Sinead O’Connor says she’s heading to NC to protest HB2

CHICAGO (AP) – Police in suburban Chicago said Irish singer-songwriter Sinead O'Connor was found safe Monday after officers received a report that she never returned from a Sunday bike ride in the area.

Meanwhile, The Guardian reported that O’Connor appeared to write on her website on May 14 that “she was heading for North Carolina” to protest House Bill 2 dictates that transgender people must use the bathroom that matches the sex on their birth certificate even if that does not match their gender identity.

Local police issued a well-being check for O'Connor earlier Monday, saying someone called to report that she hadn’t been seen since leaving for a bicycle ride early Sunday morning. It’s unclear why O'Connor was in Wilmette, an upper-class suburb about 15 miles north of Chicago along Lake Michigan.

O'Connor, who has performed at least twice in Chicago this year, scored an international hit in 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.

This story was originally published May 17, 2016 at 8:47 AM with the headline "Sinead O’Connor says she’s heading to NC to protest HB2."