing Persons Helpline in Ireland.

The Argus front page from February 21, 1995. (Image: Archive)

If anyone has seen Mr Edwards, they are encouraged to contact Missing People anonymously by calling 116 000 or by emailing 116000@missingpeople.org.uk or call the police on 101.

The charity’s helpline is operated by staff and volunteers.

It is free to contact and open 24 hours a day thanks to support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery.

Sightings and information about any missing person can also be given anonymously through the Missing People website at missingpeople.org.uk/sightings