We Must Have a Chopper to Search For Them’: 13-Year-Old’s Distress Call to Aid Family Stranded Off Aussie Coast Revealed

“We ended up adrift out there,” young Austin Appelbee tells the 000 call handler, after swimming four kilometres in treacherous, the sea and jogging two kilometres to get assistance for his family.

The operator asks how much time has gone by since he set off.

“[It] was a very long time ago … I think they’re a long way from land. I think we need a helicopter to locate them,” he states.

Emergency services have released the emergency phone call made in recent weeks after the teen departed from his relatives adrift at sea off the Western Australian coast to fetch help.

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

“I have no idea about what their condition is right now, and I’m really scared,” he informs the dispatcher.

“Mum said to find rescue … We were in serious danger.”

The Dangerous Incident

The family group had been swept 4km out to sea in rough conditions while kayaking and paddleboarding.

His mum instructed him to use his craft and get assistance, so the boy commenced, ditching first his waterlogged vessel then his bulky flotation device to cover the remaining stretch.

After making it to shore – four hours later – he raced for two kilometres to access a mobile phone.

“Hello, my name is Austin … I have younger siblings, Beau and Grace. Beau is 12 and Grace is eight,” he tells the emergency services.

“I’m located on the beach right now, and I have to also add – I think I need an medical help because I think I have hypothermia … I’m really, I’m extremely tired. I have hyperthermia, and I feel like I’m about to collapse.”

A Getaway in Peril

The holidaymakers was on holiday in Quindalup, 125 miles south of Perth. They departed from Geographe Bay following 10am on a Friday in late January.

The parent later described that they were enjoying themselves when the young ones “drifted further than intended”. The conditions worsened, they lost their oars, and started being carried out.

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

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

“I knew he was the strongest and he had the ability to succeed,” she stated.

The Successful Mission

The boy recalled being “completely out of breath”.

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

The call for help was made at about 6pm.

At roughly 8.30pm, a full ten hours after they first began, the stranded individuals were found and brought to safety. They had been carried about fourteen kilometres out to sea.

The audio was released with the mother’s permission.

A forward commander who coordinated the operation said the group was in an “incredibly perilous state”.

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

“What the teenager did was nothing short of extraordinary. His heroic actions in those conditions were astonishing, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a rescue.”

The commander also commended how the boy clearly relayed critical information.

When asked to describe the boards for the authorities, the boy said: “They were a green and white colour.”

“And I’m not sure if it’s still attached, but they had this fishing rod, and there was a catch on the line. As we caught one.”