We Must Have a Aircraft to Search For Them’: Adolescent’s Distress Call to Aid Relatives Stranded Off Aussie Coast Unveiled

“We became disoriented out there,” a 13-year-old boy tells the 000 call handler, having swum 2.5 miles in treacherous, the sea and jogging 2km to secure help for his kin.

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

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

Police have disclosed the distress call made last month after the boy left his loved ones drifting at sea off the West Australian coast to find rescuers.

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

“I have no idea about what their condition is right now, and I’m terrified,” he tells the dispatcher.

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

The Perilous Situation

The mother and children had been carried four kilometres out to sea in stormy conditions while using kayaks and paddleboards.

His mum instructed him to take his kayak and get assistance, so the boy began, discarding first his sinking craft then his bulky flotation device to make the journey by swimming.

After getting to the beach – four hours later – he sprinted for 1.25 miles to access 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 explains the emergency services.

“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 hypothermia … I’m really, I’m completely exhausted. I have heatstroke, and I feel like I’m about to pass out.”

A Getaway in Peril

The holidaymakers was on vacation in Quindalup, 200km south of Perth. They departed from Geographe Bay around 10am on a Friday in late January.

The parent later described that they were playing around when the young ones “went out a bit too far”. The wind picked up, they dropped their paddles, and started being carried out.

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

The mother also described having to make “an incredibly tough choice” to ask her son to make the swim for help.

“I knew he was the most capable and he could do it,” she commented.

The Successful Mission

The boy explained being “extremely winded”.

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

The emergency call was made at around 6pm.

At about 8.30pm, many hours after they first set out, the family were located and saved. They had floated about 9 miles out to sea.

The emergency call was made public with the mother’s permission.

A police sergeant who coordinated the operation said the family was in an “extremely dire situation”.

“They were in genuine danger, and time was of the essence given how long 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 remarkable, and his actions were instrumental in bringing about a rescue.”

The officer also highlighted how the teenager calmly conveyed critical information.

When asked to detail the equipment for the search crew, 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 rod, and there was a catch on the line. Since we hooked one.”