We Must Have a Helicopter to Go Find Them’: Adolescent’s Urgent Plea to Rescue Relatives Lost Off Australian Coast Disclosed

“We got lost out there,” the teenager informs the 000 call handler, after swimming 2.5 miles in rough, the sea and sprinting 1.25 miles to secure help for his family.

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

“[It] was ages past … I think they’re far offshore. I think we need a helicopter to go find them,” he states.

Authorities have made public the recorded plea made last month after the boy left his loved ones floating at sea off the Western Australian coast to fetch help.

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

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

“Mum said to seek assistance … We were in serious danger.”

The Perilous Situation

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

His parent urged him to take his kayak and find help, so the youth set off, abandoning first his sinking craft then his bulky flotation device to swim the distance.

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

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

“I’m sitting on the beach right now, and I have to also mention – I think I need an ambulance because I think I have hypothermia … I’m really, I’m completely exhausted. I have heatstroke, and I feel like I’m about to collapse.”

A Holiday Turned Crisis

The holidaymakers was on holiday in Quindalup, 200km south of Perth. They set off from Geographe Bay following 10am on a Friday in late January.

The mother later recalled that they were having fun when the young ones “went out a bit too far”. The wind picked up, they were separated from their equipment, and started drifting.

“It pretty much all turned bad very, very quickly,” she remarked.

The mother also referenced having to make “one of the hardest decisions” to ask her son to swim to land.

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

The Successful Mission

The youth described being “completely out of breath”.

“I just continued swimming, I do breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do elementary backstroke,” he explained.

The emergency call was made at approximately 6pm.

At roughly 8.30pm, many hours after they first departed, the stranded individuals were located and saved. They had drifted about fourteen kilometres out to sea.

The emergency call was shared with the mother’s permission.

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

“They were in serious jeopardy, and time was absolutely critical given how much time they had been in the water and with night approaching.

“What the teenager did was truly remarkable. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were exceptional, and his actions were instrumental in bringing about a successful outcome.”

The commander also commended how the boy clearly relayed key facts.

When asked to detail the paddleboards for the rescue team, the boy responded: “They were a green and white colour.”

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