We Must Have a Chopper to Go Find Them’: Adolescent’s Distress Call to Rescue Family Stranded Off Aussie Coast Revealed

“We became disoriented out there,” a 13-year-old boy explains to the 000 call handler, after swimming four kilometres in choppy, the sea and running two kilometres to summon rescue for his household.

The call taker questions how long has elapsed since he began.

“[It] was ages past … I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we require a rescue aircraft to search for them,” he states.

Police have made public the distress call made last month after the youth left his relatives adrift at sea off the Western Australian coast to seek assistance.

His demeanour remains clear and calm, even as he voices his fear for his family members.

“I am unsure of what their status is right now, and I’m terrified,” he confides in the dispatcher.

“Mum said go get help … We were in grave peril.”

The Dangerous Incident

The holidaymakers had been carried 2.5 miles out to sea in treacherous conditions while using kayaks and paddleboards.

His parent asked him to set out and locate rescue, so the teenager commenced, ditching first his failing kayak then his bulky flotation device to cover the remaining stretch.

After getting to the beach – four hours later – he sprinted for 2km to get to a phone.

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

“I’m positioned on the beach right now, and I have to also explain – I think I need an paramedic because I think I have a dangerously low body temperature … I’m really, I’m extremely tired. I have hyperthermia, and I feel like I’m about to collapse.”

A Getaway in Peril

The family was on a break in Quindalup, 125 miles south of Perth. They began their trip from Geographe Bay some time after 10am on a Friday in late January.

The parent later recalled that they were playing around when the kids “went out a bit too far”. The wind picked up, they dropped their paddles, and started drifting.

“It kind of all turned bad very, very quickly,” she noted.

The parent also described having to make “a terribly difficult call” to instruct her son to make the swim for help.

“I knew he was the best swimmer and he could do it,” she stated.

The Rescue Effort

The teenager recalled being “completely out of breath”.

“I just keep swimming, I do the breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do a floating stroke,” he explained.

The call for help was made at about 6pm.

At about 8.30pm, a full ten hours after they first set out, the family were located and saved. They had been carried about fourteen kilometres out to sea.

The recording was released with the family’s permission.

A forward commander who coordinated the rescue mission said the group was in an “desperately dangerous position”.

“They were in genuine danger, and time was extremely pressing given how long they had been in the water and with daylight fading.

“What Austin did was incredibly brave. His bravery and courage in those conditions were exceptional, and his actions were instrumental in bringing about a successful outcome.”

The officer also commended how the boy effectively communicated critical information.

When asked to identify the paddleboards for the authorities, the boy replied: “They were green and white.”

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