We Require a Helicopter to Search For Them’: Teenager’s Emergency Call to Rescue Family Stranded Off Down Under Coast Disclosed

“We became disoriented out there,” young Austin Appelbee informs the triple-zero dispatcher, having swum 4km in rough, the sea and running two kilometres to summon rescue for his kin.

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

“[It] was a very long time ago … I think they’re far offshore. I think we need a rescue aircraft to go find them,” he says.

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

His voice remains clear and calm, even as he expresses his concern for his family.

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

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

The Harrowing Ordeal

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

His mother instructed him to set out and locate rescue, so the teenager began, abandoning first his sinking craft then his bulky flotation device to cover the remaining stretch.

After reaching land – four hours later – he ran for 2km to get to a cell phone.

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

“I’m located on the beach right now, and I have to also explain – I think I need an ambulance because I think I have exposure … I’m really, I’m completely exhausted. I have heatstroke, and I feel like I’m about to faint.”

A Getaway in Peril

The group was on holiday in Quindalup, 125 miles south of Perth. They departed from Geographe Bay around 10am on a Friday in late January.

The parent later described that they were playing around when the kids “ventured out too far”. The conditions worsened, they lost their oars, and started drifting.

“It pretty much all went wrong very, very quickly,” she noted.

The parent also spoke of having to make “one of the hardest decisions” to ask her son to make the swim for help.

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

The Search Operation

The boy described being “very puffed out”.

“I just pressed on, I do breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do elementary backstroke,” he recalled.

The emergency call was made at around 6pm.

At around 8.30pm, many hours after they first departed, the group were spotted and rescued. They had been carried about 9 miles out to sea.

The audio was shared with the parents' permission.

A police sergeant who coordinated the rescue mission said the group was in an “desperately dangerous position”.

“They were in real trouble, and time was extremely pressing 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 crucial in bringing about a positive result.”

The commander also highlighted how the boy calmly conveyed critical information.

When asked to detail the paddleboards for the search crew, the youth replied: “They were green and white.”

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