We Must Have a Chopper to Search For Them’: Adolescent’s Distress Call to Save Loved Ones Stranded Off Aussie Coast Disclosed

“We became disoriented out there,” a 13-year-old boy explains to the 000 call handler, having swum 4km in choppy, open water and jogging two kilometres to secure help for his family.

The dispatcher inquires how much time has passed since he started out.

“[It] was a very long time ago … I think they’re a long way from land. I think we require a helicopter to go find them,” he reports.

Police have disclosed the emergency phone call made in recent weeks after the youth left his family drifting at sea off the WA coast to fetch help.

His tone remains clear and calm, even as he details his worry for his kin.

“I am unsure of what their condition is right now, and I’m terrified,” he informs the operator.

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

The Harrowing Ordeal

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

His parent urged him to use his craft and locate rescue, so the boy began, ditching first his sinking craft then his cumbersome lifejacket to cover the remaining stretch.

After getting to the beach – four hours later – he ran for 2km to get to a phone.

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

“I’m sitting on the beach right now, and I have to also explain – I think I need an medical help because I think I have hypothermia … I’m really, I’m completely exhausted. I have heatstroke, and I feel like I’m about to collapse.”

A Getaway in Peril

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

The woman later explained that they were enjoying themselves when the young ones “ventured out too far”. The conditions worsened, they were separated from their equipment, and started drifting.

“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 instruct her son to swim ashore.

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

The Rescue Effort

The boy explained being “extremely winded”.

“I just continued swimming, I do breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do survival backstroke,” he explained.

The distress call was made at around 6pm.

At around 8.30pm, ten hours after they first departed, the family were located and saved. They had been carried about 9 miles out to sea.

The emergency call was shared with the family’s permission.

A police sergeant who managed the operation said the family was in an “extremely dire situation”.

“They were in real trouble, and time was absolutely critical given how much time they had been in the water and with night approaching.

“What Austin did was nothing short of extraordinary. His heroic actions in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were instrumental in bringing about a successful outcome.”

The sergeant also praised how the boy calmly conveyed vital details.

When asked to identify the paddleboards for the search crew, the boy said: “They were coloured green and white.”

“And I’m not sure if it’s still on, but they had this rod, and there was a fish hooked. Since we caught one.”