Photo courtesy of the Critical Missing Child Alert Facebook page. 

UPDATE | David Lopez, the 17-year-old with special needs who had been missing since Friday, January 22, was found safe yesterday in Huntington Beach, the Long Beach Police Department announced this afternoon. 

No additional details are available, and no news release will be issued, according to LBPD spokesperson Marlene Arrona. 

An LBPD flyer released January 25 stated Lopez was possibly staying with a friend in Huntington Beach. 

PREVIOUSLY: Long Beach Teen with Special Needs Reported Missing

01/25/15 at 3:14PM | A 17-year-old Long Beach boy with special needs, David Lopez, has been reported missing since Friday, January 22, according to the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD).

LBPD Sgt. Bradley Johnson said officers were dispatched to the the boy’s home on the 1300 block of Gladys Avenue at 12:45PM Friday, after the missing juvenile reportedly “took money from his mother’s purse and the keys to her car and left the residence on on foot,” according to the missing persons flyer released by the LBPD. Dispatched officers discovered he was last seen walking to a restaurant to buy food, as the teen had mentioned he was going to a hamburger stand, but never returned, according to Johnson.

According to the flyer, the teen is a “voluntary” missing person and may be staying in the Huntington Beach area with a friend. 

Lopez is 5 feet 6 inches tall, 140 pounds, hispanic with a shaved head. He was last seen wearing a blue Millikan High School sweatshirt and tan pants.

Individuals who have seen him are encouraged to call the LBPD at 562.435.6711.

Additional information was not available at this time. The Post will update this story as we learn more. 

City News Service contributed to this report. 

This story was updated at 5:05PM with information from the LBPD regarding Lopez’s disappearance. 

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