We Must Have a Aircraft to Search For Them’: Adolescent’s Urgent Plea to Rescue Relatives Lost Off Aussie Coast Disclosed

“We became disoriented out there,” a 13-year-old boy tells the emergency operator, after swimming 4km in rough, open ocean and sprinting 1.25 miles to get assistance for his household.

The operator questions how long 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 require a rescue aircraft to search for them,” he says.

Authorities have made public the recorded plea made last month after the teen left his family floating at sea off the WA coast to seek assistance.

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

“I am unsure of what their state is right now, and I’m really scared,” he tells the operator.

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

The Harrowing Ordeal

The mother and children had been pulled 4km out to sea in treacherous conditions while kayaking and paddleboarding.

His parent urged him to use his craft and locate rescue, so the boy set off, discarding first his waterlogged vessel then his cumbersome lifejacket to make the journey by swimming.

After getting to the beach – following a four-hour swim – he ran for 1.25 miles to access a mobile phone.

“Hello, my name is Austin … I have a brother and sister, Beau and Grace. Beau is 12 and Grace is eight,” he tells the call handler.

“I’m located on the beach right now, and I have to also mention – I think I need an ambulance because I think I have a dangerously low body temperature … I’m really, I’m utterly fatigued. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to faint.”

A Holiday Turned Crisis

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

The woman later explained that they were having fun when the young ones “drifted further than intended”. The breeze strengthened, they dropped their paddles, and started floating away.

“It pretty much all turned bad very, very quickly,” she noted.

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

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

The Search Operation

The teenager recalled being “very puffed out”.

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

The emergency call was made at around 6pm.

At around 8.30pm, ten hours after they first began, the family were located and saved. They had drifted about 14km out to sea.

The audio was released with the family’s permission.

A senior officer who oversaw the rescue mission said the group was in an “extremely dire situation”.

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

“What the boy did was incredibly brave. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were astonishing, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a successful outcome.”

The sergeant also praised how the boy clearly relayed critical information.

When asked to describe the equipment for the rescue team, the boy replied: “They were green and white.”

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