We Must Have a Chopper to Locate Them’: Teenager’s Emergency Call to Save Family Lost Off Aussie Coast Disclosed

“We ended up adrift out there,” a 13-year-old boy informs the 000 call handler, following a swim 2.5 miles in rough, open ocean and sprinting 2km to summon rescue for his kin.

The call taker questions how long has passed since he started out.

“[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we must get a chopper to locate them,” he reports.

Police have released the recorded plea made in recent weeks after the teen departed from his relatives drifting at sea off the WA coast to fetch help.

His tone remains clear and calm, even as he expresses his concern for his kin.

“I don’t know what their state is right now, and I’m extremely frightened,” he confides in the operator.

“Mum said to seek assistance … We were in grave peril.”

The Perilous Situation

The holidaymakers had been carried four kilometres out to sea in stormy conditions while using kayaks and paddleboards.

His parent urged him to set out and get assistance, so the teenager began, ditching first his failing kayak then his bulky flotation device to make the journey by swimming.

After reaching land – after an extensive period – he raced for 1.25 miles to get to a cell phone.

“Hello, my name is Austin … I have younger siblings, Beau and Grace. Beau is 12 and Grace is eight,” he tells the call handler.

“I’m located on the beach right now, and I have to also mention – I think I need an ambulance because I think I have hypothermia … I’m really, I’m extremely tired. I have heatstroke, and I feel like I’m about to faint.”

A Getaway in Peril

The holidaymakers was on a break in Quindalup, two hundred kilometres south of Perth. They departed from Geographe Bay around 10am on a Friday in late January.

The woman later described that they were enjoying themselves when the kids “drifted further than intended”. The conditions worsened, they dropped their paddles, and started drifting.

“It kind of all went wrong very, very quickly,” she remarked.

The parent also spoke of having to make “one of the hardest decisions” to ask her son to swim to land.

“I knew he was the strongest and he was able to manage it,” she said.

The Rescue Effort

The boy described being “very puffed out”.

“I just continued swimming, I do breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do survival backstroke,” he explained.

The distress call was made at approximately 6pm.

At roughly 8.30pm, a full ten hours after they first set out, the group were spotted and rescued. They had drifted about 14km out to sea.

The audio was released with the mother’s permission.

A forward commander who oversaw the search and rescue effort said the family was in an “incredibly perilous state”.

“They were in real trouble, and time was of the essence given how much time they had been in the water and with night approaching.

“What the boy did was nothing short of extraordinary. His heroic actions in those conditions were exceptional, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a rescue.”

The sergeant also praised how the boy effectively communicated vital details.

When asked to describe the equipment for the rescue team, the youth responded: “They were coloured green and white.”

“And I’m not sure if it’s still on, but they had this fishing line, and there was a fish hooked. Because we hooked one.”