A hiker who'd been missing for more than two weeks in Hawaii has been found alive.
Hundreds of volunteers were looking for her, but it wasn't until rescuers decided to search a completely different area that they got lucky.
"The last 17 days of my life have been the toughest days of my life.
Speaking publicly for the first time from her hospital bed, Amanda Eller describes the fear she faced while being lost in a Hawaiian rain forest for more than two weeks.
"I did come down to life and death, and I had to choose. And I chose life."
She was airlifted to safety Friday after rescuers found her trapped in a ravine with injuries to both of her feet.
"I was crying with tears of joy. You know I'm just so incredibly grateful to have my girl home,” says her mother.
Amanda's mother, Julia, traveled to the island of Maui after her daughter disappeared.
“They said for what she had been through, she was in surprisingly good shape.”
Rescuers say Amanda lost 20 pounds while she was in the rainforest. She survived by foraging for berries and fruit.
“She had a waterfall, she had access to water she never even thought that there'd be national news and $50,000 rewards,” says friend Sarah Haynes.
Amanda was reported missing on May 9th after her car was found near a trail where she often hiked. Surveillance video showed her shopping at a store, hours before she disappeared but there were no other clues.
Hundreds of volunteers canvased the area for week but it wasn't until Friday, when rescuers decided to search a completely different area from the air that they found Amanda, three miles from the area where she disappeared.
"I have the most gratitude and respect and appreciation. I can't even put into words for the people that have helped me. For the people that have prayed for me,” says Amanda.
Rescuers say that Amanda told that she had only planned on taking a short hike. But she got lost and couldn't find her way back to her car. She is now expected to make a full recovery.
(CBS News)
