A US-based hiker and Yoga instructor who lost her way in the wilderness of Hawaii’s Makawao Forest Reserve has been found alive. Amanda Eller was found safe after she vanished on May 8 while hiking in a forest reserve on Maui island. The miracle story of her surviving two weeks in an area known for wild boars despite fracturing her leg after falling in a ravine has gone viral.
Her elated mother informed local news channels that Amanda ate wild berries and took to eating a few moths as her attempts to catch some “crawfish was ”not very successful.” She had also lost her shoes soon after she went missing.
After many rescue workers and volunteers came together to search the 35-year-old, she was found at about 5pm (local time) on Friday. Eller was found between two waterfalls deep in a ravine near Twin Falls, when by a search helicopter flew over it and luckily Amanda managed to flag it down.
Amanda called her father to tell everyone in the family that she was alive and safe. The authorities then took her to Maui Memorial Hospital.
Amanda was found to be alert and mentally sound. She dialed her father’s mobile number and had cognisance of her surroundings but had been very surprised to see her rescuers, her friend Chris told ABC News.
READ ALSO | Life paralysed in Nepal due to general strike as series of explosions kill 4 people
Amanda had gone hiking without her phone and also left her water bottle behind as it was just a 3-mile hike. Her boyfriend Benjamin Konkol reported her missing on May 9 after she did not return from the forest. Her SUV was also found soon after with the vehicle’s key under the tire on the driver’s side.
A day after she was rescued by a search helicopter, she said, “I wanted to give up. But the only option I had was life or death. I heard this voice that said, ‘If you want to live, keep going,’” Amanda told the New York Times while lying on her hospital bed on Saturday.
During her disappearance, Amanda’s distressed mother Julia Eller told KITV, ABC Hawaii affiliate that this was a “mother’s worst nightmare” and her being missing was an “emotional roller-coaster.”
Her mother said that she wanted to stay positive as she felt that she would be no help to her daughter if she got caught up in it.
There was also a reward for finding Amanda, who is originally from North Carolina, which rose to $50,000 from $10,000 just a few hours before she was rescued.