‘We Need a Chopper to Search For Them’: 13-Year-Old’s Emergency Call to Rescue Loved Ones Lost Off Aussie Coast Disclosed

“We ended up adrift out there,” a 13-year-old boy explains to the triple-zero dispatcher, having swum four kilometres in rough, the sea and running two kilometres to summon rescue for his household.

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

“[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we require a chopper to go find them,” he says.

Police have disclosed the distress call made in recent weeks after the teen left his loved ones drifting at sea off the WA coast to fetch help.

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

“I have no idea about what their state is right now, and I’m extremely frightened,” he confides in the person on the line.

“Mum said to seek assistance … We were in grave peril.”

The Dangerous Incident

The family group had been carried 4km out to sea in treacherous conditions while using kayaks and paddleboards.

His mum asked him to take his kayak and locate rescue, so the teenager began, discarding first his waterlogged vessel then his bulky flotation device to make the journey by swimming.

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

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

“I’m sitting on the beach right now, and I have to also add – I think I need an ambulance because I think I have exposure … I’m really, I’m utterly fatigued. I have hyperthermia, and I feel like I’m about to faint.”

A Holiday Turned Crisis

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

The mother later explained that they were playing around when the children “ventured out too far”. The wind picked up, they were separated from their equipment, and started being carried out.

“It pretty much all became dangerous very, very quickly,” she noted.

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 strongest and he had the ability to succeed,” she said.

The Successful Mission

The teenager described being “completely out of breath”.

“I just keep swimming, I do the breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do elementary backstroke,” he explained.

The call for help was made at approximately 6pm.

At roughly 8.30pm, ten hours after they first began, the group were found and brought to safety. They had drifted about 14km out to sea.

The audio was released with the parents' permission.

A senior officer who oversaw the rescue mission said the family was in an “incredibly perilous state”.

“They were in genuine danger, and time was absolutely critical given how much time they had been in the water and with night approaching.

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

The commander also commended how the teenager calmly conveyed vital details.

When asked to identify the boards for the authorities, the youth said: “They were coloured green and white.”

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