We Must Have a Chopper to Go Find Them’: 13-Year-Old’s Distress Call to Rescue Relatives Lost Off Aussie Coast Revealed

“We became disoriented out there,” the teenager informs the 000 call handler, following a swim 4km in choppy, open water and jogging two kilometres to secure help for his kin.

The dispatcher questions how long has passed 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 released the recorded plea made in recent weeks after the youth left his family adrift at sea off the West Australian coast to fetch help.

His voice remains steady and composed, even as he voices his concern for his family.

“I am unsure of what their condition is right now, and I’m really scared,” he confides in the person on the line.

“Mum said to find rescue … We were in grave peril.”

The Perilous Situation

The family group had been carried 2.5 miles out to sea in rough conditions while enjoying water sports.

His mum instructed him to take his kayak and get assistance, so the youth commenced, discarding first his sinking craft then his bulky flotation device to swim the distance.

After making it to shore – after an extensive period – he ran for 1.25 miles to retrieve a mobile phone.

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

“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 a dangerously low body temperature … I’m really, I’m completely exhausted. I have heatstroke, and I feel like I’m about to faint.”

A Holiday Turned Crisis

The group was on vacation in Quindalup, 125 miles south of Perth. They departed from Geographe Bay around 10am on a Friday in late January.

The woman later described that they were enjoying themselves when the children “ventured out too far”. The wind picked up, they lost their oars, and started floating away.

“It pretty much all went wrong very, very quickly,” she remarked.

The parent also described having to make “a terribly difficult call” to send her son to swim ashore.

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

The Search Operation

The teenager recalled being “completely out of breath”.

“I just keep swimming, I do breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do elementary backstroke,” he explained.

The emergency call was made at around 6pm.

At about 8.30pm, many hours after they first began, the group were spotted and rescued. They had floated about 9 miles out to sea.

The recording was made public with the family’s permission.

A police sergeant who oversaw the operation said the family was in an “incredibly perilous state”.

“They were in serious jeopardy, and time was extremely pressing given how much time they had been in the water and with daylight fading.

“What the boy did was truly remarkable. His heroic actions in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a rescue.”

The officer also highlighted how the youth calmly conveyed vital details.

When asked to describe the paddleboards for the rescue team, the boy responded: “They were coloured green and white.”

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