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  #1  
Old 13-07-2017, 10:12
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Jimi A Jimi A is offline
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Shelagh McDonald - Implications for Richey



So I'm at work supposed to be writing something on Pussy Riot but scrolling through Facebook and come across THIS clickbait about a Scottish songstress who supposedly disappeared only to re-emerge 30 years later to discover she had become somewhat of a cult icon in her absence.

Seemed like a fairly unlikely story, but it turns out Shelagh McDonald did indeed have a bad LSD trip causing her to take a relatively spontaneous decision to remove herself from the public eye leading to an apparent 'disappearance' unbeknownst to her. She gives her account HERE in The Guardian.

Obviously you can't help draw parallels with Richey's disappearance. Given that he gave the lyrics to what would become JFPL, gave various people apparent leaving gifts plus some sort of love letter there does seem to be a degree of forward planning to it. But given his fragile mental state, the fact he appears to have lived in his car for a number of days and the fact he left on a day he was supposed to be going to the States with JDB I can't help feel like this was a man without clear direction or an idea of what they were doing or where they were going.

Given that we live in a world where there is CCTV everywhere and its impossible to do anything without a debit/credit card, the lack of any positive sightings in so many years plus the relatively recent decision by the Edwards family to have him declare dead it does look increasingly like there will be no decisive conclusion as to what happened, with the most likely answer being that he chose to take his own life.

However, just reading this story now I can't help but hope maybe he is out there somewhere not realising just how badly his friends and family miss him.
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  #2  
Old 13-07-2017, 18:22
Glass Angel Glass Angel is offline
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That is interesting, people do disappear surprisingly often.

Quote:
I found it bewildering that people still listened to my music and had spent time concocting theories about what had become of me: that I was writing children's books under an assumed name, or had become a religious recluse.
Sounds familiar!
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  #3  
Old 14-07-2017, 05:27
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handbag handbag is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jimi A View Post
Given that we live in a world where there is CCTV everywhere and its impossible to do anything without a debit/credit card, the lack of any positive sightings in so many years plus the relatively recent decision by the Edwards family to have him declare dead it does look increasingly like there will be no decisive conclusion as to what happened, with the most likely answer being that he chose to take his own life.

However, just reading this story now I can't help but hope maybe he is out there somewhere not realising just how badly his friends and family miss him.
Good article. I'd never heard of her I'll admit.

A couple of thoughts though. CCTV. The images from CCTV are so grainy and sometimes downright shit (I've seen Crimewatch) that I don't think anyone could be recognised on those things unless they had one eye or something pretty unusual about their appearance. Also, the police haven't got the time to monitor CCTV unless there's an event they need to check out. Nobody knows if Richey's even in this country, plus I'd imagine he'd made himself unrecognisable as well as being a couple of decades older. Nobody even knows what to look for.

Just a hunch that he skipped off abroad with a new identity which is still achievable, but in the 90s moreso.

As for his feelings towards his family, IF he was travelling/using another identity, if he ever returned he'd be up for fraud. Not something I'd fancy coming back to.

I really do think he's still in the land of the living and his disappearance was planned. He's a smart guy who really could get away with hiding away for so long.

Declaring him as "presumed dead" was more of a move to make managing his finances easier. I mean, when that happened the ball started rolling to get his flat on the market etc.

He's obviously been keeping out of trouble because with his DNA now on the register, if he'd had any skirmishes with the law, there'd be a match and he'd be located.

That's presuming he's alive, which I think he is even though I have no proof.
It's not even wishful thinking, only 20 plus years of mulling it over.

Still, I don't think we'll ever know. My heart goes out to his mum and sister but he probably couldn't let them know he was okay even if he wanted to.

Again, ta for the article. Very interesting.
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  #4  
Old 14-07-2017, 19:35
Glass Angel Glass Angel is offline
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Why do you think he would be up for fraud? I can't think how Richey could be said to have benefited from his disappearance, or is there some legal technically I've not heard of?

On a related note, has anyone ever looked at the police missing persons database? Don't if you're easily upset - it has details (and sometimes photos) of unidentified deceased people. Mostly apparently homeless people, but also some suicides - to think no one will miss you and be proved correct is just heartbreaking.
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Old 14-07-2017, 23:09
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There's the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981 where using a forged passport, birth certificate, (others), and credit cards etc using fake documents is illegal. I'm far from a legal expert and it'll be different in other countries (like on Border Security Australia where they only deport someone carrying a forged passport back to the country where they have residency). The penalties here https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk...erly-obtained/ aren't too harsh and worth a shot if I felt like getting away from my own life. Taking his mental condition into account at the time he'd probably get off with it anyway.

Maybe he doesn't want to come back to avoid forever having to explain himself and the attention.

I've never been a missing person, so I can't even pretend to be in that frame of mind. Is there a point where a person feels that they just can't come back? I read How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found and I'm still clueless about the answer to that one. I'm not sure I even trust the case stories in that book because it's mostly men who're sick of their wives, move to another US state and have a great time as "someone else". I'd like someone to write a book that's not so black and white.

I look at the Missing Persons database sometimes when locals go missing but I've never seen the unidentified found deceased. That really is tragic. Have you ever watched the documentary "The Bridge"? Every jumper from the Golden Gate during the year it was filmed was identified and relatives and friends talk about those people. The unidentified people on the Missing People website really were totally alone. I can't even write any more because it's so heartbreaking as you say, Glass Angel.
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Old 23-07-2017, 18:48
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Quote:
Originally Posted by handbag View Post
I've never been a missing person, so I can't even pretend to be in that frame of mind. Is there a point where a person feels that they just can't come back? I read How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found and I'm still clueless about the answer to that one. I'm not sure I even trust the case stories in that book because it's mostly men who're sick of their wives, move to another US state and have a great time as "someone else". I'd like someone to write a book that's not so black and white
Try 'The Missing' by Andrew O'Hagan. It's very good, thoughtful and thought-provoking. If i remember right the inspiration for the book came out of the Fred & Rose West case - not the killers but the victims and how so many were never missed which made him wonder how many people who go missing are never missed, how do people slip through the cracks in a country like this and why do others decide to leave all behind

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Missing-And.../dp/0571215602
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There is a rapture on the lonely shore
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more," - Byron

'I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.' (from Sea Fever - John Masefield)


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  #7  
Old 24-07-2017, 08:40
tomd2103 tomd2103 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by handbag View Post

Maybe he doesn't want to come back to avoid forever having to explain himself and the attention.
Who knows. I could imagine that the longer someone stays away in such a scenario, the harder it could become to return. The thought of having to reunite with people who had gone through the trauma of a loved one disappearing might seem daunting enough for them to stay away.

Heartbreaking situation all round.
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  #8  
Old 24-07-2017, 12:10
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River Boy River Boy is offline
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I agree that the lack of recent sightings doesn't mean anything. He could look very different by now, have a beard, some chubbiness, or even have become a gym bunny. Tats could have been removed. He could be sipping coffee in Cardiff station right now and not be recognised.

I did sort of stop hoping he'd re-emerge when I heard of the death of his father. Enough has happened now for him to have had a change of heart and it would be possible to reconnect with loved ones without coming back into the public eye. Though with how Rachel is so openly campaigning I'm sure that hasn't happened.
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  #9  
Old 28-07-2017, 01:51
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Quote:
Originally Posted by raven View Post
Try 'The Missing' by Andrew O'Hagan.[/url]
Thanks for that. I looked it up online and read interviews with the author and reviews of the book and I'm ordering it next week when there's some cash in the bank. I wish I'd heard about it sooner.
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  #10  
Old 28-07-2017, 19:26
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Bambi Bambi is offline
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Perhaps I misinterpreted the use of the word 'implications', but McDonald's story has next to no relevance or significance in my view, given the major differences between the two disappearances. Whilst it's a very interesting story in itself, I really think there's little point in mentioning it in this context.
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  #11  
Old 28-07-2017, 23:50
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bambi View Post
Perhaps I misinterpreted the use of the word 'implications', but McDonald's story has next to no relevance or significance in my view, given the major differences between the two disappearances. Whilst it's a very interesting story in itself, I really think there's little point in mentioning it in this context.


Maybe there's a little similarity in the mythologising of a missing musician though
__________________
"There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more," - Byron

'I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.' (from Sea Fever - John Masefield)


"Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all" - Emily Dickinson
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  #12  
Old 30-07-2017, 16:13
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Bambi Bambi is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by raven View Post


Maybe there's a little similarity in the mythologising of a missing musician though
Yes, that's about it though, I'd say. It just leads to us once again getting caught up in ultimately pointless conjecture.
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  #13  
Old 09-02-2018, 19:38
Glyn Glyn is offline
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*ultimately pointless conjecture bump*
It appears there were a missing 12 hours in the investigation due to misinterpreting the Seven Bridge Toll receipt:
New information uncovered in Richey Edwards case
https://www.theguardian.com/music/20...eet-preachers?
That must be massively frustrating to discover after all this time. Does this debunk the taxi driver story referenced in Everything?
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  #14  
Old 09-02-2018, 21:34
Glass Angel Glass Angel is offline
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Originally Posted by Glyn View Post
That must be massively frustrating to discover after all this time. Does this debunk the taxi driver story referenced in Everything?
Not if he did indeed sleep in his car for a few days. Frustrating indeed though
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Old 11-02-2018, 23:08
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I find it incredible that such a fundamental bit of information has been wrong all this time. Can't imagine what a gut punch that must've been to realise.
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