We Must Have a Chopper to Locate Them’: Teenager’s Distress Call to Save Relatives Stranded Off Down Under Coast Revealed

“We ended up adrift out there,” young Austin Appelbee tells the triple-zero dispatcher, after swimming 4km in choppy, open ocean and running 1.25 miles to summon rescue for his family.

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

“[It] was a very long time ago … I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we must get a helicopter to search for them,” he says.

Authorities have disclosed the recorded plea made last month after the boy departed from his family adrift at sea off the West Australian coast to fetch help.

His tone remains clear and calm, even as he voices his worry for his family.

“I have no idea about what their status is right now, and I’m terrified,” he confides in the person on the line.

“Mum said to seek assistance … We were in massive trouble.”

The Dangerous Incident

The mother and children had been pulled 2.5 miles out to sea in stormy conditions while kayaking and paddleboarding.

His mother urged him to set out and locate rescue, so the boy began, discarding first his sinking craft then his bulky flotation device to make the journey by swimming.

After making it to shore – four hours later – he raced for two kilometres to retrieve 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 mention – I think I need an ambulance because I think I have exposure … I’m really, I’m completely exhausted. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to pass out.”

A Vacation Gone Wrong

The holidaymakers was on holiday in Quindalup, two hundred kilometres south of Perth. They departed from Geographe Bay around 10am on a Friday in late January.

The mother later explained that they were playing around when the children “drifted further than intended”. The conditions worsened, they lost their oars, and started being carried out.

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

The parent also referenced 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 stated.

The Successful Mission

The boy explained being “very puffed out”.

“I just keep swimming, I do the breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do survival backstroke,” he said.

The emergency call was made at approximately 6pm.

At about 8.30pm, ten hours after they first set out, the group were spotted and rescued. They had drifted about fourteen kilometres out to sea.

The audio was released with the family’s permission.

A forward commander who managed the operation said the family was in an “incredibly perilous state”.

“They were in genuine danger, and time was extremely pressing given how much time they had been in the water and with daylight fading.

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

The sergeant also highlighted how the teenager clearly relayed vital details.

When asked to detail the boards for the authorities, the boy responded: “They were green and white.”

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