We Must Have a Chopper to Search For Them’: 13-Year-Old’s Urgent Plea to Save Loved Ones Adrift Off Down Under Coast Unveiled

“We ended up adrift out there,” young Austin Appelbee explains to the 000 call handler, having swum 2.5 miles in treacherous, open water and sprinting two kilometres to secure help for his household.

The operator inquires how long has gone by since he started out.

“[It] was a very long time ago … I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we require a rescue aircraft to locate them,” he states.

Police have disclosed the emergency phone call made last month after the youth departed from his family floating at sea off the WA coast to seek assistance.

His voice remains lucid and collected, even as he details his worry for his family members.

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

“Mum said to seek assistance … We were in grave peril.”

The Harrowing Ordeal

The holidaymakers had been carried four kilometres out to sea in stormy conditions while kayaking and paddleboarding.

His mother urged him to take his kayak and locate rescue, so the boy began, discarding first his sinking craft then his bulky flotation device to make the journey by swimming.

After making it to shore – after an extensive period – he ran for two kilometres to access a cell phone.

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

“I’m positioned on the beach right now, and I have to also explain – I think I need an medical help because I think I have a dangerously low body temperature … I’m really, I’m utterly fatigued. I have heatstroke, and I feel like I’m about to pass out.”

A Getaway in Peril

The group was on vacation in Quindalup, 200km 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 “drifted further than intended”. The conditions worsened, they were separated from their equipment, and started floating away.

“It pretty much all went wrong very, very quickly,” she noted.

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

“I knew he was the most capable and he had the ability to succeed,” she commented.

The Rescue Effort

The boy recalled being “very puffed out”.

“I just continued swimming, I do breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do a floating stroke,” he explained.

The distress call was made at about 6pm.

At roughly 8.30pm, many hours after they first began, the stranded individuals were found and brought to safety. They had drifted about 14km out to sea.

The audio was released with the family’s permission.

A senior officer who managed the operation said the group was in an “desperately dangerous position”.

“They were in genuine danger, and time was extremely pressing given how long they had been in the water and with light running out.

“What the teenager did was truly remarkable. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were instrumental in bringing about a successful outcome.”

The officer also highlighted how the youth effectively communicated critical information.

When asked to describe the boards for the rescue team, the teenager replied: “They were a green and white colour.”

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