We Require a Aircraft to Locate Them’: Teenager’s Emergency Call to Rescue Relatives Stranded Off Down Under Coast Unveiled

“We ended up adrift out there,” young Austin Appelbee informs the triple-zero dispatcher, having swum 4km in treacherous, open ocean and jogging 1.25 miles to get assistance for his household.

The dispatcher asks how long has passed since he started out.

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

Authorities have made public the emergency phone call made last month after the teen left his relatives adrift at sea off the Western Australian coast to fetch help.

His tone remains clear and calm, even as he voices his worry for his kin.

“I don’t know what their state is right now, and I’m terrified,” he confides in the dispatcher.

“Mum said go get help … We were in grave peril.”

The Harrowing Ordeal

The family group had been pulled 2.5 miles out to sea in rough conditions while enjoying water sports.

His mum urged him to use his craft and locate rescue, so the youth began, abandoning first his sinking craft then his bulky flotation device to cover the remaining stretch.

After making it to shore – four hours later – he sprinted for 1.25 miles to access a cell 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 located on the beach right now, and I have to also add – I think I need an medical help because I think I have hypothermia … I’m really, I’m extremely tired. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to collapse.”

A Getaway in Peril

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

The parent later explained that they were playing around when the young ones “ventured out too far”. The wind picked up, they lost their oars, and started being carried out.

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

The mother also referenced having to make “an incredibly tough choice” to send her son to swim to land.

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

The Successful Mission

The teenager described being “extremely winded”.

“I just continued swimming, I do the breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do a floating stroke,” he recalled.

The distress call was made at about 6pm.

At about 8.30pm, ten hours after they first set out, the stranded individuals were found and brought to safety. They had been carried about 9 miles out to sea.

The audio was released with the parents' permission.

A police sergeant who managed the search and rescue effort said the group was in an “desperately dangerous position”.

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

“What Austin did was incredibly brave. His bravery and courage in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were instrumental in bringing about a rescue.”

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

When asked to describe the boards for the search crew, the teenager responded: “They were coloured green and white.”

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