Crime & Safety
Sinead O'Connor Found Safe After She Was Reported Missing: Police (UPDATED)
Wilmette police searched for the singer Monday after she didn't return from a Sunday morning bike ride.
- UPDATED (9:20 p.m. Monday, May 16)
WILMETTE, IL—After reports surfaced she had gone missing during a Sunday morning bike ride and was "possibly suicidal," singer Sinead O'Connor was located safely Monday afternoon, according to Wilmette police.
Police gave no further details about where or how the Irish-born singer was found in a statement released Monday afternoon.
But NBC 5 Chicago's Katie Kim reported via Twitter that she was found at a Morton Grove hotel and then taken to a nearby hospital.
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RELATED: Celebs, Sinead O'Connor Fans Go Online to Support Troubled Singer
#SineadOConnor's friend tells me she was found safe at a hotel in Morton Grove, then taken to a local hospital. Unclear if she's still there
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Kim also reported that O'Connor had been staying with friends in Chicago after leaving Ireland "amid a medical and personal crisis" in January.
O'Connor, 48, was reported missing to police Sunday after she went on a bicycle ride at 6 a.m., and Wilmette police were checking on her well-being, a police press release issued Monday morning stated.
"A caller has expressed concern for her well-being and no other information is available at this time," the release stated.
Celebrity news site TMZ was the first to report that police were looking for the Irish-born singer. According to the site, a police alert described O'Connor as "missing suicidal."
The singer has had very public battles with depression and mental illness. In late November, O'Connor reportedly received medical treatment for an alleged overdose in a hotel room in Ireland after publishing a Facebook update that read like a possible suicide note.
She also addressed her struggles with mental illness in a Facebook update directed at her first ex-husband posted around 8 p.m. that said her "suicidal compulsion isn't being manipulative."
O'Connor had been popping up for impromptu performances throughout Chicago earlier this year. In February, she sang "Sweet Home Chicago" with blues legend Buddy Guy at The Barn. O'Connor also performed at a cancer benefit concert in March at Metro Chicago that was held for the show venue's founder, Joe Shanahan. During the show, she sang a covers of David Bowie's "Life on Mars" and "Sorrow."
Earlier this month, comedian and former talk show host Arsenio Hall filed a $5 million defamation lawsuit against O'Connor after she claimed on Facebook that Hall had supplied Prince with drugs over the years. O'Connor rose to prominence in the early 1990s after her cover of the late musical icon's single "Nothing Compares 2 U" became a worldwide hit.
UPDATED (2:07 p.m. Monday, May 16): Singer Sinead O'Connor has been found, and she is safe, according to a Wilmette police press release.
No other details were given about where or how she was found.
ORIGINAL STORY
WILMETTE, IL—Singer Sinead O'Connor has been reporting missing after a bike ride Sunday afternoon in Wilmette, according to police.
O'Connor, 48, was reported missing to police Sunday after she went on a bicycle ride at 6 a.m., and Wilmette police were checking on her well-being, a police press release issued Monday morning stated.
"A caller has expressed concern for her well-being and no other information is available at this time," the release stated.
Celebrity news site TMZ was the first to report that police were looking for the Irish-born singer. According to the site, a police alert described O'Connor as "missing suicidal."
Anyone with information about O'Connor should contact the Wilmette Police Department. The Irish-born singer was last seen wearing a black parka, black leather pants and a sweatshirt with "Ireland" emblazoned on it, according to the report.
O'Connor also posted the following Facebook update about two hours after going on her bike ride:
Jake and Donal are her first and third sons, respectively, and Tusla refers to Ireland's Child and Family Agency.
A Facebook update Saturday, May 14, discussed plans to travel to North Carolina in what appears to be part of an effort to protest that state's recent transgender bathroom law.
Police have not responded to messages about why O'Connor was in Wilmette and how long she has been residing there. The singer had been popping up for impromptu performances throughout Chicago earlier this year.
In February, she sang "Sweet Home Chicago" with blues legend Buddy Guy at The Barn. O'Connor also performed at a cancer benefit concert in March at Metro Chicago that was held for the show venue's founder, Joe Shanahan. During the show, she sang a covers of David Bowie's "Life on Mars" and "Sorrow."
In late November, O'Connor reportedly received medical treatment for an alleged overdose in a hotel room in Ireland after publishing a Facebook update that read like a possible suicide note.
Earlier this month, comedian and former talk show host Arsenio Hall filed a $5 million defamation lawsuit against O'Connor after she claimed on Facebook that Hall had supplied Prince with drugs over the years. O'Connor rose to prominence in the early 1990s after her cover of the late musical icon's single "Nothing Compares 2 U" became a worldwide hit.
PHOTO: Sinead O'Connor (Pymouss | Wikimedia Commons)
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