We Must Have a Chopper to Locate Them’: Teenager’s Urgent Plea to Aid Loved Ones Adrift Off Down Under Coast Disclosed

“We got lost out there,” a 13-year-old boy informs the triple-zero dispatcher, following a swim 2.5 miles in rough, the sea and running 1.25 miles to get assistance for his kin.

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

“[It] was ages past … I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we require a rescue aircraft to go find them,” he states.

Authorities have disclosed the recorded plea made previously after the youth left his family drifting at sea off the WA coast to find rescuers.

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

“I am unsure of what their condition is right now, and I’m extremely frightened,” he tells the operator.

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

The Perilous Situation

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

His mum asked him to use his craft and find help, so the teenager commenced, discarding first his failing kayak then his cumbersome lifejacket to cover the remaining stretch.

After making it to shore – four hours later – he ran for 1.25 miles to access a phone.

“Hello, my name is Austin … I have younger 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 exposure … I’m really, I’m extremely tired. I have hyperthermia, and I feel like I’m about to faint.”

A Holiday Turned Crisis

The family was on vacation in Quindalup, 200km south of Perth. They set off from Geographe Bay around 10am on a Friday in late January.

The mother later described that they were having fun when the kids “ventured out too far”. The wind picked up, they dropped their paddles, and started drifting.

“It kind of all turned bad very, very quickly,” she noted.

The mother also spoke of having to make “an incredibly tough choice” to send her son to make the swim for help.

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

The Search Operation

The youth recalled being “very puffed out”.

“I just continued swimming, I do the breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do survival backstroke,” he explained.

The distress call was made at around 6pm.

At roughly 8.30pm, a full ten hours after they first departed, the stranded individuals were located and saved. They had drifted about 14km out to sea.

The audio was made public with the parents' permission.

A forward commander who oversaw the rescue mission said the group was in an “desperately dangerous position”.

“They were in serious jeopardy, and time was of the essence 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 astonishing, and his actions were instrumental in bringing about a positive result.”

The commander also highlighted how the teenager calmly conveyed vital details.

When asked to detail the boards for the authorities, the teenager said: “They were coloured green and white.”

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