Missing American Teen Sailor Found Alive and Well

A handout picture available on 25 January and provided by Sunderland organization shows Abby Sunderland, 16, waving to family and friends as she leaves from Marina Del Rey, California, USA on 23 February 2010 aiming to become the youngest person to sail a

Australian authorities have contacted with a 16-year-old American girl who triggered a distress signal while attempting to sail solo around the world, a spokesman for the girl's family said Friday.

Abby Sunderland triggered the signal Thursday during rough seas in the Indian Ocean.

"We know that Australian search and rescue has contacted her ... and she is alive and well," spokesman Christian Pinkston said early Friday morning, as cited by CNN. "We're waiting for a boat to rescue her in the next 24 hours."

Pinkston said a Quantas plane chartered to look for Sunderland was able to communicate with her via marine radio.

Sunderland's parents, Laurence and Marianne, wrote on her blog: "We have just heard from the Australian Search and Rescue. The plane arrived on the scene moments ago. Wild Eyes is upright but her rigging is down. The weather conditions are abating. Radio communication was made and Abby reports that she is fine!

"We don't know much else right now. The French fishing vessel that was diverted to her location will be there in a little over 24 hours. Where they will take her or how long it will take we don't know."

Earlier Friday, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority had taken over the search for Sunderland, noting the stormy seas that prompted her to activate her distress beacons had calmed.

"The weather is moderating. It is improving slightly," Carly Lusk of the AMSA said at the time. "Now, it's not perfect, but any improvement in the weather is a positive when you're looking at a search and rescue operation."

Sunderland's vessel is adrift in the middle of the Indian Ocean some 2,000 miles east of Madagascar, 2,000 miles west of Australia and 500 miles north of the French Antarctic Islands.

Abby has been on a schedule to complete her global journey about two months before her 17th birthday, which is on October 19.

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