‘We Need a Aircraft to Search For Them’: 13-Year-Old’s Emergency Call to Save Family Adrift Off Australian Coast Unveiled

“We got lost out there,” young Austin Appelbee tells the triple-zero dispatcher, after swimming 2.5 miles in choppy, open water and running 1.25 miles to summon rescue for his kin.

The dispatcher questions how long has passed since he began.

“[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re far offshore. I think we must get a chopper to search for them,” he reports.

Police have disclosed the emergency phone call made in recent weeks after the boy departed from his relatives floating at sea off the West Australian coast to seek assistance.

His tone remains clear and calm, even as he details his concern for his family.

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

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

The Dangerous Incident

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

His mother instructed him to take his kayak and get assistance, so the youth set off, discarding first his waterlogged vessel then his bulky flotation device to cover the remaining stretch.

After making it to shore – four hours later – he sprinted for 2km to retrieve a phone.

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

“I’m positioned on the beach right now, and I have to also mention – 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 vacation 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 described that they were enjoying themselves when the children “ventured out too far”. The breeze strengthened, they dropped their paddles, and started being carried out.

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

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

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

The Successful Mission

The boy explained being “completely out of breath”.

“I just continued swimming, I do breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do elementary backstroke,” he recalled.

The distress call was made at around 6pm.

At roughly 8.30pm, a full ten hours after they first departed, the group were found and brought to safety. They had floated about 9 miles out to sea.

The recording was made public 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 extremely pressing given how much time they had been in the water and with light running out.

“What Austin did was nothing short of extraordinary. His bravery and courage in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a successful outcome.”

The commander also highlighted how the boy effectively communicated vital details.

When asked to identify the paddleboards for the rescue team, the teenager responded: “They were a green and white colour.”

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