We Must Have a Aircraft to Locate Them’: Adolescent’s Distress Call to Save Loved Ones Adrift Off Aussie Coast Revealed

“We ended up adrift out there,” the teenager tells the 000 call handler, having swum 2.5 miles in treacherous, open water and sprinting 2km to secure help for his family.

The operator inquires how long has elapsed since he set off.

“[It] was a very long time ago … I think they’re a long way from land. I think we need a helicopter to search for them,” he states.

Authorities have made public the recorded plea made previously after the youth departed from his family drifting at sea off the WA coast to seek assistance.

His voice remains lucid and collected, even as he details his concern for his family.

“I have no idea about what their condition is right now, and I’m really scared,” he confides in the operator.

“Mum said to seek assistance … We were in serious danger.”

The Harrowing Ordeal

The mother and children had been pulled 2.5 miles out to sea in treacherous conditions while enjoying water sports.

His mother instructed him to take his kayak and get assistance, so the boy began, discarding first his failing kayak then his unwieldy PFD to cover the remaining stretch.

After making it to shore – following a four-hour swim – he ran for 2km to access 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 explains the operator.

“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 a dangerously low body temperature … I’m really, I’m utterly fatigued. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to faint.”

A Vacation Gone Wrong

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

The mother later described that they were having fun when the children “went out a bit too far”. The conditions worsened, they dropped their paddles, and started drifting.

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

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

“I knew he was the best swimmer and he was able to manage it,” she said.

The Rescue Effort

The youth explained being “completely out of breath”.

“I just keep swimming, I do the breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do a floating stroke,” he explained.

The call for help was made at approximately 6pm.

At roughly 8.30pm, ten hours after they first set out, the stranded individuals were located and saved. They had drifted about 14km out to sea.

The emergency call was made public with the mother’s permission.

A forward commander who managed the search and rescue effort said the family was in an “desperately dangerous position”.

“They were in serious jeopardy, and time was extremely pressing given how long they had been in the water and with night approaching.

“What the teenager did was nothing short of extraordinary. His heroic actions in those conditions were exceptional, and his actions were instrumental in bringing about a positive result.”

The officer also praised how the teenager calmly conveyed critical information.

When asked to identify the paddleboards for the authorities, the boy said: “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 on there. Since we caught one.”