[ad_1]
WAILUKU, Hawaii (AP) – A woman from Hawaii, found alive in a forest on the island of Maui after disappearing more than two weeks ago, said she sometimes had trouble not to give up.
Amanda Eller told the New York Times that despite these moments, she said to herself "the only option I had was life or death".
"I heard that voice that said," If you want to live, keep going. "And as soon as I doubt my intuition and try to go other than telling me, something will stop me, a branch would fall on me, I would plug my toe or I would stumble, "said Eller. , 35, physical therapist and yoga instructor. "So, I said to myself, OK, there is only one solution." "
Eller was found injured on Friday in the Makawao Forest Reserve.
Eller, who comes from the city of Haiku, Maui, was reported missing on May 8. His white Toyota RAV4 was found in the forest parking lot with his phone and wallet inside.
Hundreds of volunteers have looked for him. Eller's parents offered a $ 10,000 reward to encourage people to find her.
Eller told The Times that she intended to take a short walk down a path. She left the trail at some point to rest and, when she resumed the hike, she returned.
"I wanted to go back, but my instinct was driving me differently – and I have a very strong instinct," said Eller. "So, I said, my car is like that and I will continue until I reach it."
She said that she was constantly trying to get back in her car but ended up getting deeper into the jungle.
During her ordeal, she fell off a cliff, which led her to fracture her leg and tear the knee meniscus, said a friend, Katie York, to the Times.
After the fall, she had trouble walking, said Eller. She also had trouble finding food.
"I was so skinny that I really started to wonder if I could survive," Eller said.
Finally, after 17 days of wandering, she saw a helicopter that had been sent to find her.
"I looked up and they were right over me," Eller told The Times. "I was like, 'Oh my God,' and I broke down and started crying."
Javier Cantellops said he was looking for Eller in a helicopter, accompanied by Chris Berquist and Troy Helmers, after noticing him around 3:45 pm. Friday near the Kailua Reservoir, according to Maui Police Department spokesman, Lt. Gregg Okamoto, and the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Cantellops told the newspaper that she was in the bed of a creek with waterfalls on each side.
He told CNN he saw Eller waving his hands in front of the helicopter.
"It was amazing, man," Cantellops said. "To see her for the first time in a long time was incredible, it was nothing exalted."
Eller was in an area of dense vegetation, he said. "This vegetation is so thick, it's a miracle we've seen," Cantellops told CNN.
The Maui fire department took Eller to a hospital for assessment, Okamoto said in a statement.
Her mother, Julia, told the Maui News that Amanda Eller had survived by staying near a water source and eating wild raspberries and strawberry guavas. She even ate some moths, said Julia Eller.
Her daughter tried to catch crayfish, but she was "not very successful," Julia Eller said.
"She lost a lot of weight, as you can imagine, for such a long time," said Julia Eller. "But she was able to survive, she had the right skills and did the work to save time so we could find her."
Amanda Eller had a broken leg, ankle abrasions and a violent sunburn, but Julia Eller told the Maui News that her daughter 's state of mind was good.
"And all these things are treatable," said Julia Eller.
[ad_2]
Source link