We Must Have a Aircraft to Search For Them’: Teenager’s Emergency Call to Rescue Relatives Lost Off Down Under Coast Revealed

“We got lost out there,” the teenager informs the emergency operator, following a swim four kilometres in rough, open water and running 2km to summon rescue for his kin.

The call taker inquires how long has passed since he set off.

“[It] was ages past … I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we need a helicopter to search for them,” he says.

Emergency services have disclosed the emergency phone call made last month after the boy departed from his relatives adrift at sea off the WA coast to seek assistance.

His voice remains clear and calm, even as he voices his fear for his family.

“I have no idea about what their condition is right now, and I’m extremely frightened,” he informs the operator.

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

The Perilous Situation

The mother and children had been pulled four kilometres out to sea in stormy conditions while kayaking and paddleboarding.

His parent instructed him to set out and find help, so the teenager commenced, ditching first his sinking craft then his cumbersome lifejacket to cover the remaining stretch.

After making it to shore – four hours later – he sprinted for two kilometres to retrieve a cell 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 add – I think I need an paramedic because I think I have hypothermia … I’m really, I’m completely exhausted. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to pass out.”

A Getaway in Peril

The family was on holiday in Quindalup, two hundred kilometres south of Perth. They departed from Geographe Bay some time after 10am on a Friday in late January.

The mother later explained that they were playing around when the kids “drifted further than intended”. The wind picked up, they were separated from their equipment, and started being carried out.

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

The mother also referenced having to make “one of the hardest decisions” to ask her son to swim to land.

“I knew he was the best swimmer and he was able to manage it,” she stated.

The Successful Mission

The youth recalled being “completely out of breath”.

“I just pressed on, I do the breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do a floating stroke,” he recalled.

The distress call was made at about 6pm.

At roughly 8.30pm, ten hours after they first departed, the family were spotted and rescued. They had been carried about 14km out to sea.

The audio was shared with the family’s permission.

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

“They were in serious jeopardy, and time was extremely pressing given how much time they had been in the water and with daylight fading.

“What the boy did was nothing short of extraordinary. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a successful outcome.”

The officer also praised 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 there, but they had this rod, and there was a fish hooked. As we hooked one.”