We Require a Helicopter to Locate Them’: Adolescent’s Distress Call to Rescue Family Stranded Off Aussie Coast Unveiled

“We ended up adrift out there,” a 13-year-old boy tells the triple-zero dispatcher, having swum 2.5 miles in choppy, open water and jogging 1.25 miles to summon rescue for his family.

The call taker asks how much time has passed since he began.

“[It] was a very long time ago … I think they’re far offshore. I think we require a chopper to locate them,” he states.

Police have made public the emergency phone call made in recent weeks after the teen departed from his family drifting at sea off the WA coast to fetch help.

His demeanour remains steady and composed, even as he details his worry for his family members.

“I am unsure of what their status is right now, and I’m terrified,” he tells the person on the line.

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

The Dangerous Incident

The mother and children had been carried 2.5 miles out to sea in rough conditions while using kayaks and paddleboards.

His parent asked him to use his craft and find help, so the boy began, abandoning first his sinking craft then his cumbersome lifejacket to cover the remaining stretch.

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

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

“I’m positioned 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 extremely tired. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to faint.”

A Vacation Gone Wrong

The family was on a break in Quindalup, 200km south of Perth. They departed from Geographe Bay around 10am on a Friday in late January.

The parent later recalled that they were enjoying themselves when the young ones “drifted further than intended”. The conditions worsened, they dropped their paddles, and started being carried out.

“It kind of all became dangerous very, very quickly,” she remarked.

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

“I knew he was the strongest and he was able to manage it,” she stated.

The Search Operation

The youth described being “extremely winded”.

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

The distress call was made at about 6pm.

At about 8.30pm, many hours after they first departed, the group were located and saved. They had drifted about 9 miles out to sea.

The emergency call was made public with the parents' permission.

A senior officer who managed the operation said the group was in an “incredibly perilous state”.

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

“What the boy did was incredibly brave. His heroic actions in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a positive result.”

The sergeant also highlighted how the youth clearly relayed key facts.

When asked to detail the equipment for the rescue team, the teenager replied: “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 catch on the line. Because we hooked one.”