Danielle Rousseau is the only surviving member of a research team that was stranded on the island in 1988 after its boat broke down and washed up on the island. She was discovered by the survivors of the Oceanic Flight 815 crash after Sayid was able to fix the plane's radio communication system and pick up a distress message that Rousseau put out 16 years earlier. The message has been repeating on a loop all that time and once Sayid is able to triangulate the frequencies he tracks down Rousseau's location on the island. Despite continuing to live in seclusion, Rousseau becomes something of an ally to the survivors, particularly in their confrontations with The Others.