Teen who went missing without diabetes medication reportedly found safe

original story

By Maria Arcega-Dunn, KSWB

SAN DIEGO -- (KSWB) -- A family is pleading for the public's help to find a 14-year-old girl who has been missing since Sunday.

Leilani Hatcher is a type 1 diabetic who needs her medication.

“We need her home, we need her safe, she needs her insulin to live,” said grandmother Linda Moore. “She does not have her insulin, so Leilani takes up to four shots a day of insulin to keep her body functioning and at this point it's just a matter of time before she starts shutting down, her body starts shutting down.”

Leilani had gone into diabetic shock last week and was under the care of the Polinsky Children's Center in San Diego when she disappeared. The center's staff says the 14-year-old left the center with two other teens.

“She was on a 24-hour watch there where she was supposed to have a one-on-one supervision. The individual that was keeping an eye on her that particular day, Sunday the 8th, didn't keep a close enough eye on her and at 8 p.m. that night, they noticed that she was missing,” said Moore.

Leilani is described as brown-eyed with brown hair. She is about 5-foot-1 and weighs 125 pounds.

“She could be anywhere, we just want her to come home. We need her safe, we need her found,” said Moore.

Linda says the family is doing everything they can: posting fliers, searching by foot and even setting up a Facebook page.

“If you see something, see her or if she's laying there in a fetal position, call 9-1-1. She needs help, she definitely needs help,” said Moore.

If you have any information on her whereabouts, you're asked to call the San Diego Police Department.