We Require a Aircraft to Locate Them’: Adolescent’s Urgent Plea to Aid Family Adrift Off Australian Coast Revealed

“We ended up adrift out there,” the teenager tells the triple-zero dispatcher, having swum 4km in choppy, the sea and sprinting 1.25 miles to secure help for his household.

The call taker inquires 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 must get a helicopter to search for them,” he reports.

Emergency services have disclosed the recorded plea made previously after the boy left his relatives drifting at sea off the WA coast to fetch help.

His demeanour remains clear and calm, even as he voices his worry for his family members.

“I have no idea about what their state is right now, and I’m terrified,” he informs the operator.

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

The Harrowing Ordeal

The holidaymakers had been swept 2.5 miles out to sea in stormy conditions while kayaking and paddleboarding.

His mum instructed him to set out and find help, so the youth set off, abandoning first his failing kayak then his unwieldy PFD to cover the remaining stretch.

After reaching land – following a four-hour swim – he ran for 1.25 miles to get to a cell phone.

“Hello, my name is Austin … I have a brother and sister, 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 mention – I think I need an ambulance because I think I have exposure … I’m really, I’m completely exhausted. I have hyperthermia, and I feel like I’m about to pass out.”

A Vacation Gone Wrong

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

The woman later described that they were having fun when the children “went out a bit too far”. The breeze strengthened, they dropped their paddles, and started being carried out.

“It sort of all turned bad very, very quickly,” she remarked.

The parent also referenced having to make “a terribly difficult call” to send her son to make the swim for help.

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

The Successful Mission

The boy explained being “extremely winded”.

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

The distress call was made at about 6pm.

At around 8.30pm, many hours after they first began, the stranded individuals were found and brought to safety. They had been carried about fourteen kilometres out to sea.

The recording was made public with the parents' 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 much time they had been in the water and with daylight fading.

“What Austin did was incredibly brave. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a successful outcome.”

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

When asked to describe the equipment for the authorities, the youth replied: “They were coloured green and white.”

“And I’m not sure if it’s there, but they had this fishing line, and there was a catch on the line. As we managed to catch a fish.”