‘We Need a Helicopter to Go Find Them’: Teenager’s Distress Call to Rescue Loved Ones Stranded Off Australian Coast Disclosed

“We ended up adrift out there,” the teenager tells the triple-zero dispatcher, following a swim 2.5 miles in rough, open ocean and jogging 2km to get assistance for his kin.

The dispatcher questions how long has elapsed since he began.

“[It] was ages past … I think they’re far offshore. I think we require a chopper to search for them,” he says.

Emergency services have made public the distress call made previously after the teen departed from his family drifting at sea off the Western Australian coast to fetch help.

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

“I am unsure of what their condition is right now, and I’m really scared,” he informs the person on the line.

“Mum said to find rescue … We were in massive trouble.”

The Perilous Situation

The mother and children had been swept four kilometres out to sea in rough conditions while using kayaks and paddleboards.

His mum asked him to set out and find help, so the boy commenced, ditching first his failing kayak then his unwieldy PFD to cover the remaining stretch.

After making it to shore – after an extensive period – he raced for 1.25 miles to get to 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 explains the operator.

“I’m sitting on the beach right now, and I have to also mention – I think I need an ambulance because I think I have hypothermia … I’m really, I’m utterly fatigued. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to collapse.”

A Vacation Gone Wrong

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

The parent later described that they were playing around when the children “ventured out too far”. The wind picked up, they dropped their paddles, and started drifting.

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

The parent also spoke of having to make “one of the hardest decisions” to instruct her son to swim to land.

“I knew he was the best swimmer and he had the ability to succeed,” she said.

The Rescue Effort

The youth recalled being “extremely winded”.

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

The emergency call was made at about 6pm.

At about 8.30pm, many hours after they first departed, the group were found and brought to safety. They had floated about fourteen kilometres out to sea.

The emergency call was made public with the parents' permission.

A police sergeant who coordinated the rescue mission said the family was in an “incredibly perilous state”.

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

“What Austin did was truly remarkable. His bravery and courage in those conditions were exceptional, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a successful outcome.”

The officer also praised how the teenager clearly relayed key facts.

When asked to detail the paddleboards for the search crew, the teenager responded: “They were a green and white colour.”

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