We Must Have a Helicopter to Go Find Them’: Teenager’s Urgent Plea to Aid Relatives Lost Off Australian Coast Revealed

“We got lost out there,” a 13-year-old boy informs the 000 call handler, having swum 4km in rough, open water and running 2km to summon rescue for his household.

The operator questions how long has passed since he began.

“[It] was ages past … I think they’re far offshore. I think we must get a helicopter to search for them,” he states.

Authorities have disclosed the distress call made in recent weeks after the boy departed from his family drifting at sea off the West Australian coast to fetch help.

His tone remains clear and calm, even as he voices his concern for his family members.

“I have no idea about what their status is right now, and I’m terrified,” he tells the person on the line.

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

The Harrowing Ordeal

The family group had been swept four kilometres out to sea in stormy conditions while enjoying water sports.

His parent asked him to use his craft and locate rescue, so the boy set off, discarding first his waterlogged vessel then his unwieldy PFD to swim the distance.

After making it to shore – four hours later – he sprinted for 2km to retrieve a phone.

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

“I’m positioned on the beach right now, and I have to also explain – I think I need an paramedic because I think I have hypothermia … I’m really, I’m extremely tired. I have heatstroke, and I feel like I’m about to collapse.”

A Holiday Turned Crisis

The group was on a break in Quindalup, two hundred kilometres south of Perth. They began their trip from Geographe Bay around 10am on a Friday in late January.

The woman later explained that they were having fun when the children “drifted further than intended”. The breeze strengthened, they dropped their paddles, and started being carried out.

“It pretty much all turned bad very, very quickly,” she remarked.

The mother also described having to make “an incredibly tough choice” to send her son to make the swim for help.

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

The Successful Mission

The boy explained being “extremely winded”.

“I just keep swimming, I do breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do elementary backstroke,” he said.

The distress call was made at approximately 6pm.

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

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

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

“They were in genuine danger, and time was absolutely critical given how much time they had been in the water and with night approaching.

“What the boy did was nothing short of extraordinary. His bravery and courage in those conditions were astonishing, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a positive result.”

The sergeant also praised how the boy calmly conveyed critical information.

When asked to detail the paddleboards for the rescue team, the boy responded: “They were green and white.”

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