‘We Need a Aircraft to Go Find Them’: Adolescent’s Emergency Call to Save Family Stranded Off Australian Coast Unveiled

“We got lost out there,” the teenager explains to the emergency operator, after swimming 2.5 miles in treacherous, open water and jogging 2km to summon rescue for his kin.

The dispatcher questions how much time has passed since he began.

“[It] was ages past … I think they’re a long way from land. I think we must get a rescue aircraft to search for them,” he reports.

Authorities have made public the emergency phone call made previously after the boy left his family adrift at sea off the WA coast to seek assistance.

His tone remains clear and calm, 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 tells the person on the line.

“Mum said to find rescue … We were in serious danger.”

The Dangerous Incident

The mother and children had been pulled 4km out to sea in rough conditions while enjoying water sports.

His mum asked him to set out and get assistance, so the boy set off, ditching first his waterlogged vessel then his unwieldy PFD to cover the remaining stretch.

After making it to shore – four hours later – he ran for 1.25 miles to retrieve 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 states the operator.

“I’m located on the beach right now, and I have to also mention – I think I need an paramedic 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 Vacation Gone Wrong

The group was on vacation in Quindalup, two hundred kilometres south of Perth. They began their trip from Geographe Bay around 10am on a Friday in late January.

The mother later explained that they were enjoying themselves when the young ones “went out a bit too far”. The conditions worsened, they lost their oars, and started being carried out.

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

The parent also spoke of having to make “an incredibly tough choice” to ask her son to swim ashore.

“I knew he was the strongest and he could do it,” she stated.

The Search Operation

The teenager recalled being “very puffed out”.

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

The emergency call was made at approximately 6pm.

At around 8.30pm, ten hours after they first departed, the group were spotted and rescued. They had floated about fourteen kilometres out to sea.

The recording was released with the family’s permission.

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

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

“What the teenager did was incredibly brave. His bravery and courage in those conditions were exceptional, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a successful outcome.”

The commander also highlighted how the boy calmly conveyed key facts.

When asked to identify the equipment for the search crew, the youth replied: “They were coloured green and white.”

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