We Must Have a Aircraft to Locate Them’: Adolescent’s Urgent Plea to Aid Relatives Adrift Off Australian Coast Revealed

“We became disoriented out there,” young Austin Appelbee informs the triple-zero dispatcher, having swum four kilometres in treacherous, open ocean and running two kilometres to secure help for his family.

The operator inquires how long has passed since he started out.

“[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we must get a rescue aircraft 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 WA coast to find rescuers.

His tone remains lucid and collected, even as he details his worry for his family members.

“I have no idea about what their status is right now, and I’m extremely frightened,” he informs the dispatcher.

“Mum said to seek assistance … We were in serious danger.”

The Harrowing Ordeal

The mother and children had been pulled 2.5 miles out to sea in treacherous conditions while kayaking and paddleboarding.

His mother urged him to take his kayak and find help, so the boy set off, discarding first his sinking craft then his cumbersome lifejacket to swim the distance.

After reaching land – four hours later – he sprinted 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 call handler.

“I’m located on the beach right now, and I have to also mention – I think I need an ambulance because I think I have hypothermia … I’m really, I’m extremely tired. I have heatstroke, and I feel like I’m about to faint.”

A Vacation Gone Wrong

The holidaymakers was on holiday in Quindalup, two hundred kilometres south of Perth. They set off from Geographe Bay some time after 10am on a Friday in late January.

The woman later explained that they were having fun when the young ones “drifted further than intended”. The breeze strengthened, they lost their oars, and started drifting.

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

The mother also spoke of having to make “a terribly difficult call” to ask her son to swim ashore.

“I knew he was the most capable and he had the ability to succeed,” she commented.

The Successful Mission

The youth explained being “very puffed out”.

“I just keep swimming, I do breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do survival backstroke,” he said.

The distress call was made at about 6pm.

At around 8.30pm, ten hours after they first set out, the family were located and saved. They had been carried about 9 miles out to sea.

The audio was shared with the family’s permission.

A senior officer who managed the operation said the group was in an “extremely dire situation”.

“They were in serious jeopardy, and time was of the essence given how much time they had been in the water and with light running out.

“What the teenager did was nothing short of extraordinary. His heroic actions in those conditions were astonishing, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a positive result.”

The officer also highlighted how the youth clearly relayed critical information.

When asked to describe the boards for the rescue team, the teenager replied: “They were a green and white colour.”

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