We Require a Chopper to Locate Them’: Adolescent’s Distress Call to Save Loved Ones Stranded Off Australian Coast Disclosed

“We got lost out there,” a 13-year-old boy informs the 000 call handler, after swimming 2.5 miles in rough, the sea and running two kilometres to get assistance for his kin.

The operator questions how long has gone by since he set off.

“[It] was ages past … I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we must get a helicopter to go find them,” he says.

Police have released the recorded plea made in recent weeks after the boy departed from his loved ones floating at sea off the West Australian coast to find rescuers.

His voice remains clear and calm, even as he expresses his concern for his family members.

“I don’t know what their state is right now, and I’m terrified,” he tells the dispatcher.

“Mum said go get help … We were in serious danger.”

The Harrowing Ordeal

The mother and children had been carried 4km out to sea in treacherous conditions while using kayaks and paddleboards.

His parent urged him to take his kayak and find help, so the boy began, discarding first his failing kayak then his bulky flotation device to swim the distance.

After reaching land – four hours later – he sprinted for two kilometres to retrieve a cell phone.

“Hello, my name is Austin … I have two siblings, Beau and Grace. Beau is 12 and Grace is eight,” he states the emergency services.

“I’m located on the beach right now, and I have to also explain – I think I need an medical help because I think I have a dangerously low body temperature … I’m really, I’m completely exhausted. I have hyperthermia, and I feel like I’m about to pass out.”

A Holiday Turned Crisis

The family was on vacation in Quindalup, two hundred kilometres south of Perth. They set off from Geographe Bay following 10am on a Friday in late January.

The mother later explained that they were playing around when the young ones “ventured out too far”. The conditions worsened, they lost their oars, and started drifting.

“It pretty much all turned bad very, very quickly,” she noted.

The mother also referenced having to make “a terribly difficult call” to ask her son to make the swim for help.

“I knew he was the most capable and he was able to manage it,” she commented.

The Successful Mission

The teenager recalled being “completely out of breath”.

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

The emergency call was made at about 6pm.

At roughly 8.30pm, a full ten hours after they first set out, the stranded individuals were located and saved. They had drifted about fourteen kilometres out to sea.

The audio was released with the family’s permission.

A senior officer who managed the operation said the family was in an “extremely dire situation”.

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

“What the boy did was incredibly brave. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were instrumental in bringing about a successful outcome.”

The commander also commended how the boy clearly relayed critical information.

When asked to detail the boards for the authorities, the youth replied: “They were coloured green and white.”

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