We Require a Helicopter to Go Find Them’: Teenager’s Distress Call to Aid Loved Ones Stranded Off Down Under Coast Revealed

“We became disoriented out there,” the teenager tells the emergency operator, after swimming 4km in treacherous, open water and sprinting two kilometres to summon rescue for his kin.

The dispatcher inquires how long has elapsed since he set off.

“[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re a long way from land. I think we must get a helicopter to go find them,” he says.

Emergency services have released the distress call made last month after the boy departed from his relatives adrift at sea off the WA coast to fetch help.

His demeanour remains lucid and collected, even as he expresses his worry for his kin.

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

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

The Perilous Situation

The holidaymakers had been carried four kilometres out to sea in rough conditions while using kayaks and paddleboards.

His mum asked him to use his craft and find help, so the boy commenced, abandoning first his sinking craft then his cumbersome lifejacket to make the journey by swimming.

After making it to shore – following a four-hour swim – he ran for 1.25 miles to retrieve a mobile phone.

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

“I’m located on the beach right now, and I have to also add – I think I need an medical help because I think I have a dangerously low body temperature … I’m really, I’m completely exhausted. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to faint.”

A Holiday Turned Crisis

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

The mother later explained that they were having fun when the children “drifted further than intended”. The conditions worsened, they lost their oars, and started being carried out.

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

The mother also described having to make “a terribly difficult call” to ask her son to make the swim for help.

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

The Search Operation

The boy explained being “completely out of breath”.

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

The call for help was made at around 6pm.

At about 8.30pm, many hours after they first set out, the group were located and saved. They had been carried about 14km out to sea.

The audio was shared with the family’s permission.

A police sergeant who coordinated the search and rescue effort said the group was in an “incredibly perilous state”.

“They were in serious jeopardy, and time was of the essence given how long they had been in the water and with light running out.

“What Austin did was truly remarkable. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were exceptional, and his actions were instrumental in bringing about a positive result.”

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

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

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