Daniel Lui and Janelle Alder
On March 1, 2023, pilot and medic Daniel Lui and nurse Janelle Alder left on a medical evacuation helicopter flight in the Southern Palawan region of the Philippines and disappeared while over the ocean. Searches so far have not yielded any conclusive evidence, and we are asking for your help to discover any information about Daniel and Janelle, the yellow helicopter, or the passengers Khayrun Nesa Sahibad, Nastru Sahibad, and Sug Hamja.
Daniel Lui
Daniel was the only helicopter pilot for the region. He was able to save many sick and injured people’s lives, who otherwise would die before getting access to medical care. Daniel was a very humble person, always willing to help others without recognition or payment. His goal was to... Learn more about Daniel
Janelle Alder
Janelle became a nurse and wanted to give her time to help people who needed medical service. She went to Palawan in the Philippines and served at a remote mountain clinic that was only accessible by foot or helicopter. Then she moved to the lowlands volunteering as a flight nurse... Learn more about Janelle
Janelle Alder
Janelle grew up in the United States, in the northern state of Alaska. She loved nature, outdoors, memorizing scripture, and serving God by helping others. She would bake loaves of bread and sell them, then use the income to support missions and also go on mission trips and help others. She lived her life serving others, as a result of deciding to give her life to God and follow his calling.
Janelle became a nurse and wanted to give her time to help people who needed medical service. She went to Palawan in the Philippines at age 21 and served at a remote mountain clinic that was only accessible by foot or helicopter. Here she connected with the local people as she visited with them, focusing on learning their language and building relationships in addition to her work in the clinic. Janelle spent time with local families at their homes during the week. She would go work with them in their fields, make meals with them and visit. When looking back on the impact Janelle made, some of the mountain people said they really appreciated her working with them. Others said that when they were hungry, she made food and shared it with them.
After nearly a year in the mountains, she moved to the lowlands near Brooke’s Point to volunteer as a flight nurse with PAMAS (Philippine Adventist Medical Aviation Services). Here she helped transport people who need medical help but cannot afford it, picking people up from remote communities and flying them to larger hospitals for medical care. From the trust built working with local communities, PAMAS was asked to open schools in remote mountain villages. Janelle loved visiting these schools and providing medical services to the students, along with Daniel as pilot of the yellow helicopter nicknamed “The Yellow Bee.” Her effort spent earlier in learning the Palawano language now paid off, as she was able to communicate with the school students and other patients from mountain communities.
Janelle was planning to marry another missionary and continue spending her life helping people in the Philippines, or wherever else God may lead her.
On March 1, 2023 Janelle flew as a flight nurse along with pilot Daniel on a helicopter medical evacuation mission to Mungsee Island in the south Sulu Sea between Philippines and Malaysia. On the return flight over the ocean, the helicopter suddenly stopped sending position reports and disappeared. Extensive search and rescue efforts did not locate a crash site or any of the people on board the helicopter. A sonar search of the ocean floor did not locate helicopter wreckage.
Janelle is dearly missed by her mother, father and four younger brothers as well as many people in Palawan and in the United States in whose lives she made a difference.
If you have any information about the possible whereabouts of Janelle, Daniel, or the yellow helicopter, please share it at link to tip form. Please also help spread the word to others to help us “Find the Yellow Bee” and its passengers.
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