‘We Need a Chopper to Search For Them’: Adolescent’s Distress Call to Rescue Relatives Lost Off Australian Coast Disclosed

“We ended up adrift out there,” the teenager informs the 000 call handler, following a swim 4km in choppy, open water and sprinting two kilometres to secure help for his kin.

The operator questions how much time has passed since he set off.

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

Police have released the distress call made in recent weeks after the teen left his family adrift at sea off the West Australian coast to find rescuers.

His voice remains lucid and collected, even as he voices his fear for his family.

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

“Mum said to find rescue … We were in serious danger.”

The Perilous Situation

The holidaymakers had been carried 4km out to sea in treacherous conditions while using kayaks and paddleboards.

His mother instructed him to use his craft and get assistance, so the boy began, discarding first his failing kayak then his unwieldy PFD to make the journey by swimming.

After reaching land – following a four-hour swim – he sprinted for 2km to retrieve a phone.

“Hello, my name is Austin … I have a brother and sister, Beau and Grace. Beau is 12 and Grace is eight,” he explains 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 a dangerously low body temperature … I’m really, I’m completely exhausted. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to collapse.”

A Holiday Turned Crisis

The group was on vacation in Quindalup, two hundred kilometres south of Perth. They began their trip from Geographe Bay around 10am on a Friday in late January.

The parent later recalled that they were having fun when the kids “drifted further than intended”. The wind picked up, they were separated from their equipment, and started being carried out.

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

The mother also described having to make “a terribly difficult call” to ask her son to swim ashore.

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

The Rescue Effort

The youth explained being “extremely winded”.

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

The distress call was made at about 6pm.

At roughly 8.30pm, a full ten hours after they first began, the family were spotted and rescued. They had drifted about 14km out to sea.

The audio was shared with the mother’s permission.

A forward commander who managed the rescue mission said the family was in an “desperately dangerous position”.

“They were in genuine danger, and time was of the essence given how long they had been in the water and with daylight fading.

“What the boy did was nothing short of extraordinary. His bravery and courage in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a positive result.”

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

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

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