While surfing to make this page I discovered the UK's top psychic detective had written a book including what he thinks happened to Richey [he has worked for the police in helping to solve cases] An extract from the reviews says: Until his recent retirement, in December 1999, as a detective in the Metropolitan police force, Keith used his rare gift for psychic detection in his police work and gives some spectacular examples of his success. No criminal felt safe when this particular police officer was on his case because Keith could open doors not open to any other serving British police officer. Doors that unlocked the power of the psychic world... He tells how as a police detective he had to seek out the truth by in-depth questioning of both suspects and situations. Something he continues to apply to his work now assisting the police in Britain, and many overseas countries, who still call upon his psychic services.

I got the book and here is the Richey Chapter, because I think it's important people read this. He thinks that he's alive but he doesn't want to come back. This book came out in 2000 but I have only just heard about it. You can buy this book from amazon.co.uk and please do if you want to read the rest of it and find out more about the author. click here for more information

Richey Edwards [from Psychic Detective by Keith Charles 2000]
On 1 February 1995, rock star Richey Edwards walked out of the Embassy Hotel in London and disappeared. His car was found two weeks later near the Severn Bridge, a well-known suicide spot, but no body was ever recovered. Was a reported sighting in the Canary Islands that of the missing Manic Street Preacher rock star? Certainly someone believed it was. A patron of the Underground Pub in Fuerteventura believed he recognised the rocker, but when he challenged the stranger, the young man ran from the bar and vanished.

Another sighting of Edwards in March 1997 was reported on the Indian Ocean island of Goa, but it came to nothing. Because no body has ever been found, Richey has never been officially pronounced dead. In fact, members of the remaining Manics band are so confident he is alive and kicking somewhere, that they have set aside his share of the band's profits in the hope that some day he will turn up and claim it.

Richey grew up in the care of his grandmother until he was 13 because his parents were unable to look after him. From a somewhat troubled start in life he went on to study political history at the University of Wales where he was awarded three A's at A level. He joined the band after they released Suicide Alley and during his time with the Manics it is said he wrote half the lyrics.

So where is Richey now? Is he dead? As I say, his fellow Manics don't believe so, and neither do I.

Maybe spirit knows, so I turned to my helper, Tobias, for information. The result was fascinating because I am told Richey Edwards opted out of one life on this earth and adopted a completely new one, collecting some interesting attachments along the way!

But let me start at the beginning. Richey may have booked into the Embassy Hotel when he first did a runner, but I don't believe he actually stayed there.

The night he left the hotel to drive west, Richey was not masterminding his own disappearance and this was far from his intention. He was feeling the need for friendship and was drawn to his old haunts for comfort. I am told that he had stopped on his journey to purchase a soft drink and when he returned to his vehicle his mood had darkened. Driving a distance at night gives one time to reflect and Richey became self analytical. At the time, he was a young man full of independence, a genuinely likeable lad who was comfortable with his own company but who found difficulty switching off and relaxing. This wasn't something that was exacerbated by his increasing fame, but he had always had a sense that he had to be better than he was. This was not caused by family expectation or peer pressure but by an inner desire to achieve and to do well to impress his friends and family. He was an earthy sort, liable to change without a great deal of patience but who believed the ability to understand others was most important. Surprisingly, he was not materialistic. It is wrong to say "was" in the sense that Richey has not passed from this life, but still lives. It is correct to say "was" when describing his former "life". Having abandoned his vehicle, the next steps are unclear.

This was the moment when he suddenly chose to escape from his life as a rock star, never to look back. A troubled soul at this time, he was on the downhill road to a complete nervous breakdown, though this didn't happen until a while later. Spirit tells me he had a mental switch-off and set out on the first part of a trek across Europe, initially going to Holland where he settled for a while, busking and restaurant waiting to make just enough money to keep him going. It was in Holland that he met three other young people, two women and a man, who were to influence what happened to him next. They were back-packing their way to India and Australia, or it might have been to Australia and then India. They persuaded Richey to join them. All four travelled on a shoestring, doing odd jobs wherever they went.

I see Richey living in some poverty to begin with, in back streets, almost like a waif and stray. Then he suffered a complete breakdown and was taken in by members of some kind of religious sect who restored him to good health. For the first time in a good while, he was comfortable, well fed and well cared for. He had escaped death by a whisker.

Somehow, he found his way to India - maybe through this sect - and that is where I see him now; a new person living a totally new life, probably, because of a kind of amnesia, unaware of his past life in England as a rock star with the Manics. The name "Bahktar" seems to be important, although I don't know if this is a name he has taken, or it could be the name of the place in northern India where he now lives, a town on the border with Pakistan. Richey has taken the name "Dom", so he might be called Dom Bakhtar. I just know that in the language where he is now living, the name he has adopted means "little bird".

I see him with a wife, a slim woman, longish dark hair, about 28 years of age. There are two children with them, although being about six or seven these would be too old to be their own children. Perhaps they are related, or adopted in some way. Though Richey's new life is a frugal one, he is very happy. In fact, he has never been happier. It is as though he has rediscovered himself. Where he now lives is an idyllic place; there must be water nearby because I can see boats.

Somewhere in his wife's family there is a doctor, or someone is connected to the medical profession. I don't think Richey - or should I now call him Dom? - will be wanting to rekindle his old life. More to the point, I don't think he even really has any recall of the life he left behind in England in 1995.

I can tell his former band mates that Richey no longer has anything to do with music, nor does money interest him, other than that he has enough to feed and shelter himself and his wife. It is difficult for me to pick up what he actually does to support himself because all that I get from spirit is that he leads a very basic, unstressed way of life - one that has brought him complete happiness which this troubled soul never really had before.

Concerning the possible Australian connection, I keep hearing Tasmania, which is off the coast of Australia and may hold vital clues to his whereabouts. This seems to conflict with my initial feelings that he is presently in India. So could it be that he went to India first and has recently moved on to Tasmania? I believe his friends might stand a good chance of finding Richey if they have a mind to do so. I would suggest they should initially investigate Bahktar as a location in northern India, then find a village which looks out over a lake and boats. An Englishman with a name like Dom might not be too hard to find there. But one warning - don't expect a warm welcome!

Map of India, Goa is highlighted, also shows the border with Pakistan
I linked to this because I'm sure I read elsewhere that a policeman involved with the case said Goa would be the place to look, if they were going to, and Rachel had also received news of sightings there before. The psychic detective thinks he would be somewhere along the Pakistan border, which is further up, but on the same side.

Book Review 31.1.02
I found out about this book while surfing for Richey but wanted to read it, regardless of if it said he was alive or not. I expected the worst, but as you can see he thinks that he's alive. Reading just one chapter out of context is not how the book was designed to be read.

The book is about the authors life and experiences, including those of his work as a policeman, including standing outside No.10 Downing Street and going for a walk with the Queen Mother [as part of his duties] Reading the Richey chapter, disbelievers could laugh it off. Reading the whole book, you can't. Outside of his policework [in his spare time] and since he retired, he has worked to help solve cases the police have been unable to. With just a photo in an envelope [sealed] he can give facts about what happened. They don't come through in any order, almost randomly. Someone will take notes as he relays the information, often over the phone.

He pictured the scene of a murder, the location, the name of the highway, right down to the pink curtains in a nearby building. That was one of the most astonishing chapters, and this happened in another country. He was right in every detail, and went out there to see it for himself.

So you can read the Richey chapter and say it's a load of rubbish, but read the whole book and you won't think that.

Of course, when he was in the police force, his colleagues were sceptical of his abilities, one was downright hostile and he and other "mediums" have also met a similar reaction from christians.

He gives public talks and when information comes through, has to pinpoint who in the audience it's for, when some people can be reluctant to come forward until he gives so much accurate information, they have no choice.

The Richey story stands out because the other famous people he writes about, infact everyone he writes about, are no longer alive. He thinks Lord Lucan is dead and writes his feelings about it. He has met and knows a lot of famous people but I think he probably "investigated" Richey because he was interested in knowing what happened, not because he was asked to.

It is strange to hear his recollections of talking to [or relaying information from] dead people but some stories will really make you think. He talks with such certainty and receives information as it really is, so sometimes a person may not at first know what he's talking about, then after a lot of thought/speaking to others, they'll realise what he said is right. People often contact him afterwards and tell him so [i.e. in crime cases]

Because of his work as a policeman he knows the right questions to ask the spirits. When he was a policeman he did use his psychic ability to help him. He is the first psychic I know of to say Richey is alive, something his friends and family also feel.

It's not the first book I read on this subject, as I have a personal interest in it. I am a sceptic, or I wanted to be, but I have experienced similar things before, mostly in dreams. That's why I first read a few books on the subject a few years ago. And I have dreamt about Richey and felt he is alive but I wouldn't usually write it down anywhere. Because like Keith Charles says about some of what he sees, who's going to believe it with no evidence. But if anyone can seriously imagine Richey going to a bridge and jumping off, it's them who haven't thought about it properly.

He gives an address he can be contacted at within the pages of the book. So if the Manics wanted to contact him, they could. Like he said, if Richeys friends want to find him, they have a good chance. Only thing is, he doesn't want to be found, a very clear message. It wasn't all good news, as he wrote about him being ill again before things got better, but he is happier now.

There is an inconsistency about the hotel but there can be problems interpreting the information received [some things come through 100% clear, some not] He often receives different information to the perceived events, even though information about certain cases has been made readily available he doesn't look at it, so what he's saying about the hotel may be important even though it seems incorrect.

Like Keith says people can make their own minds up. But you should read the book to get the whole picture.