This is the incredible moment the yoga instructor who went missing more than two weeks ago on a hike in a Hawaii forest was hoisted to safety with just ‘little bit of sunburn’ after she survived on water, plants and even moths.
Amanda Eller, 35 had been missing for two weeks when helicopter rescue crews spotted her waving from a stream, according to Hawaii officials.
She went missing on May 8 after leaving her phone behind while hiking in the Makawao Forest Reserve trail in Maui. She was found around four miles from where she had left her car, authorities said.
On Friday evening, helicopter search crews say they made eye contact with Eller after spotting her lying in a stream bed and video from the scene shows the moment she was lifted to safety.
‘THEY DID IT!!! #findamanda Amanda Eller has been found alive! After 17 days lost in the steep jungles of East Maui, the never-ending determination & steadfast faith of THESE and HUNDREDS of volunteer searchers paid off!’ a volunteer tweeted.
Speaking from her hospital bed Eller, who was wearing just a thin top, a sports bra and a pair of yoga pants. said: ‘I wanted to give up. But the only option I had was life or death.’
Yoga instructor, Amanda Eller (center, after she was found Friday), 35, had been missing for two weeks and was not injured when she was rescued, authorities said
As soon as they got her into the helicopter she was able to speak to her father and give her family the much needed relief of their daughter being found alive. Once rescuers landed, Eller (right) was taken to Maui Memorial Hospital by an ambulance
Eller (pictured) went missing on May 8 while hiking in the Makawao Forest Reserve trail in Maui. On Friday evening, helicopter search crews found Eller lying in a stream bed
Eller added: ‘I wanted to go back the way I’d come, but my gut was leading me another way — and I have a very strong gut instinct.
‘So, I said, my car is this way and I’m just going to keep going until I reach it.
‘I heard this voice that said, “If you want to live, keep going”.
‘And as soon as I would doubt my intuition and try to go another way than where it was telling me, something would stop me, a branch would fall on me, I’d stub my toe, or I’d trip. So I was like, “O.K., there is only one way to go”.
‘The whole time I was going deeper into the jungle, even though I thought I was going back where I came from.
‘I was getting so skinny that I was really starting to doubt if I could survive.’
She suffered sunburn, a broken leg after falling 20 foot on the third day and lost her shoes during a flash flood four days into her ordeal in the thick forest. She survived by sleeping in a boar’s den.
Helicopter search crews say they made eye contact with Eller after spotting her lying in a stream bed and video from the scene shows they were all lifted to safety
Amanda went missing on May 8 after leaving her phone behind while hiking in the Makawao Forest Reserve trail in Maui. She was found around four miles from where she had left her car
The rescuers spotted Eller from the helicopter around 5pm local time.
Lead searcher Chris Berquist told The Maui News: ‘I’ve seen that girl every day for the last two weeks about 100 times a day. There was no mistake it was her. Even from 200 feet, we knew.’
Javier Cantellops, who was also in the helicopter, added: ‘As soon as we made eye contact, we knew.’
‘We found her in a stream bed, she was waving up at us while we were in the helicopter, and we got her out nice and safe,’ Berquist told ABC News.
Pictures show Eller was left with sunburned feet and wearing the same white top she had gone missing in.
Her dad John told The Star Advertiser: ‘She was smart. She was strong. She was prepared. We said that at the beginning and it was absolutely true.
‘She was prepared for this. She was prepared for it her whole life.’
He added: ”We were beginning to lose hope. When I got the call at first I thought they were joking, I almost just couldn’t believe it. The terrain here is unbelievable. In those woods it’s so easy to get disoriented, to get lost.’
Childhood Katie York said: ‘The cold was what she said was the worst. She slept in a boar den and covered herself with ferns and anything she could get her hands on.
‘The main thing she wanted was for the rains to hold off so that she wouldn’t be cold and drinking muddy water.’
Family friend, Sarah Haynes, told the station that Eller was found in a ravine near Twin Falls.
Berquist said Eller was ‘in deep deep H’aiku’ and was discovered ‘several miles above Twin Falls’.
As soon as they got her into the helicopter she was able to speak to her father and give her family the much needed relief of their daughter being found alive.
‘She was very alert, she knew her father’s phone number, she knew who she was, where she was, knew exactly how long she had been out there – very surprised to see us,’ Berquist told ABC.
Once rescuers landed, Eller was taken to Maui Memorial Hospital by an ambulance.
Amada was hoisted to safety with just ‘little bit of sunburn’ and images posted online appear to show her damaged feet
Last week, Eller’s boyfriend, Benjamin Konkol (left), said he wasn’t giving up hope because he believed Eller (right) was still in the forest. And he was right
At the time, Konkol (center and Eller, right) said that ‘there’s very strong evidence pointing to yeah she’s definitely still here, we just haven’t found her yet’
At the time of her disappearance, Eller had gone hiking without her phone and was last seen by Konkol. The couple are pictured together here
Last week, Eller’s boyfriend, Benjamin Konkol, said he wasn’t giving up hope because he believed she was still in the forest.
And he was right.
At the time of her disappearance, Eller had gone hiking without her phone and was last seen by Konkol.
Konkol told ABC News last week that ‘there’s very strong evidence pointing to yeah she’s definitely still here, we just haven’t found her yet’.
Authorities also released surveillance footage last week that showed Eller wearing workout gear, stopping at the Ha’iku Post Office and a store on the morning she went missing.
In the footage she was seen mailing a Mother’s Day package and buying water and energy bars.
Surveillance footage was also released last week and showed Eller wearing workout gear, stopping at the Ha’iku Post Office and a store on the morning she went missing
She was also seen mailing a Mother’s Day package and buying water and energy bars (she’s pictured at the store)
After she was reported missing, Maui Police found Eller’s car in the parking lot of the Makawao Forest Reserve trail. She had left her cellphone and wallet in the car before setting off on a hike
Her family initially feared that she could have been ‘intercepted’ by someone involved in her disappearance.
Eller, who is originally from Maryland, works as a physical therapist and yoga instructor. She lives and practices in Haiku.
Police found her white Toyota RAV4 in a nearby parking lot after she was reported missing. They also found her cellphone and wallet.
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Hundreds of volunteers have combed the island for the missing woman in a search that has included tracking dogs, helicopters and drones.
Her family had asked for experienced hikers and hunters to help look for her in the densely-covered forest.
Eller’s parents initially offered a $10,000 reward for tips that help bring the missing hiker home. It was raised to $50,000 earlier on Friday.
Eller’s parents initially offered a $10,000 reward for tips that help bring the missing hiker home. It was raised to $50,000 earlier on Friday
Her dad John, pictured with Amanda, called his daugther ‘smart’ and ‘strong’
During their investigation, police sealed off the parking lot where Eller’s car was found (left) and dusted the vehicle for fingerprints
Hundreds of volunteers (pictured) have combed the island for the missing woman in a search that has included tracking dogs, helicopters and drones
Her mother, Julia, also flew into Maui from her home in North Carolina to help with the search a little over a week ago. At the time she told KITV4: ‘This a mother’s worst nightmare and it has been an emotional roller-coaster.
‘I’ve tried to stay positive. If I let myself get mired in self pity of how terrible this is, kontol I can’t help her if I’m caught up in that.
‘She is an inspiration to me, particularly since I’ve been on my own personal journey lately.’
During their initial investigation, police towed Eller’s car away from the scene to dust for fingerprints in hopes it would shed light on what happened.
At the time, they found her car key hidden under the driver’s side front tire.
Haynes said that it was typical for Eller to unplug and run or hike without her phone.
She said after Eller’s disappearance that her friend is cheerful and well-loved, with no mental health issues or other reasons she may want to disappear or harm herself.
During their investigation, police said there was never any evidence of foul play.
Eller’s (center) mother, Julia (second from right), also flew into Maui from her home in North Carolina to help with the search a little over a week ago.
At the time she said: ‘This a mother’s worst nightmare and it has been an emotional roller-coaster’
Sarah Haynes, Eller’s friend who ran the ‘Find Amanda’ Facebook page, said Eller (pictured) survived for 17 days off of water and plants
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