The following information was recently reported:
RALEIGH -- A television personality who claims to be a paranormal expert and looked for ghosts on the cable series "Paranormal State" is in jail amid theft charges.
Ryan Daniel Buell, 34, is facing two felony charges related to theft and stolen property. He's also facing a misdemeanor charge of theft of services. All charges are in Centre County, Pennsylvania, where Buell was last known to be living. Buell was arrested on Sept. 18 in Florence County, South Carolina, the state where he grew up.
Buell's role in "Paranormal State" involved looking for ghosts or trying to prove that life after death is real.
He has a sizable fan base across the country, but fans started getting frustrated with him after he canceled shows without providing refunds.
Buell had started a tour called "Conversations with the Dead Tour." Tickets were sold to shows in cities across the U.S. and Canada, but the shows got postponed and then canceled, leaving fans with no answers and looking for refunds.
Fans were out hundreds of dollars and wanted their money back. Many of them never got a dime back. Some were able to get refunds by disputing the charge with their credit card company.
In 2014, Chip Coffey, a long-time friend of Buell's, was scheduled to be on the "Conversations with the Dead Tour" with Buell. He said thousands of dollars were at stake. At the time, Coffey said Buell and his team were in charge of all the details for the tour, but nothing was booked, despite selling tickets to the show.
"I know that the last accounting I had, with regards to ticket sales for the 'Conversations with the Dead Tour,' it was in excess of $80,000," Coffey said.
The 2014 incident was not the first time Buell canceled shows. In 2012, he canceled some shows claiming he was fighting pancreatic cancer. In late 2013, Buell told People Magazine he was close to remission, ready to tour again and he started selling tickets for 2014 to another tour. Yet, several of those shows never happened.
Buell later moved to Pennsylvania and once again started advertising shows and connecting with his fans on his Facebook page. Fans once again complained that Buell took money for events, and then they siad Buell either didn't show or the events were canceled - the most recent being a dinner in August.
Now, Buell's mother is speaking out publicly. She posted several times on Buell's public Facebook page and The PRS Bureau's page.
Buell's mother writes to Buell's fans, "PLEASE stop enabling his situation by sending money, buying tickets to events that may never occur, buying merchandise/phone calls you may never get, paying money to watch him on Twitch, and giving him offers of shelter ... I am pleading with you out of LOVE for my son and I'm frightened by what his situation has become."
Fans and one-time fans quickly commented on Buell's mother's post. Some are defending Buell, while others say how Buell has taken money from them, too. One fan talks about how Buell was sick, and his mom writes, "He's ill, but not from cancer. His family knows the REAL story. You all need to stop believing his lies and stop enabling him....PLEASE."
At last check Buell, remains in the Florence County Detention Center in South Carolina.
Buell's former business associate, Chad Calek, released the following statement on Wednesday:
Hello, everyone.
Out of respect for Ryan Buell’s Mother, I’m going to keep this very short.
Although I’ve not seen Ryan for over three years, I have received one text from him this year, as well as one text from him last year, in which on both occasions, Ryan just expressed that he missed me and hoped all was well with myself and my loved ones. I only offer this up because I truly do not have any information about his current situation beyond what has been written in the article about his recent arrest.
In regard to Ryan’s “condition”, after reading Ryan’s Mother’s plea to the public, I would be truly surprised if anyone at this point is unaware that Ryan is suffering from addiction. This isn’t anything new. This has been going on, at different levels, with different substances, for as long as I’ve known Ryan.
Like many of you, over time I had also come to suspect that Ryan was not suffering from pancreatic cancer for obvious reasons. Unfortunately, it appears as though my suspicions were correct, as I just learned from reading his mother’s message that Ryan does not have cancer, as his mother states this as a fact in her public plea for help. I don’t know if this means that he never had cancer, or that he is now currently cancer-free. But if Ryan did in fact lie about having cancer, that would be a truly deplorable act, as my wife and I both personally shed tears in Ryan’s presence when he told us both of his diagnosis, as my wife also lost her mother a few years ago to lung cancer. Needless to say, I would not wish that hell on anyone. I can also say that if Ryan has beat his pancreatic cancer, he certainly never made me or the public aware of this.
And last, but not least, I would like to commend the strength of Ryan’s Mother, as I can’t imagine what she must be going through.
While nobody but Ryan Buell is responsible for Ryan Buell’s actions, he’s just someone that has lost his way. Let’s be clear about that. He’s not Captain America. He’s not some demon-slaying ghost hunter on a mission from God.
He’s a human being. He’s a brother. He’s a son to a mother and a father.
He’s done wrong to many people in which only he can make things right with everyone that he has hurt, which includes his immediate family, his friends and his fans.
But this is obviously going to take some time. And as someone who has overcome my own past battles with addiction, I can tell you that all things are possible through love and faith.
Right now, I’m praying that Ry’s mother will get her son back, so that he may regain his health and have the chance to make amends.
In closing, I think it’s very important to understand that Ryan’s Mother is correct. Only his family knows the full extent of what is going on, as they are on the “inside”.
With that being the case, I’ve stated what I know and how I feel. From here, I consider this to be a family matter, in which I will continue to pray that Ryan will someday return home to his loving mother in good health, ready to accept what needs to be accomplished in order give his entire family the chance to be “whole” once again.
Paranormal State: My Journey into the Unknown
The Demon of Brownsville Road: A Pittsburgh Family’s Battle with Evil in Their Home
Paranormal Obsession: America's Fascination with Ghosts & Hauntings, Spooks & Spirits
Growing Up Psychic: My Story of Not Just Surviving but Thriving--and How Others Like Me Can, Too
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