We Must Have a Chopper to Locate Them’: Teenager’s Emergency Call to Rescue Relatives Adrift Off Australian Coast Revealed

“We got lost out there,” the teenager explains to the 000 call handler, after swimming 4km in treacherous, open ocean and running 2km to summon rescue for his household.

The dispatcher inquires how much time has passed since he began.

“[It] was ages past … I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we require a rescue aircraft to go find them,” he states.

Police have disclosed the emergency phone call made last month after the boy departed from his relatives drifting at sea off the WA coast to seek assistance.

His demeanour remains steady and composed, even as he details his worry for his family members.

“I don’t know what their status is right now, and I’m terrified,” he confides in the dispatcher.

“Mum said go get help … We were in grave peril.”

The Perilous Situation

The mother and children had been swept 4km out to sea in treacherous conditions while kayaking and paddleboarding.

His mother instructed him to set out and locate rescue, so the boy set off, abandoning first his sinking craft then his unwieldy PFD to swim the distance.

After reaching land – after an extensive period – he raced for 1.25 miles to get to 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 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 completely exhausted. I have heatstroke, and I feel like I’m about to collapse.”

A Vacation Gone Wrong

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

The parent later recalled that they were having fun when the young ones “went out a bit too far”. The breeze strengthened, they lost their oars, and started drifting.

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

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

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

The Rescue Effort

The boy described being “completely out of breath”.

“I just keep swimming, I do the breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do elementary backstroke,” he explained.

The call for help was made at approximately 6pm.

At about 8.30pm, ten hours after they first departed, the stranded individuals were located and saved. They had drifted about 9 miles out to sea.

The recording was made public with the mother’s permission.

A senior officer who oversaw the operation said the group was in an “incredibly perilous state”.

“They were in genuine danger, and time was of the essence given how much time they had been in the water and with light running out.

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

The officer also commended how the teenager effectively communicated vital details.

When asked to detail the equipment for the search crew, the teenager said: “They were green and white.”

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