Amanda Eller, seen with some of those who found her. According to her father, Eller arrived at hospital ‘pretty banged up, but mentally in perfect shape’. Photograph: Javier Cantellops/findamanda

Woman found alive after living in a forest for two weeks

Amanda Eller, 35, from Maui has been missing for 17 days and was found alive on Friday. Eller survived in a dense forest by sleeping in a boar’s den and eating wild fruit and two moths at one occasion.

Eller was reported missing by her boyfriend, Ben Konkol, on 9 May after she did not return home for dinner the previous evening. The search involved thousands of volunteers, police, free divers, firefighters, and search dogs. Katie York, Eller’s childhood friend flew from Maryland to join the searchers for more than a week and a half.

Eller was found in the area of North Maui where temperature can drop to 15C. She said the cold was the worst not to mention that she was wearing only a white tank top, a sports bra and a pair of yoga pants. She had to walk with bare foot since a flash flood washed away her shoes.

John Eller, Amanda Eller’s father said that Amanda arrived at the hospital not in really good shape in terms of appearance but mentally in perfect shape. The family got help from gofundme and wanted to use the leftover money over more than $76,000 to make Maui trailheads more safe for hikers by providing security cameras in case of disappearance.