We Require a Aircraft to Locate Them’: 13-Year-Old’s Distress Call to Save Family Lost Off Aussie Coast Disclosed

“We got lost out there,” young Austin Appelbee informs the emergency operator, after swimming four kilometres in rough, the sea and jogging two kilometres to summon rescue for his household.

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

“[It] was ages past … I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we must get a helicopter to locate them,” he says.

Emergency services have disclosed the emergency phone call made previously after the boy left his loved ones floating at sea off the WA coast to fetch help.

His voice remains steady and composed, even as he details his worry for his kin.

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

“Mum said to find rescue … We were in grave peril.”

The Dangerous Incident

The family group had been carried 4km out to sea in rough conditions while kayaking and paddleboarding.

His mother asked him to set out and locate rescue, so the teenager began, ditching first his waterlogged vessel then his bulky flotation device to make the journey by swimming.

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

“Hello, my name is Austin … I have a brother and sister, Beau and Grace. Beau is 12 and Grace is eight,” he states the emergency services.

“I’m positioned on the beach right now, and I have to also add – I think I need an paramedic 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 Getaway in Peril

The family was on holiday in Quindalup, 125 miles south of Perth. They set off from Geographe Bay some time after 10am on a Friday in late January.

The parent later recalled that they were enjoying themselves when the kids “drifted further than intended”. The breeze strengthened, they dropped their paddles, and started being carried out.

“It pretty much all became dangerous very, very quickly,” she said.

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

“I knew he was the most capable and he had the ability to succeed,” she said.

The Rescue Effort

The teenager described being “completely out of breath”.

“I just continued swimming, I do the breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do a floating stroke,” he explained.

The distress call was made at about 6pm.

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

The audio was released with the family’s permission.

A police sergeant who coordinated the rescue mission said the group was in an “incredibly perilous state”.

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

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

The commander also commended how the teenager clearly relayed critical information.

When asked to identify the boards for the authorities, the teenager responded: “They were a green and white colour.”

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