We Require a Chopper to Locate Them’: Teenager’s Urgent Plea to Rescue Family Stranded Off Australian Coast Disclosed

“We ended up adrift out there,” the teenager informs the 000 call handler, having swum 2.5 miles in treacherous, open water and sprinting 2km to summon rescue for his family.

The dispatcher inquires how much time has elapsed since he started out.

“[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 states.

Police have released the distress call made in recent weeks after the teen departed from his relatives floating at sea off the Western Australian coast to fetch help.

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

“I don’t know what their condition is right now, and I’m extremely frightened,” he confides in the person on the line.

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

The Harrowing Ordeal

The holidaymakers had been swept 2.5 miles out to sea in treacherous conditions while using kayaks and paddleboards.

His parent asked him to use his craft and locate rescue, so the youth set off, discarding first his sinking craft then his unwieldy PFD to cover the remaining stretch.

After getting to the beach – following a four-hour swim – he raced for 1.25 miles to get to a phone.

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

“I’m positioned on the beach right now, and I have to also add – 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 vacation in Quindalup, two hundred kilometres south of Perth. They began their trip from Geographe Bay following 10am on a Friday in late January.

The mother later described that they were having fun when the children “ventured out too far”. The breeze strengthened, they dropped their paddles, and started drifting.

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

The parent also spoke of having to make “one of the hardest decisions” 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 “extremely winded”.

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

The emergency call was made at approximately 6pm.

At roughly 8.30pm, ten hours after they first began, the group were found and brought to safety. They had been carried about 9 miles out to sea.

The audio was released with the family’s permission.

A forward commander who coordinated the operation said the family was in an “desperately dangerous position”.

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

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

The officer also praised how the youth effectively communicated vital details.

When asked to describe the boards for the rescue team, 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 catch on the line. Because we caught one.”