🔗 Share this article We Must Have a Chopper to Go Find Them’: 13-Year-Old’s Urgent Plea to Aid Relatives Adrift Off Aussie Coast Disclosed “We became disoriented out there,” a 13-year-old boy tells the 000 call handler, having swum 4km in choppy, open ocean and sprinting 1.25 miles to get assistance for his kin. The call taker asks how long has gone by since he set off. “[It] was ages past … I think they’re far offshore. I think we require a helicopter to go find them,” he states. Authorities have made public the recorded plea made previously after the teen left his relatives floating at sea off the WA coast to seek assistance. His demeanour remains clear and calm, even as he voices his worry for his family members. “I don’t know what their condition is right now, and I’m really scared,” he informs the operator. “Mum said to find rescue … We were in massive trouble.” The Harrowing Ordeal The holidaymakers had been carried four kilometres out to sea in treacherous conditions while kayaking and paddleboarding. His parent urged him to set out and find help, so the youth set off, discarding first his failing kayak then his unwieldy PFD to make the journey by swimming. After making it to shore – following a four-hour swim – he sprinted for two kilometres to get to a cell phone. “Hello, my name is Austin … I have two siblings, Beau and Grace. Beau is 12 and Grace is eight,” he explains the call handler. “I’m sitting on the beach right now, and I have to also mention – I think I need an paramedic 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 family was on vacation in Quindalup, 125 miles south of Perth. They departed from Geographe Bay around 10am on a Friday in late January. The parent later recalled that they were enjoying themselves when the young ones “ventured out too far”. The wind picked up, they dropped their paddles, and started floating away. “It pretty much all became dangerous very, very quickly,” she remarked. 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 could do it,” she stated. The Search Operation The boy explained being “completely out of breath”. “I just continued swimming, I do the breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do a floating stroke,” he said. The distress call was made at approximately 6pm. At around 8.30pm, ten hours after they first set out, the group were located and saved. They had drifted about fourteen kilometres out to sea. The audio was released with the mother’s permission. A forward commander who managed the search and rescue effort said the family 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 daylight fading. “What Austin did was incredibly brave. His bravery and courage in those conditions were astonishing, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a successful outcome.” The commander also highlighted how the boy calmly conveyed critical information. When asked to identify the paddleboards for the rescue team, the boy replied: “They were green and white.” “And I’m not sure if it’s still attached, but they had this fishing line, and there was a catch on the line. As we managed to catch a fish.”
“We became disoriented out there,” a 13-year-old boy tells the 000 call handler, having swum 4km in choppy, open ocean and sprinting 1.25 miles to get assistance for his kin. The call taker asks how long has gone by since he set off. “[It] was ages past … I think they’re far offshore. I think we require a helicopter to go find them,” he states. Authorities have made public the recorded plea made previously after the teen left his relatives floating at sea off the WA coast to seek assistance. His demeanour remains clear and calm, even as he voices his worry for his family members. “I don’t know what their condition is right now, and I’m really scared,” he informs the operator. “Mum said to find rescue … We were in massive trouble.” The Harrowing Ordeal The holidaymakers had been carried four kilometres out to sea in treacherous conditions while kayaking and paddleboarding. His parent urged him to set out and find help, so the youth set off, discarding first his failing kayak then his unwieldy PFD to make the journey by swimming. After making it to shore – following a four-hour swim – he sprinted for two kilometres to get to a cell phone. “Hello, my name is Austin … I have two siblings, Beau and Grace. Beau is 12 and Grace is eight,” he explains the call handler. “I’m sitting on the beach right now, and I have to also mention – I think I need an paramedic 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 family was on vacation in Quindalup, 125 miles south of Perth. They departed from Geographe Bay around 10am on a Friday in late January. The parent later recalled that they were enjoying themselves when the young ones “ventured out too far”. The wind picked up, they dropped their paddles, and started floating away. “It pretty much all became dangerous very, very quickly,” she remarked. 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 could do it,” she stated. The Search Operation The boy explained being “completely out of breath”. “I just continued swimming, I do the breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do a floating stroke,” he said. The distress call was made at approximately 6pm. At around 8.30pm, ten hours after they first set out, the group were located and saved. They had drifted about fourteen kilometres out to sea. The audio was released with the mother’s permission. A forward commander who managed the search and rescue effort said the family 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 daylight fading. “What Austin did was incredibly brave. His bravery and courage in those conditions were astonishing, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a successful outcome.” The commander also highlighted how the boy calmly conveyed critical information. When asked to identify the paddleboards for the rescue team, the boy replied: “They were green and white.” “And I’m not sure if it’s still attached, but they had this fishing line, and there was a catch on the line. As we managed to catch a fish.”