We Require a Aircraft to Search For Them’: Adolescent’s Urgent Plea to Rescue Family Adrift Off Down Under Coast Disclosed

“We got lost out there,” a 13-year-old boy tells the emergency operator, having swum 4km in rough, open ocean and jogging 2km to secure help for his kin.

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

“[It] was ages past … I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we require a helicopter to go find them,” he says.

Authorities have released the distress call made in recent weeks after the teen departed from his loved ones drifting at sea off the West Australian coast to fetch help.

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

“I am unsure of what their status is right now, and I’m extremely frightened,” he tells the person on the line.

“Mum said to seek assistance … We were in grave peril.”

The Harrowing Ordeal

The family group had been carried 2.5 miles out to sea in treacherous conditions while using kayaks and paddleboards.

His mother instructed him to use his craft and get assistance, so the youth set off, discarding first his waterlogged vessel then his cumbersome lifejacket to swim the distance.

After making it to shore – following a four-hour swim – he ran for 2km to retrieve a mobile phone.

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

“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 hypothermia … I’m really, I’m completely exhausted. I have hyperthermia, and I feel like I’m about to faint.”

A Getaway in Peril

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

The mother later described that they were enjoying themselves 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 parent also spoke of having to make “a terribly difficult call” to send her son to swim ashore.

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

The Rescue Effort

The teenager recalled being “extremely winded”.

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

The distress call was made at about 6pm.

At around 8.30pm, many hours after they first set out, the family were found and brought to safety. They had been carried about fourteen kilometres out to sea.

The audio was released with the parents' permission.

A forward commander who managed the rescue mission said the family was in an “desperately dangerous position”.

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

“What the boy did was incredibly brave. His heroic actions in those conditions were astonishing, and his actions were instrumental in bringing about a successful outcome.”

The commander also commended how the youth clearly relayed critical information.

When asked to identify the paddleboards for the rescue team, the boy responded: “They were coloured green and white.”

“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 hooked one.”