We Require a Chopper to Search For Them’: 13-Year-Old’s Distress Call to Save Loved Ones Adrift Off Down Under Coast Unveiled

“We became disoriented out there,” the teenager explains to the triple-zero dispatcher, having swum four kilometres in choppy, open water and running two kilometres to get assistance for his kin.

The dispatcher questions how long has passed since he started out.

“[It] was a very long time ago … I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we need a helicopter to search for them,” he reports.

Authorities have disclosed the emergency phone call made last month after the boy departed from his relatives floating at sea off the WA coast to fetch help.

His demeanour remains lucid and collected, even as he expresses his fear for his family.

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

“Mum said to seek assistance … We were in grave peril.”

The Perilous Situation

The mother and children had been pulled 2.5 miles out to sea in rough conditions while enjoying water sports.

His parent instructed him to use his craft and locate rescue, so the youth commenced, abandoning first his failing kayak then his bulky flotation device to make the journey by swimming.

After reaching land – after an extensive period – he sprinted for 2km to access a phone.

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

“I’m located on the beach right now, and I have to also add – I think I need an medical help because I think I have hypothermia … I’m really, I’m completely exhausted. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to pass out.”

A Getaway in Peril

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

The woman later described that they were having fun when the kids “drifted further than intended”. The conditions worsened, they dropped their paddles, 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 ask her son to swim to land.

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

The Successful Mission

The boy described being “completely out of breath”.

“I just continued swimming, I do the breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do survival backstroke,” he recalled.

The call for help was made at about 6pm.

At around 8.30pm, a full ten hours after they first began, the group were found and brought to safety. They had drifted about fourteen kilometres out to sea.

The recording was released with the family’s permission.

A police sergeant who oversaw the search and rescue effort said the family was in an “extremely dire situation”.

“They were in serious jeopardy, and time was absolutely critical given how long they had been in the water and with light running out.

“What Austin did was truly remarkable. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were instrumental in bringing about a positive result.”

The sergeant also praised how the teenager effectively communicated critical information.

When asked to identify the paddleboards for the rescue team, the teenager replied: “They were coloured green and white.”

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