‘We Need a Helicopter to Go Find Them’: Teenager’s Emergency Call to Rescue Relatives Adrift Off Aussie Coast Revealed

“We got lost out there,” a 13-year-old boy informs the 000 call handler, following a swim four kilometres in choppy, open water and sprinting 2km to summon rescue for his household.

The dispatcher asks how much time has elapsed 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 made public the recorded plea made previously after the youth left his loved ones floating at sea off the West Australian coast to find rescuers.

His voice remains steady and composed, even as he details his concern for his kin.

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

“Mum said to seek assistance … We were in massive trouble.”

The Dangerous Incident

The holidaymakers had been pulled four kilometres out to sea in rough conditions while kayaking and paddleboarding.

His mum instructed him to use his craft and locate rescue, so the teenager commenced, ditching first his sinking craft then his unwieldy PFD to cover the remaining stretch.

After getting to the beach – after an extensive period – he raced for 1.25 miles 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 explains the call handler.

“I’m positioned on the beach right now, and I have to also mention – I think I need an paramedic because I think I have hypothermia … I’m really, I’m utterly fatigued. I have heatstroke, and I feel like I’m about to faint.”

A Getaway in Peril

The group was on a break in Quindalup, 200km south of Perth. They began their trip from Geographe Bay following 10am on a Friday in late January.

The mother later described that they were enjoying themselves when the children “ventured out too far”. The conditions worsened, they lost their oars, and started being carried out.

“It sort of all turned bad very, very quickly,” she remarked.

The mother also described having to make “one of the hardest decisions” to send her son to swim to land.

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

The Successful Mission

The teenager described being “very puffed out”.

“I just continued swimming, I do breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do elementary backstroke,” he recalled.

The emergency call was made at around 6pm.

At roughly 8.30pm, many hours after they first set out, the group were located and saved. They had been carried about fourteen kilometres out to sea.

The emergency call was shared with the family’s permission.

A senior officer who coordinated the rescue mission said the group was in an “incredibly perilous state”.

“They were in serious jeopardy, and time was of the essence 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 remarkable, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a positive result.”

The officer also praised how the youth effectively communicated key facts.

When asked to describe the paddleboards for the rescue team, the boy replied: “They were coloured 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. Because we managed to catch a fish.”