Skip to main content

FM
Former Member

‘One tough ass woman!’ Yoga instructor found alive after 17 days in Maui forest

Amanda Eller, who vanished more than two weeks ago, was found Friday, sunburned, smiling and 20 pounds lighter

Amanda Eller, sunburned, blistered and smiling, with one of her rescuers, Javier Cantellops.Javier Cantellops / Facebook

Amanda Eller, who ventured into a dense forest in Hawaii more than two weeks ago and vanished, was found alive Friday, sunburned and smiling.

Eller, 35, a physical therapist and yoga instructor who lives in Hawaii, parked outside Makawao Forest Reserve for a hike, leaving her keys, phone and wallet behind. She was reported missing May 8, triggering a massive search that drew scores of volunteers after authorities scaled back their efforts.

The relentless operation paid off. A helicopter search team, contracted by her families, spotted her from the air four miles from her car, gaunt but alive after surviving on plants and water, a friend told KITV. She was airlifted to a hospital.

“She figured it out, she was smart, she was strong, she was prepared. We said that in the beginning and it was absolutely true,” said her father John Eller, KITV reported.

Eller said his daughter “took a good fall,” and got lost after looking for a way back, he told reporters outside a hospital in a video posted by Maui 24/7.

“They found her in a deep ravine, basically unable to get out, as I understand it,” he said. “The rescuers had to be airlifted out as well, because it was so tumultuous.”

Searchers Troy Helmer, Javier Cantellops and Chris Berquist spotted Eller from the air, foraging for food without shoes or socks.

“I’ve been looking at pictures of that girl 100 times a day. It was no mistake that it was her,” Berquist said, KHON reported. “We were freaking out. We were trying not to trip over ourselves trying to get to her too fast.”

Amanda Eller, 35, was reported missing May 8 in Makawao Forest Reserve after leaving her keys, phone and wallet behind. Google Earth

Helmer told KHON that Eller was about 20 pounds underweight.

Her father said she had abrasions and sun exposure but no broken bones.

Photos posted to Facebook show her ankles swollen and legs covered in severe blisters.

Cantellops posted photos and videos of the search effort, gliding over canopies in a forest thick with creeks, ravines and brush that complicated search efforts. He took a photograph with Eller, eyes wide open and lips blistered.

“Amanda Eller you are one tough ass woman!!!” Cantellops wrote on Facebook. “We are all blown away at your barefoot resilience!!!”

Searchers spotted Amanda Eller from the air, foraging for food without shoes or socks. Her ankles were swollen and her legs covered in severe blisters. Javier Cantellops / Facebook

Replies sorted oldest to newest

Clearly a hoax, how can you get lost for 2 weeks in a 3.7 sq mile forest reserve?  Keep walking in one direction following the moon, sun and you would be out of 3.7sq miles in a jiffy. A similar scam was pulled in St lucia where the "survivor" claimed to have eaten bananas to "survive".

FM

She probably had some wild mushrooms. I remember this guy got lost in canje creek back savanahs for 5 days when he eat some kind of wild fruit and hallucinate. He swore some bush jumbie was leading him on. He describe he would see people, houses and vehicle in a distance and would disappear as he gets closer.

 

sachin_05
sachin_05 posted:

She probably had some wild mushrooms. I remember this guy got lost in canje creek back savanahs for 5 days when he eat some kind of wild fruit and hallucinate. He swore some bush jumbie was leading him on. He describe he would see people, houses and vehicle in a distance and would disappear as he gets closer.

 

Iman use fo know a joke about bein lost for five days in a bush.

But you know, that musbe some real serious irie mushroom that banna ate, there is nothing like seein shit that aint there....yeassss

cain

Add Reply

×
×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×
×