Tomorrow it will be 20 years since the guitarist checked out of a London hotel never to be seen again.
His car was discovered shortly after he went missing but despite widespread appeals no other trace of the musician has ever been found.
Now his sister Rachel Elias has spoken out about her brother's legacy and says she hopes he'll be remembered for his talent.
Mr Edwards was declared officially dead in 2008.
He had been suffering mental health issues around the time of his disappearance but his sister stressed that didn't point to him ending his own life.
She said his car's steering wheel had been secured: "Why would you worry about someone stealing your car if you were chaotically thinking of ending your life?"
The only thing that had helped since the disappearance was her renewed faith in God, she said.
"Over the last few years I have been going back to church - the church I used to go to years ago. And I've really found that having a faith has really made sense of the situation to me.
"I feel now that even if I don't know where Richard is or ever find out where he is, eventually at some point I will know. I feel that strongly now about it. That's just me. I can't talk for other people."