We Require a Aircraft to Go Find Them’: Adolescent’s Urgent Plea to Rescue Loved Ones Adrift Off Australian Coast Unveiled

“We ended up adrift out there,” the teenager tells the emergency operator, having swum 4km in choppy, the sea and jogging 2km to get assistance for his family.

The operator inquires how long has elapsed since he started out.

“[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re far offshore. I think we must get a helicopter to locate them,” he says.

Police have released the recorded plea made in recent weeks after the youth departed from his family drifting at sea off the West Australian coast to seek assistance.

His tone remains steady and composed, even as he details his worry for his family.

“I don’t know 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 serious danger.”

The Perilous Situation

The family group had been carried 4km out to sea in treacherous conditions while enjoying water sports.

His parent urged him to set out and find help, so the boy began, ditching first his waterlogged vessel then his unwieldy PFD to make the journey by swimming.

After getting to the beach – four hours later – he ran for two kilometres to get to a cell phone.

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

“I’m sitting on the beach right now, and I have to also explain – I think I need an ambulance because I think I have exposure … I’m really, I’m extremely tired. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to collapse.”

A Vacation Gone Wrong

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

The woman later recalled that they were enjoying themselves when the kids “ventured out too far”. The breeze strengthened, they dropped their paddles, and started being carried out.

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

The mother also described having to make “an incredibly tough choice” to instruct her son to swim ashore.

“I knew he was the strongest and he was able to manage it,” she stated.

The Rescue Effort

The teenager recalled being “very puffed out”.

“I just pressed on, I do breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do survival backstroke,” he explained.

The emergency call was made at about 6pm.

At about 8.30pm, ten hours after they first began, the group were found and brought to safety. They had floated about fourteen kilometres out to sea.

The emergency call was made public with the mother’s permission.

A police sergeant who oversaw the rescue mission said the group was in an “extremely dire situation”.

“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 teenager did was incredibly brave. His bravery and courage in those conditions were astonishing, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a rescue.”

The sergeant also commended how the boy effectively communicated vital details.

When asked to describe the boards for the authorities, the youth said: “They were a green and white colour.”

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