We Require a Helicopter to Locate Them’: 13-Year-Old’s Distress Call to Save Loved Ones Lost Off Aussie Coast Disclosed

“We got lost out there,” young Austin Appelbee informs the 000 call handler, having swum 2.5 miles in rough, open ocean and jogging 2km to secure help for his kin.

The call taker asks how long has passed since he started out.

“[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we must get a rescue aircraft to locate them,” he reports.

Authorities have disclosed the distress call made in recent weeks after the boy left his loved ones drifting at sea off the WA coast to seek assistance.

His voice remains steady and composed, even as he details his worry for his kin.

“I have no idea about what their condition is right now, and I’m extremely frightened,” he tells the dispatcher.

“Mum said go get help … We were in serious danger.”

The Dangerous Incident

The holidaymakers had been pulled 2.5 miles out to sea in stormy conditions while enjoying water sports.

His mum urged him to set out and locate rescue, so the teenager commenced, ditching first his sinking craft then his cumbersome lifejacket to swim the distance.

After reaching land – after an extensive period – he ran for two kilometres to get to a phone.

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

“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 hypothermia … I’m really, I’m completely exhausted. I have heatstroke, and I feel like I’m about to pass out.”

A Vacation Gone Wrong

The group was on a break in Quindalup, 125 miles south of Perth. They began their trip from Geographe Bay some time after 10am on a Friday in late January.

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

“It kind of all went wrong very, very quickly,” she said.

The parent also spoke of having to make “a terribly difficult call” to send her son to swim ashore.

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

The Search Operation

The youth recalled being “completely out of breath”.

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

The call for help was made at approximately 6pm.

At roughly 8.30pm, a full ten hours after they first departed, the stranded individuals were located and saved. They had been carried about 14km out to sea.

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

A police sergeant who managed the operation said the group was in an “desperately dangerous position”.

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

“What Austin did was truly remarkable. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a successful outcome.”

The sergeant also commended how the boy calmly conveyed critical information.

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

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