We Require a Chopper to Search For Them’: Teenager’s Urgent Plea to Save Family Adrift Off Aussie Coast Unveiled

“We ended up adrift out there,” a 13-year-old boy explains to the triple-zero dispatcher, having swum four kilometres in rough, open water and jogging 1.25 miles to secure help for his family.

The call taker inquires how much time has passed since he started out.

“[It] was ages past … I think they’re far offshore. I think we need a helicopter to go find them,” he states.

Authorities have made public the recorded plea made previously after the youth left his loved ones adrift at sea off the WA coast to find rescuers.

His voice remains steady and composed, even as he expresses his worry for his kin.

“I don’t know what their condition is right now, and I’m extremely frightened,” he informs the operator.

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

The Harrowing Ordeal

The holidaymakers had been carried 4km out to sea in treacherous conditions while using kayaks and paddleboards.

His mum asked him to use his craft and find help, so the youth commenced, discarding first his failing kayak then his cumbersome lifejacket to make the journey by swimming.

After getting to the beach – after an extensive period – he ran for 1.25 miles to access 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 positioned on the beach right now, and I have to also mention – I think I need an ambulance 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 Getaway in Peril

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

The parent later explained that they were playing around when the kids “went out a bit too far”. The breeze strengthened, they were separated from their equipment, and started drifting.

“It pretty much all became dangerous very, very quickly,” she said.

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

“I knew he was the best swimmer and he could do it,” she commented.

The Successful Mission

The youth recalled being “completely out of breath”.

“I just continued swimming, I do breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do survival backstroke,” he recalled.

The call for help was made at approximately 6pm.

At roughly 8.30pm, a full ten hours after they first began, the family were located and saved. They had been carried about 14km out to sea.

The recording was released with the parents' permission.

A forward commander who oversaw the rescue mission said the family was in an “desperately dangerous position”.

“They were in genuine danger, and time was extremely pressing 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 exceptional, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a rescue.”

The officer also commended how the youth clearly relayed vital details.

When asked to describe the equipment for the rescue team, the boy replied: “They were coloured green and white.”

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