‘We Need a Aircraft to Locate Them’: 13-Year-Old’s Distress Call to Save Relatives Stranded Off Down Under Coast Revealed

“We ended up adrift out there,” the teenager tells the emergency operator, after swimming 2.5 miles in treacherous, the sea and sprinting two kilometres to secure help for his household.

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

“[It] was a very long time ago … I think they’re a long way from land. I think we must get a chopper to search for them,” he reports.

Authorities have released the emergency phone call made previously after the boy departed from his family adrift at sea off the WA coast to find rescuers.

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

“I have no idea about what their state is right now, and I’m really scared,” he informs the person on the line.

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

The Harrowing Ordeal

The family group had been swept 2.5 miles out to sea in treacherous conditions while using kayaks and paddleboards.

His mother urged him to use his craft and get assistance, so the boy commenced, ditching first his failing kayak then his unwieldy PFD to cover the remaining stretch.

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

“Hello, my name is Austin … I have younger 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 ambulance because I think I have hypothermia … I’m really, I’m extremely tired. I have hyperthermia, and I feel like I’m about to pass out.”

A Vacation Gone Wrong

The holidaymakers was on vacation in Quindalup, 200km south of Perth. They began their trip from Geographe Bay some time after 10am on a Friday in late January.

The mother later recalled that they were having fun when the children “ventured out too far”. The conditions worsened, they dropped their paddles, and started floating away.

“It sort of all became dangerous very, very quickly,” she noted.

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

“I knew he was the best swimmer and he had the ability to succeed,” she commented.

The Successful Mission

The youth described being “extremely winded”.

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

The call for help was made at around 6pm.

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

The recording was shared with the parents' permission.

A senior officer who managed the operation said the group was in an “desperately dangerous position”.

“They were in real trouble, and time was of the essence given how long they had been in the water and with daylight fading.

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

The commander also commended how the teenager effectively communicated critical information.

When asked to describe the boards for the search crew, the youth replied: “They were a green and white colour.”

“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.”