We Must Have a Aircraft to Search For Them’: 13-Year-Old’s Urgent Plea to Rescue Relatives Stranded Off Down Under Coast Revealed

“We got lost out there,” the teenager informs the 000 call handler, after swimming 2.5 miles in rough, the sea and running 1.25 miles to secure help for his kin.

The dispatcher asks how long has elapsed since he set off.

“[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re far offshore. I think we need a rescue aircraft to search for them,” he says.

Emergency services have made public the recorded plea made last month after the teen left his relatives adrift at sea off the West Australian coast to seek assistance.

His demeanour remains lucid and collected, even as he expresses his concern for his family.

“I am unsure of what their state is right now, and I’m extremely frightened,” he informs the person on the line.

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

The Harrowing Ordeal

The holidaymakers had been carried four kilometres out to sea in stormy conditions while using kayaks and paddleboards.

His parent instructed him to set out and find help, so the youth set off, discarding first his sinking craft then his unwieldy PFD to make the journey by swimming.

After making it to shore – after an extensive period – he sprinted for 1.25 miles to get to a cell phone.

“Hello, my name is Austin … I have two siblings, Beau and Grace. Beau is 12 and Grace is eight,” he tells the operator.

“I’m positioned on the beach right now, and I have to also add – I think I need an paramedic because I think I have exposure … I’m really, I’m utterly fatigued. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to collapse.”

A Holiday Turned Crisis

The family was on a break in Quindalup, 125 miles south of Perth. They set off from Geographe Bay following 10am on a Friday in late January.

The mother later described that they were playing around when the kids “went out a bit too far”. The breeze strengthened, they lost their oars, and started floating away.

“It sort of all became dangerous very, very quickly,” she remarked.

The parent also referenced having to make “an incredibly tough choice” to send her son to swim to land.

“I knew he was the best swimmer and he could do it,” she stated.

The Rescue Effort

The youth recalled being “very puffed out”.

“I just continued swimming, I do the breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do a floating stroke,” he explained.

The call for help was made at about 6pm.

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

The emergency call was released with the family’s permission.

A forward commander who coordinated the rescue mission said the group was in an “incredibly perilous state”.

“They were in serious jeopardy, and time was of the essence given how much time they had been in the water and with night approaching.

“What the boy did was incredibly brave. His heroic actions in those conditions were exceptional, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a successful outcome.”

The commander also praised how the boy effectively communicated vital details.

When asked to detail the equipment for the search crew, the youth said: “They were coloured green and white.”

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