Sinead O'Connor found safe after going missing in Chicago suburb

Sinead O'Connor, who was reported missing after failing to return from a bike ride, has been found 'safe'.

Irish singer Sinead O'Connor. Picture: AP

Police launched an appeal on Monday to trace the 49-year-old Irish singer, who had not been seen since she left at 6am on Sunday in the Chicago suburb of Wilmette.

A police spokesman said: “She was found safe and is no longer listed as missing or in danger.”

It’s unclear why O’Connor was in Wilmette, an upper-class suburb about 15 miles north of Chicago along Lake Michigan.

Police said no other information was immediately available about O’Connor, who scored an international hit 1990 with her rendition of Prince’s ballad “Nothing Compares 2 U.” The gifted but troubled singer-songwriter is known as much for her fierce and expressive voice as her shaved head and blunt criticism of the Catholic Church and other institutions.

O’Connor was sued this month by comedian Arsenio Hall over a Facebook post that stated investigators looking into the supplier of drugs used by Prince should question Hall. She also accused him of drugging her.

In November, she posted a message on Facebook saying she had taken an overdose at an Irish hotel. Local police later said she had been found safe. The next month, O’Connor posted on Facebook that she had been detained in a hospital for mental health evaluation.

Her rendition of “Nothing Compares 2 U” topped charts from Europe to Australia, and earned O’Connor multiple Grammy Award nominations. In 1991, O’Connor was named Artist of the Year by Rolling Stone.

O’Connor, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder more than a decade ago, has spoken of her mental health problems. She told Oprah Winfrey in 2007 that before her diagnosis she had struggled with thoughts of suicide and overwhelming fear. She said at the time that medication had helped her find more balance, but “it’s a work in progress.”

In 2012, O’Connor she cancelled a planned tour, saying she her doctor had told her to rest after a “very serious breakdown.”

O’Connor, who has been married four times and has four children, signed a deal in 2014 to write a memoir.

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