We Must Have a Aircraft to Go Find Them’: Teenager’s Distress Call to Save Relatives Adrift Off Down Under Coast Revealed

“We got lost out there,” the teenager explains to the triple-zero dispatcher, having swum four kilometres in choppy, open ocean and sprinting 2km to get assistance for his kin.

The dispatcher inquires how much time has gone by since he started out.

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

Police have disclosed the emergency phone call made last month after the teen left his loved ones floating at sea off the West Australian coast to fetch help.

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

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

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

The Perilous Situation

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

His mother urged him to take his kayak and locate rescue, so the teenager set off, discarding first his sinking craft then his unwieldy PFD to make the journey by swimming.

After reaching land – after an extensive period – he raced for 1.25 miles to get to 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 tells the operator.

“I’m sitting on the beach right now, and I have to also explain – I think I need an ambulance because I think I have exposure … I’m really, I’m utterly fatigued. I have heatstroke, and I feel like I’m about to faint.”

A Holiday Turned Crisis

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

The mother later described that they were playing around when the kids “ventured out too far”. The conditions worsened, they lost their oars, and started floating away.

“It sort of all turned bad very, very quickly,” she said.

The parent also spoke of having to make “a terribly difficult call” to ask her son to swim ashore.

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

The Rescue Effort

The youth explained being “completely out of breath”.

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

The distress call was made at about 6pm.

At about 8.30pm, a full ten hours after they first began, the stranded individuals were found and brought to safety. They had floated about fourteen kilometres out to sea.

The recording was shared with the family’s permission.

A police sergeant who coordinated the rescue mission said the family was in an “desperately dangerous position”.

“They were in serious jeopardy, and time was of the essence given how long they had been in the water and with light running out.

“What the teenager did was nothing short of extraordinary. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were exceptional, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a successful outcome.”

The commander also praised how the boy effectively communicated key facts.

When asked to identify the boards for the authorities, the teenager said: “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 managed to catch a fish.”