Lost in paradise in Maui forest: Search and safety efforts

Tall trees line the dense Makawao Forest Reserve, which covers about 2,000 acres in northeast Maui. The father of hiker Amanda Eller, who was found alive after going missing for 17 days off a trail she had never visited, said Thursday that he aims to use remaining search effort donations to install video cameras in the reserve. FRANK DEUTSCH photo

MAKAWAO — Less than a week after hiker Amanda Eller was found alive, her family launched what they are calling “Phase 2 of the Find Amanda effort” — an initiative to enhance search-and-rescue operations through technology and to install cameras in Makawao Forest Reserve.

Meanwhile, counties in Hawaii are describing their search-and-rescue protocol, and a failed state Senate bill that would have required repayment from trespassers who needed rescue is gaining some discussion.

Eller went missing from May 8 to May 24 in the northeast Maui forestland. A multiagency search involving local police and fire was scaled back after three days per protocol, leading to one of the largest volunteer-based searches in recent Maui County history that averaged 100 searchers a day and amassing $77,000 in donations via GoFundMe.

A portion of GoFundMe donations went to helicopter and FLIR rental; poster printing, maps and copying expenses; base camp tents, tables, power sources, radio rentals; civilian search-and-rescue services beyond volunteer; ATV and quad rentals; and paid advertising, according to the family’s official FindAmanda Facebook page, which was started by family spokeswoman Sarah Haynes, who continues to serve as publicist.

“This initiative follows the completion of the Find Amanda search, where we expect to have some remaining funds available from the GoFundMe page here that will be used to provide cameras in the Makawao Forest Reserve and depending on how far that goes, possibly other areas as well,” Eller’s father, John, said via YouTube video Thursday. “These unmonitored areas that are potentially dangerous need to be monitored.”

John Eller, (left) Amanda Eller’s father and founder of tech company InSight Mobile Data, and Chris Berquist, lead searcher for Find Amanda volunteer effort, discuss the launch of an initiative to enhance search-and-rescue operations with technology and to install cameras at Makawao Forest Reserve on a YouTube video posted Thursday. YouTube photo

On Friday, Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources said it hadn’t received a formal request to install cameras on its state reserve land.

“We have not received any official requests for installation of these types of systems,” said DLNR spokesman Dan Dennison. “When and if we do, it will require further discussion at various levels within DOFAW (Department of Forestry and Wildlife) and DLNR and would require permitting.”

Led by volunteer searcher Chris Berquist, the “Phase 2” initiative is being funded by John Eller’s tech company, InSight Mobile Data, and “a newly formed foundation, yet to be named,” according to the page. “We are approaching this with the expectation that we can develop the initial capabilities and procure the necessary communications and IT equipment through an Eller family seed donation to the foundation & through InSight contributions of labor and software development resources.”

“Once operational, we are hopeful that the foundation will be able to sustain itself through donations,” the release added.

Technology, such as GPS, hiking apps, digital mappings and GIS, helped keep track of the searchers and the zones that had been cleared, which led to more effective management of the volunteer effort, John Eller said in the release. Volunteers on foot searched a 2-mile radius area, approximately 12 square miles, he said.

The Maui Fire Department extricated Amanda Eller on May 24, after police said she was spotted in the area of the Kailua reservoir at 3:45 p.m. Eller was taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center for treatment and was released May 26. Troy Helmer photo

Eller was found during a private helicopter survey about 5 to 7 miles northeast from the trailhead where her hike started. According to Javier Cantellops, one of the searchers aboard that helicopter, it was about 30 miles from the trailhead in walking distance.

“Some of these technologies that we developed to manage the whole search effort basically wound up serving us very, very well and led to a very efficient methodical ability to really clear areas,” John Eller said. “Prior to that, with the efforts of the police and fire and rescue it was basically pirate maps, hand-drawn maps with lines through it of cleared areas,” he said.

Fire Services Chief Rylan Yatsushiro on May 19 said the department used GPS in a limited capacity on the ground but used it during helicopter searches with an infrared camera. The flights were tracked and overlaid onto a map with the help of the county Planning Department’s GIS Section staff.

Eller’s discovery has gained widespread attention, generating coverage from around the world. At her first public account of her 17-day ordeal, she said she felt a shift in heart between the official search and the volunteer-led effort.

“I really appreciate the efforts of everybody on all levels that came out to rescue me,” she said during a Maui Memorial Medical Center news conference Tuesday in response to a question on the official search by Maui Alert’s Paul Aker. “There was a difference in feeling between the rescue efforts. And there was something that shifted within the first few days after the rescue efforts of the state stopped. I felt more heart.”

Creeks, streams, ravines, caves and brush fill the Makawao Forest Reserve, an Upcountry recreational area for hikers, mountain biking and hunting that’s managed by state Department of Land and Natural Resources. The family of hiker Amanda Eller, who was lost for 17 days after starting out on a trail she had never been on before, is proposing to use remaining GoFundMe search effort donations to install cameras at the reserve, which would require permitting. FRANK DEUTSCH photo

It is unclear what Eller meant by “heart.” Her publicist said she is not offering individual interviews at this time.

“What I ask is that this be taken more seriously, that missing people be taken more seriously, that on a state level, we are able to expand those policies so that we know that our tribe is taken care of,” she added at the news conference.

A survey last week of protocol in Hawaii counties showed that search-and-rescue efforts have similar time frames and limitations. County-funded official searches typically deploy first responders to the site to search an area by land, air and/or sea over a three-day period if no new leads emerge. The county often collaborates with other agencies. In Eller’s case, DLNR and DOFAW officials provided state reserve access, tents and volunteer search hours, according to state forestry program manager Lance De Silva. American Medical Response and Maui Search & Rescue also pitched in, Maui police Lt. Gregg Okamoto said.

Tips are taken and a police case remains open until the individual is found or until the family seeks a declaration of death, typically after a five- to seven-year period after a person remains missing.

“When assisting police with missing persons cases, we will actively search for an initial 72 hours based on all information and leads,” Yatsushiro said. “However, the investigative processes do not stop. Beyond 72 hours, active searches will recommence should further leads or information become available.”

The Honolulu Fire Department will search for three full days (daylight hours) and nearing the end of the third day a final assessment would be made with the Honolulu Police Department to determine if any new or additional information became available,” Honolulu Fire Capt. Scot Seguirant said. “If that information was available then the search could be extended, if not, then search operations would be suspended.”

Assistant Chief Darwin Okinaka said the Hawaii Fire Department is similar to other counties as far as guidance and considerations for extensions.

“However, for land-based searches, we search for five days as our base protocol,” he said. “Mainly daylight hours also, but depending on the circumstances, we may consider going into evening/nighttime hours also. Dependent on the intel that we receive, by the end of the fifth day, we would consider extensions accordingly.”

He added that fire works with police and depending on the type of incident, it would determine the lead agency if not a unified command.

For search and rescue, the Kauai Fire Department generally follows the protocol of providing air-land-ocean-based support during daylight hours, for an approximate 72-hour time frame, based on the totality of the circumstances, according to county spokeswoman Kim Tamaoka, adding that special considerations may require additional support.

“KFD and the Ocean Safety Bureau collaborate closely with other partners, including the U.S. Coast Guard, state DLNR, Lihue ARFF (Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighters) and PMRF (Pacific Missile Range Facility) Fire,” she said. “Local community knowledge is also considered.”

Senate Bill 248 would have required government agencies that engage in search-and-rescue operations to seek reimbursement when the rescued person “acted in disregard of that person’s safety, including intentionally disregarding a warning or notice.” It also would have increased the penalty for unlawfully entering or remaining on a trail that has been closed to the public.

Introduced by Maui Sens. Rosalyn Baker, Gilbert Keith-Agaran, along with other Hawaii lawmakers, the bill gained support with comments from state DLNR that acknowledged counties are the lead agencies in search-and-rescue efforts.

“Maybe by having this law it will help with trespassers and hold those who endanger their lives accountable for others that have to then put their lives on the line to save them,” said testifier Karin Nomura, who supported the bill.

SB 248 eventually failed in committee in February.

Maui Fire Department search-and-rescue efforts for the Eller incident cost $22,000 for search personnel, $8,000 for helicopter time and $4,000 for logistics, according to county Director of Communications Brian Perry.

Additional costs, such as following up on tips and other leads outside of search areas, were accrued, he said. But specific amounts for additional costs are not immediately available, Perry added.

Maui police, who administered polygraph tests, conducted investigations and gathered tips and leads, did not have financial information regarding the Eller case available by deadline.

* Kehaulani Cerizo can be reached at kcerizo@mauinews.com.

Abandoned junk piles up on a lot in Haiku as more people discretely add to it. The county, coordinating with the state, plans to remove the pile in a couple weeks. The Maui News / DAKOTA GROSSMAN photo

Broken refrigerators and stoves left on the side of Hana Highway are shown in this photo taken in April. Photo courtesy of Leilani Muller

Shopping carts filled with sleeping gear and other belongings are parked next to a Kamehameha Avenue bus stop Friday morning in Kahului. The police started a pilot program in Kahului on May 1 that focuses on diverting homeless people from jail into voluntary treatment.

A discarded electric range sits in the brush near the entrance to Waiehu Municipal Golf Course on Friday. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

The Maui News Maui County Department of Finance Director Scott Teruya was placed on administrative leave on last ...

Holy Innocents Episcopal Church, formerly on Front Street in Lahaina Town and destroyed by the fire, announced the ...

Yesterday, February 7, 2024, would have been my father’s 92nd birthday. I won’t wish him a “Happy Heavenly ...

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7rq3UoqWer6NjsLC5jqecsKtfobykrctmpZ6vo2R%2FcX2YaGdvZ5ykwLV5yKdkqZmilrGqv8Ro

PlogX

Lost in paradise in Maui forest: Search and safety efforts | News, Sports, Jobs