2003.02.01 - BBC News - Appeal To Find Missing Rock Fan

Appeal to find missing rock fan

Rock band Guns N' Roses have made an appeal for a fan who disappeared in the United States to get in touch with her family.

Kirsty Omerod, 20, from Newport, south Wales, had travelled to the States in November to see her favourite band perform in Chicago.

But Gwent Police say she has not been heard of since and a spokesman said concerns for her safety are growing.

Guns N' Roses have issued a statement urging Kirsty to contact someone to say she is safe and well.

The band, who finished their US tour on 5 December in New York, has called on other fans to keep an eye out for Kirsty.

A Guns N' Roses spokesman said: "Wherever you are, Kirsty, please get in touch with someone to let them know that you are safe, and please come home soon. Everyone is really concerned."

The 20-year-old travelled to Chicago alone to watch the group perform at the All State Arena on 16 November.

The tour had been threatened with cancellation after a riot at the band's Vancouver show in early November.

Detective Sergeant Mark Warrender from Gwent Police said Kirsty had only planned to be in the States for a few days.

"We believe it is possible she is still in the USA," he said.

"The Guns N' Roses tour has ended and we initially thought she may have been following them.

"Inquiries are being conducted through Interpol. Her ticket was a return but has not been used and is now void, it's very worrying."

She is described as about 5ft 6in tall, of medium build, with blonde hair and blue eyes. She has a slight northern accent.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/2716163.stm

In December 2003 the girl was still missing and Guns N' Roses renewed the appeal.
BBC News, December 3, 2003:
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Guns N' Roses renew fan appeal

Rock band Guns N' Roses have renewed their appeal for information about one of their fans who went missing over a year ago in America.

Kirsty Ormerod, travelled from her home in Newport, south Wales to see the band perform in the States.

She journeyed to Chicago alone to watch the group perform at the All State Arena on 16 November 2002, and has not been seen or heard from by her family or friends since.

When the band, fronted by singer Axl Rose, heard of her disappearance, they issued an statement urging her to contact someone.

"Wherever you are, Kirsty, please get in touch with someone to let them know that you are safe, and please come home soon.

"Everyone is really concerned."

And as her 21st birthday approaches on 6 December, the rock group repeated their appeal for her to make contact.

Records show that Kirsty left the UK on 16 November 2002.

She checked into a hotel in Chicago, which she left on 20 November but she failed to return to the UK as planned.

Described as a "free spirit", her family have said that it is not unusual for Kirsty to go missing for a few months at a time but this is the longest her family have gone without hearing from her.

She failed to get in touch with them on her mother Kate's 50th birthday in May and her younger brother John's 18th in June.

Mrs Ormerod, who lives in Leeds with Kirsty's father Steve and brother, said the family need to know what has happened to her.

"We are all coping ok, but it is always there in the back of our minds," she said.

"We are hoping she has started a brand new life for herself but at the same time we also know she may not have done and we need to know one way or the other.

"Of course we would rather know that she is ok, but we have to consider the possibility that she is not."

Kirsty, had moved away from the family home in Leeds to the Maindee area of Newport in 2000 where she lived with friends.

A long-time fan of Guns N' Roses, Kirsty had seen the group perform several times.

"She has a strong interest in the band and had done since she was about 11," said Mrs Ormerod.

"We know she went out to Chicago to see them, but we don't know where she went after that.

"Maybe she has met up with some fellow fans and is travelling around following the band."

Determined

Mrs Ormerod, a nurse at a hospice, said that the last time they heard from Kirsty was when she contacted them asking for help with the fare to America.

"Kirsty is a very intelligent and bright girl. She is her own person - very determined.

"She isn't the sort of girl to phone her parents every week and so we weren't too surprised when we didn't hear from her for a while when she first went missing.

"I thought it was a bit strange when she didn't get in touch with us over Christmas.

"Then after a few months we started to get concerned and more so when one of her friends contacted us about her.

"All we hope now is that she is going to get in touch with us for her birthday.

"Your 21st birthday is a very special occasion and we just want to hear from her to know she is ok."

Gwent Police are liaising with Interpol as part of their efforts to locate Kirsty.

She is described as about 5ft 6in tall, of medium build, with blonde hair and blue eyes. She has a slight northern accent.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_east/3287565.stm

Finally she was found safe in the U.S. in late 2004, but didn't want to return home.
BBC News, December 31, 2004:
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Rock fan missing for second time

A rock music fan reported found two years after disappearing in the US has gone missing for a second time.

Kirsty Ormerod, now 22, left her home in Newport to fly to Chicago to see Guns N' Roses.

She was not seen for two years, but on Thursday police said she had been found married and settled in the US.

However Gwent Police later revealed that Ms Ormerod, who was using a number of aliases, had disappeared again some time last year.

Detective Sergeant John Giles said the missing persons file on Kirsty had been closed in the UK as she had been located in the US.

Authorities in the US are still continuing to investigate her disappearance.

Initially, reports said Kirsty had married in the US and did not want her new location revealed.

Free spirit

Gwent Police had worked with American forces and the FBI's Missing Persons Bureau in an effort to find Ms Ormerod.

During appeals, her family, from Leeds, said she was a free spirit and had done her own thing in the past without telling them, but her disappearance had been out of character.

Members of Guns N' Roses had also issued a statement urging Kirsty to contact someone to say she was safe and well in the months following her disappearance.

Kirsty was known to use a number of aliases, including the name Gemma Coronel.

Mr Giles added: "Her parents were relieved that she had been located but they are obviously still concerned for her welfare."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_east/4135791.stm