We Require a Chopper to Search For Them’: Teenager’s Distress Call to Save Relatives Lost Off Aussie Coast Unveiled

“We became disoriented out there,” a 13-year-old boy informs the triple-zero dispatcher, following a swim 2.5 miles in choppy, the sea and jogging 1.25 miles to summon rescue for his family.

The call taker inquires how much time has gone by 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 chopper to search for them,” he says.

Emergency services have released the recorded plea made in recent weeks after the boy left his relatives drifting at sea off the WA coast to fetch help.

His voice remains steady and composed, even as he expresses his concern for his family members.

“I don’t know what their status is right now, and I’m really scared,” he confides in the dispatcher.

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

The Dangerous Incident

The mother and children had been carried four kilometres out to sea in treacherous conditions while enjoying water sports.

His mum instructed him to take his kayak and find help, so the boy began, abandoning first his waterlogged vessel then his cumbersome lifejacket to make the journey by swimming.

After reaching land – after an extensive period – he raced for 2km to access a cell phone.

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

“I’m located on the beach right now, and I have to also mention – I think I need an paramedic because I think I have a dangerously low body temperature … I’m really, I’m utterly fatigued. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to pass out.”

A Getaway in Peril

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

The woman later explained that they were enjoying themselves when the young ones “drifted further than intended”. The wind picked up, they lost their oars, and started floating away.

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

The mother also described having to make “one of the hardest decisions” to ask her son to swim to land.

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

The Search Operation

The youth recalled being “completely out of breath”.

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

The emergency call was made at approximately 6pm.

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

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

A police sergeant who managed the rescue mission said the family was in an “desperately dangerous position”.

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

“What the boy did was incredibly brave. His heroic actions in those conditions were exceptional, and his actions were instrumental in bringing about a rescue.”

The officer also commended how the boy calmly conveyed critical information.

When asked to describe the paddleboards for the authorities, the youth replied: “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 catch on the line. Because we hooked one.”