What constitutes "eliminated"?

[Konrad Klar]

Reason for which I ask are three cards (actually 2+1, see below):

Bring one hazard creature of the following type from your discard pile to your hand: Maia, Elf, Dwarf, or Dúnedain. Alternatively, bring a Maia permanent-event from active play to your hand. Alternatively, make a roll (draw a #)-if the result is greater than 8, bring an eliminated Elf or Maia hazard creature to its owner's discard pile and place this card in your opponent's marshalling point pile (do not discard it).

Underline mine.

Opponent reveals four cards at random from his discard pile. You may choose a non-unique one and remove it from play. Opponent discards the other three. Quickly now he drew off the cloth, wrapped the stone in it and kneeling down, laid it back in the wizard's hand.-LotRIII

Stolen Knowledge. Playable on an untapped character at a Shadow-hold [S] or Dark-hold [D] or if his company faced an agent attack and all of its strikes failed. Tap character. Can be stored at a Haven [H]-only if stored do you receive its marshalling point. If stored, you may discard this card and force one non-unique hazard to be removed from the play as you see your opponent discard it through a mechanism of the game.

Removes cards from the game, not just from play.

This explicit distinction between "removing from game" and "removing from play" made by ICE in case of Knowledge of the Enemy let to inference that cards removed from play are still in game, although they do not play an active role.
Out-of-play pile seems to be natural place for such cards.

Scenario based on above assumption is:
I have a two copies of Wandering Eldar in my out-of-play pile, one defeated by overt company of my FW opponent (not Alatar, and without Shameful Deeds), other removed by Aware of Their Ways.

Can I use Returned Beyond All Hope two times to return two copies of Wandering Eldar to my Discard Pile? Or only one time?
Does it matter whether a card was placed in out-of-play pile in result of combat or for other reason to consider it "eliminated"?

[Bandobras Took]

I don't think ICE ever got around to defining "eliminated." That being said, a card is only eliminated as outlined in the rules or on the card itself.

A character can be eliminated and removed from play as a result of combat (failing a body check) or corruption (failing a corruption check).

It requires more than merely being removed from play to be considered eliminated. Only one Elf for you.

Further fun note: in the MELE rules, a Ringwraith's mount can be eliminated even if such does not actually exist as a card.

[Konrad Klar]

Ok, i.e. maybe.

I was just pondering about practical implications of being removed from play (but not from game) for non-unique card.
Any idea?

[Bandobras Took]

No clue whatsoever. I noticed the discrepancy a while back but decided not to even touch it, as I didn't want to bother with the headache.