‘We Need a Aircraft to Locate Them’: Adolescent’s Urgent Plea to Rescue Relatives Lost Off Aussie Coast Disclosed

“We became disoriented out there,” a 13-year-old boy informs the emergency operator, having swum four kilometres in rough, open water and jogging 1.25 miles to secure help for his family.

The operator questions how much time has passed since he started out.

“[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re a long way from land. I think we require a helicopter to go find them,” he says.

Emergency services have made public the emergency phone call made last month after the teen left his loved ones floating at sea off the WA coast to seek assistance.

His voice remains steady and composed, even as he voices his fear for his kin.

“I have no idea about what their status is right now, and I’m extremely frightened,” he confides in the person on the line.

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

The Harrowing Ordeal

The mother and children had been swept four kilometres out to sea in treacherous conditions while enjoying water sports.

His parent asked him to use his craft and locate rescue, so the boy began, discarding first his waterlogged vessel then his bulky flotation device to cover the remaining stretch.

After reaching land – following a four-hour swim – he sprinted for two kilometres 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 states the call handler.

“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 utterly fatigued. I have hyperthermia, and I feel like I’m about to faint.”

A Getaway in Peril

The holidaymakers was on vacation in Quindalup, 200km south of Perth. They set off from Geographe Bay following 10am on a Friday in late January.

The mother later described that they were having fun when the kids “went out a bit too far”. The conditions worsened, they were separated from their equipment, and started floating away.

“It pretty much all became dangerous very, very quickly,” she said.

The parent also referenced having to make “an incredibly tough choice” to instruct her son to swim to land.

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

The Successful Mission

The boy explained being “very puffed out”.

“I just pressed on, I do breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do survival backstroke,” he explained.

The distress call was made at about 6pm.

At around 8.30pm, many hours after they first set out, the group were located and saved. They had drifted about 14km out to sea.

The recording was released with the family’s permission.

A senior officer who coordinated the search and rescue effort said the family was in an “extremely dire situation”.

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

“What the teenager did was incredibly brave. His heroic actions in those conditions were astonishing, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a rescue.”

The commander also praised how the teenager clearly relayed vital details.

When asked to detail the paddleboards for the search crew, the youth replied: “They were coloured green and white.”

“And I’m not sure if it’s there, but they had this fishing line, and there was a fish on there. Since we managed to catch a fish.”