Sinéad O'Connor Reveals Her 17-Year-Old Son Has Died After Going Missing: 'Please Be at Peace'

"You will always be my light. We will always be together. No boundary can separate us," Sinéad O'Connor said in a tribute to her late son Shane

Sinéad O'Connor. Photo: Andrew Chin/Getty

Sinéad O'Connor's son, Shane O'Connor, has died, PEOPLE confirms. He was 17.

On Friday, the 55-year-old musician announced that her son had died after he had gone missing earlier in the week in a series of posts on Twitter.

"My beautiful son, Nevi'im Nesta Ali Shane O'Connor, the very light of my life, decided to end his earthly struggle today and is now with God," Sinéad tweeted. "May he rest in peace and may no one follow his example. My baby. I love you so much. Please be at peace."

In a follow-up post, the "Nothing Compares to You" singer tweeted a Bob Marley song, which she dedicated to Shane. "This is for my Shaney. The light of my life. The lamp of my soul. My blue-eye baby," she wrote. "You will always be my light. We will always be together. No boundary can separate us."

Hours later, Sinéad then uploaded a photograph of Shane to her feed. She left the post uncaptioned.

Sinéad shared Shane — her third of four children — with musician Dónal Lunny.

In another post shared on Saturday, Sinéad claimed she had not received any word from Ireland's The Child and Family Agency in regards to her son's death. "26 hours after my son died in the so called care of the Irish State in the form of Tusla, I have yet to receive any contact from Tusla or their representatives. I was informed by Gardai of my son's death and later I spoke with the GAL," she tweeted. "No contact from Tusla is unacceptable."

Earlier in the week, Sinéad had let her social media followers know that Shane had gone missing as she pled for his safe return.

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Sharing the same picture of her son that she would later share after announcing his death, Sinéad wrote: "This is a message for my son, Shane. Shane, it's not funny any more all this going missing. You are scaring the crap out of me. Could you please do the right thing and present yourself at a Gardai station. If you are with Shane please call the Gardai for his safety."

"Shane, your life is precious," Sinéad added in a follow-up message. "God didn't chisel that beautiful smile on your beautiful face for nothing. My world would collapse without you. You are my heart. Please don't stop it from beating. Please don't harm yourself. Go to the Gardai and let's get you to hospital."

In a subsequent post, Sinéad called out the hospital and asked how they allegedly allowed her son to get "out of their grasp," even though he had "made two severe suicide attempts" a week prior.

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In one other post shared on Twitter, the singer also questioned how "a seventeen year old traumatised young person WHO WAS ON SUICIDE WATCH" could have allegedly escaped the hospital's care.

"Hospital of course so far refusing to take any responsibility. Anything happens to my son on their watch? Lawsuits," she tweeted at the time.

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The Gardaí — the national police service in Ireland — previously said they were searching for Shane. "Gardaí are concerned for Shane's welfare," they said in a prior statement. They have since called off the search.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.