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Louise Thomas
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The Flaming Lips have issued an urgent appeal for help in finding their drummer’s teenage daughter.
Charlotte “Bowie” Drozd, daughter of musician Steven Drozd, went missing on Saturday 5 October at around 11.30am in Seattle, Washington, near the Space Needle observation tower.
Charlotte, whose nickname is Bowie, was last seen on the monorail near the Seattle landmark, according to a missing person report shared by the Seattle Police Department.
Charlotte is described as approximately 5ft 7in tall, with brown eyes and hair and weighing around 130 pounds. She was last seen wearing khaki shorts and pink shoes.
The Seattle Police Department confirms that she is still classified as a missing or runaway juvenile. A detective from the Missing Persons Unit has been assigned to investigate her case.
Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne posted the missing poster to his social media accounts on Monday (7 October), asking his followers to help in any way they could.
“URGENT!!! Please help if you can !!! Steven’s daughter ( she is 16 years old ) is missing !!!” he wrote.
“She was last seen at the Space Needle early on Saturday….I’ll post more info as soon as I can.”
“Thank you Wayne for posting. We don’t know what to do,” his bandmate replied in the comments section.
The missing poster was also shared from the Flaming Lips Facebook page.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Seattle Police Department at 206-625-5011 or call Charlotte’s mother, Becky.
The search comes amid tragedy for the band over the death of their former collaborator, Canadian teen music prodigy Nell Smith.
Smith’s death aged 17 was confirmed by Simon Raymonde, known as the former bassist for the Cocteau Twins, on Instagram. Raymonde is also the co-founder of record label Bella Union, who were preparing to release Smith’s debut album next year.
“We are all shocked and devastated to hear of the sudden and tragic passing of our artist and dear friend Nell Smith, over the weekend in British Columbia,” Raymonde wrote.
“Nell was just 17 and was preparing for the release of her first solo record in early 2025 on Bella Union, made in Brighton with Penelope Isles’ Jack and Lily Wolter.”
He added: “While we all try and come to terms with the awful news, and out of respect to Nell’s grieving family, we are unable to make any further comments at this time. The Bella Union Family.”
A cause of death has yet to be disclosed; however, at The Flaming Lips’ show in Portland, Oregon, on Sunday (October 6), frontman Wayne Coyne announced Smith’s death, saying she died in a car accident.
“We are reminded once again of the power of music and how encouraging it can be to be around people that you love,” Coyne said, before asking the crowd to help sing the band’s 1999 song “Suddenly Everything Has Changed”.
