We Must Have a Helicopter to Go Find Them’: 13-Year-Old’s Urgent Plea to Aid Family Lost Off Aussie Coast Unveiled

“We ended up adrift out there,” the teenager tells the emergency operator, after swimming 4km in rough, open ocean and sprinting 2km to summon rescue for his family.

The dispatcher inquires how long has passed since he set off.

“[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re far offshore. I think we need a helicopter to search for them,” he says.

Emergency services have released the emergency phone call made in recent weeks after the teen departed from his loved ones floating at sea off the West Australian coast to fetch help.

His tone remains lucid and collected, even as he voices his fear for his family.

“I am unsure of what their state is right now, and I’m really scared,” he tells the dispatcher.

“Mum said go get help … We were in massive trouble.”

The Harrowing Ordeal

The mother and children had been swept 4km out to sea in rough conditions while enjoying water sports.

His parent instructed him to take his kayak and locate rescue, so the boy set off, ditching first his failing kayak then his bulky flotation device to make the journey by swimming.

After making it to shore – following a four-hour swim – he sprinted for 2km to access a phone.

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

“I’m positioned on the beach right now, and I have to also add – I think I need an medical help because I think I have exposure … I’m really, I’m completely exhausted. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to faint.”

A Holiday Turned Crisis

The holidaymakers was on vacation in Quindalup, two hundred kilometres south of Perth. They set off from Geographe Bay around 10am on a Friday in late January.

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

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

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

“I knew he was the best swimmer and he had the ability to succeed,” she stated.

The Search Operation

The youth recalled being “very puffed out”.

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

The distress call was made at about 6pm.

At about 8.30pm, a full ten hours after they first began, the group were spotted and rescued. They had drifted about fourteen kilometres out to sea.

The recording was made public with the parents' permission.

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

“They were in serious jeopardy, and time was extremely pressing given how long they had been in the water and with night approaching.

“What the boy did was incredibly brave. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were exceptional, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a successful outcome.”

The commander also commended how the youth clearly relayed vital details.

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

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