‘We Need a Helicopter to Search For Them’: 13-Year-Old’s Urgent Plea to Aid Loved Ones Stranded Off Aussie Coast Disclosed

“We got lost out there,” the teenager explains to the 000 call handler, having swum 2.5 miles in rough, open water and running 2km to secure help for his household.

The dispatcher asks how much time has passed since he started out.

“[It] was a very long time ago … I think they’re far offshore. I think we must get a rescue aircraft to search for them,” he says.

Police have made public the recorded plea made last month after the boy departed from his family drifting at sea off the WA coast to find rescuers.

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

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

“Mum said go get help … We were in serious danger.”

The Dangerous Incident

The family group had been swept 2.5 miles out to sea in treacherous conditions while enjoying water sports.

His mother asked him to set out and find help, so the teenager set off, ditching first his failing kayak then his unwieldy PFD to swim the distance.

After reaching land – four hours later – he raced for 2km to retrieve 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 tells the call handler.

“I’m sitting on the beach right now, and I have to also add – I think I need an paramedic because I think I have a dangerously low body temperature … I’m really, I’m utterly fatigued. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to pass out.”

A Holiday Turned Crisis

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

The parent later explained that they were having fun when the kids “ventured out too far”. The breeze strengthened, they lost their oars, and started drifting.

“It pretty much all became dangerous very, very quickly,” she remarked.

The mother also spoke of having to make “an incredibly tough choice” to instruct her son to swim ashore.

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

The Search Operation

The teenager explained being “extremely winded”.

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

The emergency call was made at about 6pm.

At about 8.30pm, ten hours after they first departed, the stranded individuals were spotted and rescued. They had been carried about 9 miles out to sea.

The audio was released with the mother’s permission.

A police sergeant who managed the rescue mission said the group was in an “desperately dangerous position”.

“They were in real trouble, and time was extremely pressing 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 astonishing, and his actions were instrumental in bringing about a successful outcome.”

The officer also commended how the youth calmly conveyed critical information.

When asked to detail the boards for the rescue team, the teenager replied: “They were a green and white colour.”

“And I’m not sure if it’s still attached, but they had this rod, and there was a fish hooked. Because we caught one.”