Sinead O'Connor's son Shane has died at the age of 17, two days after he was reported missing.

       The musician paid tribute to her son on social media, writing that he had "decided to end his earthly struggle".

       "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," she wrote on Twitter in the early hours of Saturday morning.

       "May he rest in peace and may no one follow his example. My baby. I love you so much. Please be at peace."

       Police confirmed the news of the teenager's death on Saturday, and said they had recovered a body in the Bray area of Wicklow on Friday and that their appeal for the missing teenager had ended.

       Shane O'Connor had been reported missing from Tallaght University Hospital in Dublin on Thursday, where he is believed to have been on suicide watch.

       The singer issued pleas for information regarding her son's whereabouts in the hours following his disappearance.

       "Shane, your life is precious. God didn’t chisel that beautiful smile on your beautiful face for nothing," she wrote on Thursday. "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 [Irish police] and let’s get you to hospital.

       "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."

       O'Connor was open about her son's mental health struggles and used social media in previous situations to plead for help when he went missing, including in Jan 2019 when he was 14.

       In the wake of Shane's disappearance, O'Connor took to social media to criticise the hospital and question how he was permitted to escape.

       "How was a seventeen-year-old traumatised young person WHO WAS ON SUICIDE WATCH in Tallaght Hospital's Lynn Ward been able to go missing? Hospital of course so far refusing to take any responsibility. Anything happens to my son on their watch? Lawsuit," she wrote on Thursday.

       Representatives of Sinead O'Connor confirmed Shane's death on Saturday, saying: "Regrettably, we can confirm the passing of Shane O'Connor.

       "We politely ask for respect and appreciation for Sinead, Shane's father and Shane's family at this most difficult time."