🔗 Share this article We Require a Helicopter to Go Find Them’: 13-Year-Old’s Emergency Call to Rescue Loved Ones Adrift Off Aussie Coast Unveiled “We became disoriented out there,” a 13-year-old boy tells the emergency operator, following a swim 4km in treacherous, open ocean and sprinting 2km to summon rescue for his family. The call taker asks how much time has elapsed since he started out. “[It] was ages past … I think they’re a long way from land. I think we must get a rescue aircraft to locate them,” he says. Police have released the distress call made in recent weeks after the boy departed from his relatives drifting at sea off the WA coast to find rescuers. His tone remains steady and composed, even as he details his fear for his family. “I don’t know what their status is right now, and I’m extremely frightened,” he confides in the person on the line. “Mum said to seek assistance … We were in grave peril.” The Dangerous Incident The holidaymakers had been swept 2.5 miles out to sea in treacherous conditions while kayaking and paddleboarding. His parent asked him to use his craft and find help, so the boy began, discarding first his sinking craft then his bulky flotation device to swim the distance. After getting to the beach – following a four-hour swim – he ran for 1.25 miles to get to a phone. “Hello, my name is Austin … I have a brother and sister, Beau and Grace. Beau is 12 and Grace is eight,” he explains the operator. “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 exposure … I’m really, I’m utterly fatigued. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to collapse.” A Holiday Turned Crisis The family was on holiday in Quindalup, 125 miles south of Perth. They set off 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 “went out a bit too far”. The wind picked up, they dropped their paddles, and started being carried out. “It sort of all turned bad very, very quickly,” she said. The mother also spoke of having to make “a terribly difficult call” to send her son to swim ashore. “I knew he was the most capable and he had the ability to succeed,” she said. The Search Operation The youth described being “extremely winded”. “I just continued swimming, I do the breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do survival backstroke,” he recalled. The emergency call was made at about 6pm. At roughly 8.30pm, many hours after they first departed, the stranded individuals were found and brought to safety. They had drifted about 9 miles out to sea. The emergency call was shared with the mother’s permission. A forward commander who managed the operation said the family was in an “extremely dire situation”. “They were in real trouble, and time was extremely pressing given how long they had been in the water and with night approaching. “What Austin did was nothing short of extraordinary. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a rescue.” The commander also highlighted how the youth effectively communicated critical information. When asked to describe the boards for the authorities, 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 hooked. Since we managed to catch a fish.”
“We became disoriented out there,” a 13-year-old boy tells the emergency operator, following a swim 4km in treacherous, open ocean and sprinting 2km to summon rescue for his family. The call taker asks how much time has elapsed since he started out. “[It] was ages past … I think they’re a long way from land. I think we must get a rescue aircraft to locate them,” he says. Police have released the distress call made in recent weeks after the boy departed from his relatives drifting at sea off the WA coast to find rescuers. His tone remains steady and composed, even as he details his fear for his family. “I don’t know what their status is right now, and I’m extremely frightened,” he confides in the person on the line. “Mum said to seek assistance … We were in grave peril.” The Dangerous Incident The holidaymakers had been swept 2.5 miles out to sea in treacherous conditions while kayaking and paddleboarding. His parent asked him to use his craft and find help, so the boy began, discarding first his sinking craft then his bulky flotation device to swim the distance. After getting to the beach – following a four-hour swim – he ran for 1.25 miles to get to a phone. “Hello, my name is Austin … I have a brother and sister, Beau and Grace. Beau is 12 and Grace is eight,” he explains the operator. “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 exposure … I’m really, I’m utterly fatigued. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to collapse.” A Holiday Turned Crisis The family was on holiday in Quindalup, 125 miles south of Perth. They set off 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 “went out a bit too far”. The wind picked up, they dropped their paddles, and started being carried out. “It sort of all turned bad very, very quickly,” she said. The mother also spoke of having to make “a terribly difficult call” to send her son to swim ashore. “I knew he was the most capable and he had the ability to succeed,” she said. The Search Operation The youth described being “extremely winded”. “I just continued swimming, I do the breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do survival backstroke,” he recalled. The emergency call was made at about 6pm. At roughly 8.30pm, many hours after they first departed, the stranded individuals were found and brought to safety. They had drifted about 9 miles out to sea. The emergency call was shared with the mother’s permission. A forward commander who managed the operation said the family was in an “extremely dire situation”. “They were in real trouble, and time was extremely pressing given how long they had been in the water and with night approaching. “What Austin did was nothing short of extraordinary. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a rescue.” The commander also highlighted how the youth effectively communicated critical information. When asked to describe the boards for the authorities, 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 hooked. Since we managed to catch a fish.”