We Must Have a Helicopter to Locate Them’: 13-Year-Old’s Emergency Call to Rescue Family Lost Off Aussie Coast Revealed

“We became disoriented out there,” young Austin Appelbee tells the 000 call handler, having swum four kilometres in treacherous, the sea and jogging 2km to summon rescue for his kin.

The dispatcher questions how long has elapsed since he started out.

“[It] was a very long time ago … I think they’re far offshore. I think we need a rescue aircraft to go find them,” he states.

Police have released the distress call made in recent weeks after the teen left his relatives adrift at sea off the WA coast to fetch help.

His tone remains lucid and collected, even as he details his concern for his family members.

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

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

The Perilous Situation

The family group had been pulled four kilometres out to sea in treacherous conditions while kayaking and paddleboarding.

His mum instructed him to use his craft and locate rescue, so the boy set off, ditching first his sinking craft then his unwieldy PFD to make the journey by swimming.

After getting to the beach – after an extensive period – he raced for two kilometres to retrieve a mobile phone.

“Hello, my name is Austin … I have younger siblings, Beau and Grace. Beau is 12 and Grace is eight,” he explains the call handler.

“I’m positioned 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 completely exhausted. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to collapse.”

A Vacation Gone Wrong

The family was on a break in Quindalup, 200km south of Perth. They began their trip from Geographe Bay around 10am on a Friday in late January.

The mother later explained that they were playing around when the young ones “went out a bit too far”. The breeze strengthened, they were separated from their equipment, and started being carried out.

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

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

“I knew he was the most capable and he was able to manage it,” she commented.

The Rescue Effort

The boy explained being “completely out of breath”.

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

The distress call was made at around 6pm.

At roughly 8.30pm, ten hours after they first began, the stranded individuals were located and saved. They had floated about 9 miles out to sea.

The recording was made public with the mother’s permission.

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

“They were in real trouble, and time was absolutely critical given how much time they had been in the water and with light running out.

“What the boy did was truly remarkable. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were exceptional, and his actions were instrumental in bringing about a positive result.”

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

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

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