We Require a Helicopter to Locate Them’: Teenager’s Distress Call to Rescue Relatives Adrift Off Aussie Coast Revealed

“We got lost out there,” a 13-year-old boy explains to the triple-zero dispatcher, following a swim four kilometres in choppy, open ocean and jogging two kilometres to get assistance for his household.

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

“[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re far offshore. I think we require a chopper to locate them,” he says.

Police have made public the distress call made last month after the teen departed from his loved ones drifting at sea off the Western Australian coast to find rescuers.

His demeanour remains steady and composed, even as he details his fear for his kin.

“I don’t know what their state is right now, and I’m extremely frightened,” he tells the operator.

“Mum said to find rescue … We were in massive trouble.”

The Harrowing Ordeal

The mother and children had been pulled four kilometres out to sea in stormy conditions while enjoying water sports.

His mother asked him to take his kayak and find help, so the boy commenced, ditching first his waterlogged vessel then his unwieldy PFD to swim the distance.

After getting to the beach – after an extensive period – he raced for 1.25 miles to access a mobile phone.

“Hello, my name is Austin … I have younger siblings, Beau and Grace. Beau is 12 and Grace is eight,” he explains the emergency services.

“I’m located on the beach right now, and I have to also mention – I think I need an medical help because I think I have exposure … I’m really, I’m completely exhausted. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to faint.”

A Vacation Gone Wrong

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

The parent later recalled that they were playing around when the young ones “drifted further than intended”. The breeze strengthened, they dropped their paddles, and started drifting.

“It pretty much all went wrong very, very quickly,” she noted.

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

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

The Rescue Effort

The teenager recalled being “very puffed out”.

“I just keep swimming, I do breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do elementary backstroke,” he said.

The call for help was made at around 6pm.

At around 8.30pm, a full ten hours after they first departed, the family were spotted and rescued. They had drifted about 9 miles out to sea.

The recording was released 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 light running out.

“What the boy 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 sergeant also praised how the youth clearly relayed vital details.

When asked to describe the boards for the search crew, the youth replied: “They were green and white.”

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