We Require a Chopper to Locate Them’: Adolescent’s Urgent Plea to Aid Relatives Adrift Off Aussie Coast Unveiled

“We ended up adrift out there,” a 13-year-old boy explains to the triple-zero dispatcher, having swum 4km in treacherous, the sea and sprinting 2km to get assistance for his kin.

The operator asks how long has passed since he began.

“[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re a long way from land. I think we need a chopper to go find them,” he states.

Emergency services have made public the distress call made in recent weeks after the boy departed from his family drifting at sea off the Western Australian coast to find rescuers.

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

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

“Mum said go get help … We were in massive trouble.”

The Harrowing Ordeal

The mother and children had been pulled four kilometres out to sea in stormy conditions while kayaking and paddleboarding.

His mother urged him to set out and get assistance, so the youth set off, ditching first his failing kayak then his unwieldy PFD to cover the remaining stretch.

After making it to shore – four hours later – he raced for 2km to get to a mobile phone.

“Hello, my name is Austin … I have younger siblings, Beau and Grace. Beau is 12 and Grace is eight,” he tells 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 exposure … I’m really, I’m utterly fatigued. I have hyperthermia, and I feel like I’m about to collapse.”

A Getaway in Peril

The family was on vacation in Quindalup, two hundred kilometres south of Perth. They set off from Geographe Bay following 10am on a Friday in late January.

The parent later recalled that they were enjoying themselves when the young ones “ventured out too far”. The conditions worsened, they were separated from their equipment, and started drifting.

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

The mother also referenced having to make “one of the hardest decisions” to instruct her son to swim ashore.

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

The Successful Mission

The teenager explained being “very puffed out”.

“I just pressed on, I do breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do elementary backstroke,” he recalled.

The emergency call was made at approximately 6pm.

At roughly 8.30pm, ten hours after they first began, the family were located and saved. They had been carried about fourteen kilometres out to sea.

The recording was released with the family’s permission.

A police sergeant who coordinated the rescue mission 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 night approaching.

“What Austin did was truly remarkable. His bravery and courage in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a rescue.”

The commander also highlighted how the boy effectively communicated key facts.

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

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