‘We Need a Chopper to Go Find Them’: Adolescent’s Emergency Call to Rescue Relatives Adrift Off Down Under Coast Revealed

“We got lost out there,” the teenager explains to the triple-zero dispatcher, having swum four kilometres in treacherous, open water and running two kilometres to summon rescue for his household.

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

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

Emergency services have made public the recorded plea made in recent weeks after the youth left his family drifting at sea off the Western Australian coast to seek assistance.

His tone remains clear and calm, even as he details his fear for his family.

“I am unsure of what their state is right now, and I’m really scared,” he confides in the dispatcher.

“Mum said to seek assistance … We were in massive trouble.”

The Harrowing Ordeal

The holidaymakers had been swept 4km out to sea in stormy conditions while kayaking and paddleboarding.

His mum instructed him to set out and get assistance, so the boy began, abandoning first his waterlogged vessel then his unwieldy PFD to make the journey by swimming.

After getting to the beach – after an extensive period – he raced 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 tells the call handler.

“I’m sitting on the beach right now, and I have to also explain – I think I need an ambulance because I think I have hypothermia … I’m really, I’m completely exhausted. I have hyperthermia, and I feel like I’m about to pass out.”

A Vacation Gone Wrong

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

The mother later explained that they were having fun when the kids “went out a bit too far”. The wind picked up, they were separated from their equipment, and started drifting.

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

The parent also spoke of having to make “a terribly difficult call” to send her son to swim ashore.

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

The Search Operation

The youth described being “very puffed out”.

“I just keep swimming, I do breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do survival backstroke,” he explained.

The emergency call was made at about 6pm.

At roughly 8.30pm, ten hours after they first began, the family were spotted and rescued. They had been carried about fourteen kilometres out to sea.

The recording was shared with the mother’s permission.

A forward commander who oversaw the operation said the family was in an “extremely dire situation”.

“They were in real trouble, and time was extremely pressing given how much time they had been in the water and with night approaching.

“What Austin did was incredibly brave. His heroic actions in those conditions were astonishing, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a positive result.”

The sergeant also highlighted how the youth effectively communicated key facts.

When asked to identify the equipment for the search crew, the youth said: “They were a green and white colour.”

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