We Must Have a Chopper to Search For Them’: 13-Year-Old’s Urgent Plea to Save Family Stranded Off Australian Coast Unveiled

“We became disoriented out there,” a 13-year-old boy explains to the triple-zero dispatcher, having swum four kilometres in rough, open ocean and running 1.25 miles to secure help for his household.

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

“[It] was ages past … I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we need a chopper to locate them,” he reports.

Authorities have disclosed the distress call made in recent weeks after the youth departed from his loved ones drifting at sea off the WA coast to find rescuers.

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

“I am unsure of what their status is right now, and I’m terrified,” he confides in the operator.

“Mum said go get help … We were in massive trouble.”

The Perilous Situation

The holidaymakers had been swept 2.5 miles out to sea in treacherous conditions while kayaking and paddleboarding.

His mum asked him to use his craft and locate rescue, so the boy set off, discarding first his waterlogged vessel then his unwieldy PFD to make the journey by swimming.

After getting to the beach – four hours later – he ran for 1.25 miles to retrieve a phone.

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

“I’m sitting on the beach right now, and I have to also explain – I think I need an medical help 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 pass out.”

A Getaway in Peril

The group was on vacation in Quindalup, two hundred kilometres south of Perth. They set off from Geographe Bay following 10am on a Friday in late January.

The woman later recalled that they were enjoying themselves when the children “ventured out too far”. The breeze strengthened, they were separated from their equipment, and started floating away.

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

The parent also spoke of having to make “a terribly difficult call” to ask her son to make the swim for help.

“I knew he was the best swimmer and he could do it,” she commented.

The Rescue Effort

The teenager recalled being “very puffed out”.

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

The call for help was made at about 6pm.

At roughly 8.30pm, a full ten hours after they first departed, the family were found and brought to safety. They had floated about 9 miles out to sea.

The audio was released with the family’s permission.

A senior officer who managed the search and rescue effort said the family was in an “incredibly perilous state”.

“They were in genuine danger, and time was extremely pressing given how long they had been in the water and with night approaching.

“What the teenager did was incredibly brave. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a rescue.”

The officer also highlighted how the boy effectively communicated vital details.

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

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