‘We Need a Helicopter to Locate Them’: Adolescent’s Emergency Call to Rescue Relatives Adrift Off Australian Coast Revealed

“We ended up adrift out there,” the teenager tells the emergency operator, having swum four kilometres in rough, open ocean and jogging 2km to get assistance for his household.

The dispatcher inquires how long has gone by since he started out.

“[It] was ages past … I think they’re far offshore. I think we must get a chopper to go find them,” he says.

Police have made public the distress call made in recent weeks after the youth departed from his family floating at sea off the Western Australian coast to seek assistance.

His voice remains lucid and collected, even as he details his concern for his family members.

“I have no idea about what their status is right now, and I’m terrified,” he tells the person on the line.

“Mum said go get help … We were in serious danger.”

The Harrowing Ordeal

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

His mum urged him to set out and get assistance, so the boy set off, ditching first his waterlogged vessel then his cumbersome lifejacket to make the journey by swimming.

After reaching land – after an extensive period – he raced for 2km to get to a mobile 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 paramedic because I think I have hypothermia … I’m really, I’m completely exhausted. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to faint.”

A Holiday Turned Crisis

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

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

“It sort of all went wrong very, very quickly,” she remarked.

The parent also described having to make “an incredibly tough choice” to send her son to swim to land.

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

The Search Operation

The boy described being “extremely winded”.

“I just pressed on, I do breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do survival backstroke,” he explained.

The call for help was made at around 6pm.

At about 8.30pm, a full ten hours after they first set out, the stranded individuals were located and saved. They had floated about 14km out to sea.

The emergency call was made public with the parents' permission.

A police sergeant who oversaw the rescue mission said the family was in an “extremely dire situation”.

“They were in real trouble, and time was of the essence given how much time they had been in the water and with daylight fading.

“What Austin did was nothing short of extraordinary. His heroic actions in those conditions were exceptional, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a rescue.”

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

When asked to detail the boards for the authorities, the youth responded: “They were coloured green and white.”

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