‘We Need a Helicopter to Search For Them’: 13-Year-Old’s Distress Call to Save Relatives Adrift Off Australian Coast Unveiled

“We got lost out there,” a 13-year-old boy tells the 000 call handler, having swum 4km in treacherous, open water and jogging 1.25 miles to get assistance for his household.

The call taker questions how long has elapsed since he began.

“[It] was ages past … I think they’re far offshore. I think we must get a rescue aircraft to search for them,” he states.

Police have made public the distress call made previously after the boy departed from his relatives adrift at sea off the WA coast to fetch help.

His demeanour remains steady and composed, even as he expresses his concern for his family.

“I have no idea about what their status is right now, and I’m terrified,” he tells the operator.

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

The Perilous Situation

The mother and children had been swept four kilometres out to sea in rough conditions while enjoying water sports.

His mum asked him to take his kayak and locate rescue, so the teenager set off, ditching first his sinking craft then his cumbersome lifejacket to swim the distance.

After getting to the beach – following a four-hour swim – he ran for 2km to retrieve a cell phone.

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

“I’m located on the beach right now, and I have to also mention – I think I need an medical help because I think I have exposure … I’m really, I’m completely exhausted. I have hyperthermia, and I feel like I’m about to faint.”

A Vacation Gone Wrong

The family was on holiday in Quindalup, 200km south of Perth. They departed from Geographe Bay following 10am on a Friday in late January.

The parent later recalled that they were enjoying themselves when the children “ventured out too far”. The breeze strengthened, they lost their oars, and started being carried out.

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

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 best swimmer and he was able to manage it,” she commented.

The Successful Mission

The youth explained being “extremely winded”.

“I just pressed on, I do the breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do elementary backstroke,” he recalled.

The emergency call was made at around 6pm.

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

The audio was released with the parents' permission.

A police sergeant who managed the search and rescue effort said the group was in an “extremely dire situation”.

“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 Austin did was nothing short of extraordinary. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were astonishing, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a positive result.”

The sergeant also commended how the boy calmly conveyed key facts.

When asked to describe the equipment for the authorities, the boy responded: “They were green and white.”

“And I’m not sure if it’s still attached, but they had this fishing line, and there was a fish on there. Because we hooked one.”