We Must Have a Aircraft to Go Find Them’: Adolescent’s Distress Call to Save Family Lost Off Australian Coast Disclosed

“We became disoriented out there,” a 13-year-old boy informs the 000 call handler, having swum 2.5 miles in choppy, the sea and sprinting 2km to secure help for his household.

The operator inquires how much time has passed since he set off.

“[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re far offshore. I think we must get a helicopter to search for them,” he states.

Emergency services have made public the recorded plea made in recent weeks after the youth departed from his family floating at sea off the West Australian coast to find rescuers.

His tone remains clear and calm, even as he expresses his worry for his family.

“I am unsure of what their condition is right now, and I’m extremely frightened,” he tells the dispatcher.

“Mum said to find rescue … We were in serious danger.”

The Perilous Situation

The family group had been pulled 4km out to sea in rough conditions while enjoying water sports.

His mother asked him to take his kayak and locate rescue, so the youth began, abandoning first his waterlogged vessel then his unwieldy PFD to swim the distance.

After reaching land – after an extensive period – he ran for two kilometres to get to a phone.

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

“I’m sitting 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 sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to pass out.”

A Holiday Turned Crisis

The holidaymakers was on holiday in Quindalup, 125 miles south of Perth. They set off from Geographe Bay around 10am on a Friday in late January.

The woman later explained that they were enjoying themselves when the children “drifted further than intended”. The breeze strengthened, they lost their oars, and started floating away.

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

The mother also described having to make “an incredibly tough choice” to send her son to swim to land.

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

The Successful Mission

The boy recalled being “very puffed out”.

“I just continued swimming, I do the breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do elementary backstroke,” he explained.

The emergency call was made at around 6pm.

At around 8.30pm, a full ten hours after they first departed, the group were spotted and rescued. They had been carried about fourteen kilometres out to sea.

The recording was made public with the parents' permission.

A police sergeant who oversaw the search and rescue effort said the family was in an “desperately dangerous position”.

“They were in serious jeopardy, and time was of the essence given how long they had been in the water and with night approaching.

“What the boy did was nothing short of extraordinary. His bravery and courage in those conditions were exceptional, and his actions were instrumental in bringing about a positive result.”

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

When asked to identify the equipment for the authorities, the youth responded: “They were green and white.”

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