‘We Need a Aircraft to Locate Them’: 13-Year-Old’s Emergency Call to Aid Loved Ones Lost Off Aussie Coast Revealed

“We became disoriented out there,” a 13-year-old boy informs the triple-zero dispatcher, having swum four kilometres in choppy, the sea and jogging 1.25 miles to secure help for his kin.

The dispatcher asks how much time has elapsed since he set off.

“[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re a long way from land. I think we require a rescue aircraft to locate them,” he reports.

Police have disclosed the distress call made in recent weeks after the boy departed from his family drifting at sea off the Western Australian coast to fetch help.

His tone remains steady and composed, even as he details his fear for his family.

“I am unsure of what their status is right now, and I’m extremely frightened,” he tells the person on the line.

“Mum said to find rescue … We were in grave peril.”

The Perilous Situation

The holidaymakers had been carried 2.5 miles out to sea in stormy conditions while using kayaks and paddleboards.

His parent urged him to take his kayak and get assistance, so the teenager commenced, discarding first his waterlogged vessel then his bulky flotation device to make the journey by swimming.

After making it to shore – following a four-hour swim – he raced for 1.25 miles to get to a mobile phone.

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

“I’m located on the beach right now, and I have to also explain – I think I need an ambulance because I think I have a dangerously low body temperature … I’m really, I’m extremely tired. I have hyperthermia, and I feel like I’m about to collapse.”

A Vacation Gone Wrong

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

The mother later described that they were enjoying themselves when the children “went out a bit too far”. The breeze strengthened, they were separated from their equipment, and started being carried out.

“It kind of all became dangerous very, very quickly,” she said.

The mother also referenced having to make “a terribly difficult call” to send her son to swim ashore.

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

The Search Operation

The boy explained being “completely out of breath”.

“I just pressed on, I do breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do survival backstroke,” he explained.

The call for help was made at around 6pm.

At about 8.30pm, a full ten hours after they first departed, the group were located and saved. They had drifted about 9 miles out to sea.

The emergency call was made public with the mother’s permission.

A police sergeant who managed the rescue mission said the family 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 night approaching.

“What the teenager did was truly remarkable. His bravery and courage in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a rescue.”

The officer also praised how the boy calmly conveyed critical information.

When asked to describe the boards for the rescue team, the youth said: “They were coloured green and white.”

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