‘We Need a Aircraft to Search For Them’: Adolescent’s Emergency Call to Rescue Family Adrift Off Down Under Coast Disclosed

“We ended up adrift out there,” a 13-year-old boy informs the emergency operator, having swum 2.5 miles in rough, the sea and jogging 1.25 miles to secure help for his household.

The dispatcher questions how long has elapsed since he began.

“[It] was ages past … I think they’re far offshore. I think we require a helicopter to search for them,” he reports.

Emergency services have disclosed the emergency phone call made in recent weeks after the teen departed from his family drifting at sea off the West Australian coast to fetch help.

His demeanour remains clear and calm, even as he expresses his fear for his family members.

“I am unsure of what their status is right now, and I’m really scared,” he confides in the dispatcher.

“Mum said go get help … We were in grave peril.”

The Perilous Situation

The mother and children had been carried 4km out to sea in rough conditions while using kayaks and paddleboards.

His mother asked him to take his kayak and find help, so the youth began, abandoning first his sinking craft then his bulky flotation device to make the journey by swimming.

After reaching land – four hours later – he sprinted for two kilometres to retrieve 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 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 Getaway in Peril

The holidaymakers was on vacation in Quindalup, 125 miles south of Perth. They began their trip from Geographe Bay following 10am on a Friday in late January.

The mother later explained that they were enjoying themselves when the young ones “ventured out too far”. The conditions worsened, they dropped their paddles, and started drifting.

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

The parent also referenced having to make “an incredibly tough choice” to send her son to make the swim for help.

“I knew he was the best swimmer and he had the ability to succeed,” she commented.

The Rescue Effort

The teenager explained being “completely out of breath”.

“I just keep swimming, I do breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do a floating stroke,” he explained.

The emergency call was made at around 6pm.

At about 8.30pm, a full ten hours after they first set out, the family were found and brought to safety. They had been carried about 14km out to sea.

The recording was shared with the mother’s permission.

A senior officer who managed the search and rescue effort said the group was in an “extremely dire situation”.

“They were in genuine danger, and time was of the essence given how much time they had been in the water and with light running out.

“What the teenager did was nothing short of extraordinary. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a rescue.”

The commander also praised how the boy effectively communicated key facts.

When asked to identify the boards for the authorities, the boy replied: “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. Since we hooked one.”