‘We Need a Aircraft to Search For Them’: Teenager’s Urgent Plea to Rescue Loved Ones Stranded Off Down Under Coast Disclosed

“We ended up adrift out there,” a 13-year-old boy explains to the triple-zero dispatcher, having swum 4km in choppy, open ocean and sprinting two kilometres to summon rescue for his household.

The operator questions how long has elapsed since he started out.

“[It] was a very long time ago … I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we must get a chopper to locate them,” he reports.

Emergency services have disclosed the recorded plea made last month after the teen departed from his relatives drifting at sea off the WA coast to fetch help.

His voice remains clear and calm, even as he expresses his concern for his kin.

“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 serious danger.”

The Dangerous Incident

The family group had been pulled 4km out to sea in rough conditions while enjoying water sports.

His mother instructed him to use his craft and find help, so the boy began, discarding first his failing kayak then his unwieldy PFD to swim the distance.

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 younger siblings, Beau and Grace. Beau is 12 and Grace is eight,” he states the emergency services.

“I’m located on the beach right now, and I have to also explain – I think I need an medical help because I think I have hypothermia … I’m really, I’m extremely tired. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to pass out.”

A Holiday Turned Crisis

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

The woman later explained that they were playing around when the children “ventured out too far”. The wind picked up, they were separated from their equipment, and started being carried out.

“It kind of all turned bad very, very quickly,” she said.

The parent also spoke of having to make “an incredibly tough choice” to ask her son to make the swim for help.

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

The Rescue Effort

The youth described being “completely out of breath”.

“I just pressed on, I do the breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do survival backstroke,” he recalled.

The distress call was made at approximately 6pm.

At roughly 8.30pm, ten hours after they first departed, the stranded individuals were found and brought to safety. They had floated about 9 miles out to sea.

The audio was shared with the family’s permission.

A forward commander who oversaw the rescue mission said the family was in an “desperately dangerous position”.

“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 teenager did was truly remarkable. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were exceptional, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a successful outcome.”

The commander also highlighted how the boy calmly conveyed vital details.

When asked to describe the paddleboards for the authorities, the teenager replied: “They were a green and white colour.”

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