We Must Have a Helicopter to Locate Them’: Adolescent’s Emergency Call to Save Loved Ones Adrift Off Australian Coast Revealed

“We became disoriented out there,” the teenager informs the triple-zero dispatcher, having swum 2.5 miles in rough, the sea and running 2km to get assistance for his family.

The call taker questions how much time has elapsed since he started out.

“[It] was a very long time ago … I think they’re a long way from land. I think we need a helicopter to locate them,” he says.

Police have released the distress call made previously after the teen departed from his family drifting at sea off the West Australian coast to seek assistance.

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

“I am unsure of what their condition is right now, and I’m terrified,” he confides in the person on the line.

“Mum said to seek assistance … We were in massive trouble.”

The Perilous Situation

The holidaymakers had been carried 2.5 miles out to sea in rough conditions while using kayaks and paddleboards.

His mother urged him to set out and find help, so the youth commenced, ditching first his failing kayak then his cumbersome lifejacket to swim the distance.

After making it to shore – after an extensive period – he ran for 2km to access a cell phone.

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

“I’m located on the beach right now, and I have to also explain – I think I need an medical help because I think I have exposure … I’m really, I’m utterly fatigued. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to collapse.”

A Getaway in Peril

The group was on a break in Quindalup, two hundred kilometres 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 young ones “went out a bit too far”. The wind picked up, they were separated from their equipment, and started floating away.

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

The mother also described having to make “a terribly difficult call” to send her son to swim ashore.

“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 continued swimming, I do breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do a floating stroke,” he said.

The distress call was made at around 6pm.

At about 8.30pm, ten hours after they first set out, the group were spotted and rescued. They had drifted about 9 miles out to sea.

The emergency call was shared with the parents' permission.

A police sergeant who oversaw the operation said the family was in an “incredibly perilous state”.

“They were in serious jeopardy, and time was of the essence given how long they had been in the water and with daylight fading.

“What the boy did was nothing short of extraordinary. His heroic actions in those conditions were astonishing, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a successful outcome.”

The officer also commended how the boy calmly conveyed vital details.

When asked to describe the boards for the authorities, the boy responded: “They were green and white.”

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