We Require a Helicopter to Go Find Them’: Teenager’s Distress Call to Aid Relatives Lost Off Down Under Coast Disclosed

“We got lost out there,” young Austin Appelbee informs the 000 call handler, having swum 2.5 miles in choppy, open ocean and jogging 1.25 miles to summon rescue for his household.

The operator questions how much time has passed since he began.

“[It] was a very long time ago … I think they’re far offshore. I think we must get a chopper to go find them,” he reports.

Authorities have disclosed the emergency phone call made in recent weeks after the boy left his family adrift at sea off the WA coast to find rescuers.

His voice remains clear and calm, even as he expresses his worry for his kin.

“I have no idea about what their condition is right now, and I’m extremely frightened,” he confides in the operator.

“Mum said go get help … We were in serious danger.”

The Dangerous Incident

The mother and children had been swept 2.5 miles out to sea in rough conditions while enjoying water sports.

His mum asked him to take his kayak and locate rescue, so the youth set off, ditching first his waterlogged vessel then his unwieldy PFD to cover the remaining stretch.

After reaching land – four hours later – he raced for 1.25 miles to access a mobile 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 medical help because I think I have exposure … I’m really, I’m extremely tired. I have heatstroke, and I feel like I’m about to faint.”

A Holiday Turned Crisis

The group was on holiday in Quindalup, 200km south of Perth. They set off from Geographe Bay around 10am on a Friday in late January.

The woman later described that they were having fun when the kids “drifted further than intended”. The conditions worsened, they lost their oars, and started floating away.

“It kind of all turned bad very, very quickly,” she noted.

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

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

The Successful Mission

The boy explained being “very puffed out”.

“I just pressed on, I do breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do elementary backstroke,” he said.

The distress call was made at around 6pm.

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

The recording was made public with the mother’s permission.

A senior officer who oversaw the operation said the group was in an “incredibly perilous state”.

“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 incredibly brave. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were astonishing, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a successful outcome.”

The officer also highlighted how the teenager calmly conveyed key facts.

When asked to identify the boards for the rescue team, the teenager said: “They were green and white.”

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