We Require a Chopper to Locate Them’: Teenager’s Urgent Plea to Save Loved Ones Adrift Off Aussie Coast Disclosed

“We ended up adrift out there,” a 13-year-old boy explains to the triple-zero dispatcher, after swimming 2.5 miles in rough, open ocean and sprinting 1.25 miles to summon rescue for his family.

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

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

Emergency services have released the distress call made in recent weeks after the teen left his family drifting at sea off the Western Australian coast to fetch help.

His tone remains steady and composed, even as he voices his fear for his family.

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

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

The Harrowing Ordeal

The mother and children had been pulled 2.5 miles out to sea in stormy conditions while using kayaks and paddleboards.

His parent asked him to use his craft and locate rescue, so the boy began, abandoning first his sinking craft then his unwieldy PFD to make the journey by swimming.

After reaching land – four hours later – he raced for 1.25 miles to get to a phone.

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

“I’m located 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 heatstroke, and I feel like I’m about to pass out.”

A Holiday Turned Crisis

The family was on vacation in Quindalup, two hundred kilometres south of Perth. They departed from Geographe Bay some time after 10am on a Friday in late January.

The woman later recalled 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 floating away.

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

The mother also referenced having to make “one of the hardest decisions” to send her son to make the swim for help.

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

The Search Operation

The boy explained being “completely out of breath”.

“I just pressed on, I do the breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do survival backstroke,” he explained.

The call for help was made at around 6pm.

At around 8.30pm, ten hours after they first began, the family were found and brought to safety. They had drifted about fourteen kilometres out to sea.

The emergency call was released with the parents' permission.

A senior officer who coordinated the rescue mission said the group was in an “desperately dangerous position”.

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

“What the teenager did was nothing short of extraordinary. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were exceptional, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a positive result.”

The sergeant also praised how the teenager calmly conveyed vital details.

When asked to identify the boards for the rescue team, the youth responded: “They were green and white.”

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