Updated: Authorities Search for Missing Special Needs Girl from Lakewood High School

Updated at 10 a.m.: The missing girl has been found safe. Click here for the updated story and full details.

Authorities asked for the public's help today in locating a 15-year-old special needs student from Lakewood High School who went missing Monday afternoon.

Destiny Shorter left the school at 4400 Briercrest Ave. at about 2:50 p.m. Dec. 10 but never arrived home, according to the Lakewood Sheriff's Station.

She is considered critically missing "because she has the mental capacity of a second grader," according to a sheriff's department statement.

Destiny was last seen wearing a red jacket, white shirt, blue jeans and had a pink backpack. She was given a Long Beach Transit bus pass and may have boarded a bus near Lakewood High, but it is unclear whether she actually got on a bus or walked away from the school, according to authorities.

Anyone with information about Destiny or her whereabouts is asked to call the Lakewood Sheriff’s Station at (562) 623-3500. If you prefer to provide information anonymously, you may call "Crime Stoppers" by dialing (800) 222-TIPS (8477), or texting the letters TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES (274637), or by using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org. 

For additional information, contact Detective Delgadillo, or Detective Rudd at Lakewood Sheriff’s Station (562) 623-3500.