We Require a Helicopter to Locate Them’: 13-Year-Old’s Emergency Call to Rescue Family Lost Off Aussie Coast Disclosed

“We got lost out there,” young Austin Appelbee informs the 000 call handler, following a swim 4km in choppy, open water and sprinting 1.25 miles to secure help for his kin.

The call taker questions how long has passed since he began.

“[It] was a very long time ago … I think they’re far offshore. I think we must get a helicopter to go find them,” he states.

Emergency services have made public the distress call made previously after the teen left his relatives drifting at sea off the Western Australian coast to seek assistance.

His tone remains steady and composed, even as he expresses his concern for his family.

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

“Mum said to seek assistance … We were in grave peril.”

The Perilous Situation

The holidaymakers had been swept four kilometres out to sea in treacherous conditions while kayaking and paddleboarding.

His parent urged him to use his craft and find help, so the youth set off, ditching first his sinking craft then his bulky flotation device to make the journey by swimming.

After making it to shore – following a four-hour swim – he raced for 2km to get to a phone.

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

“I’m positioned on the beach right now, and I have to also explain – 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 hyperthermia, and I feel like I’m about to pass out.”

A Vacation Gone Wrong

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

The mother later recalled that they were playing around when the young ones “ventured out too far”. The conditions worsened, they dropped their paddles, and started drifting.

“It sort of all went wrong very, very quickly,” she remarked.

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

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

The Search Operation

The teenager explained being “completely out of breath”.

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

The emergency call was made at around 6pm.

At around 8.30pm, many hours after they first departed, the group were located and saved. They had drifted about 14km out to sea.

The emergency call was made public with the parents' permission.

A police sergeant who coordinated the search and rescue effort said the group was in an “desperately dangerous position”.

“They were in genuine danger, and time was absolutely critical given how long they had been in the water and with light running out.

“What the boy did was truly remarkable. His bravery and courage in those conditions were astonishing, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a successful outcome.”

The sergeant also highlighted how the youth clearly relayed key facts.

When asked to identify the equipment for the search crew, the boy responded: “They were coloured green and white.”

“And I’m not sure if it’s still attached, but they had this fishing line, and there was a catch on the line. Because we hooked one.”