A "crucial factor" in locating the three individuals, according to the United States Coast Guard, was the sign. During their week-long ordeal, the forty-something sailors subsisted on coconuts. Three sailors were rescued from a small, uninhabited island in the Pacific after using palm tree leaves to construct a massive "HELP" sign. On Tuesday evening, the three individuals who had been stranded for over a week were located on Pikelot Atoll, which is a territory under the Federated States of Micronesia.