‘We Need a Aircraft to Locate Them’: Teenager’s Distress Call to Save Relatives Lost Off Australian Coast Disclosed

“We got lost out there,” a 13-year-old boy explains to the emergency operator, having swum 2.5 miles in rough, open ocean and sprinting 1.25 miles to secure help for his kin.

The operator questions how much time has elapsed since he started out.

“[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re a long way from land. I think we need a rescue aircraft to locate them,” he says.

Police have made public the distress call made last month after the teen left his family drifting at sea off the WA coast to find rescuers.

His voice remains steady and composed, even as he expresses his worry for his family members.

“I don’t know what their state is right now, and I’m really scared,” he informs the dispatcher.

“Mum said to find rescue … We were in massive trouble.”

The Dangerous Incident

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

His mother asked him to set out and find help, so the teenager commenced, ditching first his failing kayak then his cumbersome lifejacket to cover the remaining stretch.

After making it to shore – after an extensive period – he raced for 1.25 miles to retrieve a mobile phone.

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

“I’m positioned on the beach right now, and I have to also mention – I think I need an paramedic because I think I have a dangerously low body temperature … I’m really, I’m completely exhausted. I have hyperthermia, and I feel like I’m about to collapse.”

A Getaway in Peril

The holidaymakers was on vacation in Quindalup, 125 miles south of Perth. They set off from Geographe Bay some time after 10am on a Friday in late January.

The parent later described that they were having fun when the children “went out a bit too far”. The wind picked up, they lost their oars, and started being carried out.

“It sort of all became dangerous very, very quickly,” she noted.

The mother also spoke of having to make “one of the hardest decisions” to send her son to swim to land.

“I knew he was the strongest and he could do it,” she stated.

The Successful Mission

The boy explained being “completely out of breath”.

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

The distress call was made at about 6pm.

At roughly 8.30pm, ten hours after they first began, the stranded individuals were spotted and rescued. They had been carried about fourteen kilometres out to sea.

The audio was shared with the family’s permission.

A senior officer who managed the operation said the group was in an “desperately dangerous position”.

“They were in real trouble, 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 truly remarkable. His heroic actions in those conditions were exceptional, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a rescue.”

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

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

“And I’m not sure if it’s still on, but they had this rod, and there was a fish hooked. Because we managed to catch a fish.”