🔗 Share this article We Require a Aircraft to Search For Them’: Teenager’s Urgent Plea to Save Relatives Stranded Off Australian Coast Unveiled “We got lost out there,” a 13-year-old boy explains to the emergency operator, following a swim four kilometres in treacherous, open water and running 1.25 miles to summon rescue for his household. The dispatcher inquires how long has passed since he set off. “[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re a long way from land. I think we require a chopper to locate them,” he states. Police have made public the emergency phone call made previously after the boy left his relatives floating at sea off the WA coast to fetch help. His demeanour remains clear and calm, even as he voices his fear for his family. “I have no idea about what their status is right now, and I’m terrified,” he confides in the dispatcher. “Mum said to find rescue … We were in grave peril.” The Dangerous Incident The holidaymakers had been carried four kilometres out to sea in rough conditions while kayaking and paddleboarding. His parent instructed him to set out and find help, so the teenager commenced, discarding first his sinking craft then his unwieldy PFD to cover the remaining stretch. After reaching land – after an extensive period – he ran for 2km to retrieve a phone. “Hello, my name is Austin … I have younger siblings, Beau and Grace. Beau is 12 and Grace is eight,” he states the emergency services. “I’m located on the beach right now, and I have to also add – I think I need an paramedic because I think I have a dangerously low body temperature … I’m really, I’m utterly fatigued. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to faint.” A Getaway in Peril The group was on a break in Quindalup, 125 miles south of Perth. They departed from Geographe Bay following 10am on a Friday in late January. The woman later explained that they were playing around when the kids “drifted further than intended”. The wind picked up, they dropped their paddles, and started being carried out. “It kind of all turned bad very, very quickly,” she noted. The mother also spoke of having to make “an incredibly tough choice” to send her son to swim ashore. “I knew he was the strongest and he was able to manage it,” she commented. The Rescue Effort The boy described being “very puffed out”. “I just pressed on, I do breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do survival backstroke,” he recalled. The distress call was made at about 6pm. At about 8.30pm, ten hours after they first began, the group were located and saved. They had been carried about fourteen kilometres out to sea. The emergency call was made public with the mother’s permission. A senior officer who managed the search and rescue effort said the family was in an “extremely dire situation”. “They were in genuine danger, and time was absolutely critical given how long they had been in the water and with light running out. “What the teenager did was truly remarkable. His bravery and courage in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were instrumental in bringing about a positive result.” The officer also commended how the teenager calmly conveyed critical information. When asked to identify the paddleboards for the search crew, the teenager responded: “They were green and white.” “And I’m not sure if it’s still on, but they had this fishing line, and there was a fish hooked. As we caught one.”
“We got lost out there,” a 13-year-old boy explains to the emergency operator, following a swim four kilometres in treacherous, open water and running 1.25 miles to summon rescue for his household. The dispatcher inquires how long has passed since he set off. “[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re a long way from land. I think we require a chopper to locate them,” he states. Police have made public the emergency phone call made previously after the boy left his relatives floating at sea off the WA coast to fetch help. His demeanour remains clear and calm, even as he voices his fear for his family. “I have no idea about what their status is right now, and I’m terrified,” he confides in the dispatcher. “Mum said to find rescue … We were in grave peril.” The Dangerous Incident The holidaymakers had been carried four kilometres out to sea in rough conditions while kayaking and paddleboarding. His parent instructed him to set out and find help, so the teenager commenced, discarding first his sinking craft then his unwieldy PFD to cover the remaining stretch. After reaching land – after an extensive period – he ran for 2km to retrieve a phone. “Hello, my name is Austin … I have younger siblings, Beau and Grace. Beau is 12 and Grace is eight,” he states the emergency services. “I’m located on the beach right now, and I have to also add – I think I need an paramedic because I think I have a dangerously low body temperature … I’m really, I’m utterly fatigued. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to faint.” A Getaway in Peril The group was on a break in Quindalup, 125 miles south of Perth. They departed from Geographe Bay following 10am on a Friday in late January. The woman later explained that they were playing around when the kids “drifted further than intended”. The wind picked up, they dropped their paddles, and started being carried out. “It kind of all turned bad very, very quickly,” she noted. The mother also spoke of having to make “an incredibly tough choice” to send her son to swim ashore. “I knew he was the strongest and he was able to manage it,” she commented. The Rescue Effort The boy described being “very puffed out”. “I just pressed on, I do breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do survival backstroke,” he recalled. The distress call was made at about 6pm. At about 8.30pm, ten hours after they first began, the group were located and saved. They had been carried about fourteen kilometres out to sea. The emergency call was made public with the mother’s permission. A senior officer who managed the search and rescue effort said the family was in an “extremely dire situation”. “They were in genuine danger, and time was absolutely critical given how long they had been in the water and with light running out. “What the teenager did was truly remarkable. His bravery and courage in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were instrumental in bringing about a positive result.” The officer also commended how the teenager calmly conveyed critical information. When asked to identify the paddleboards for the search crew, the teenager responded: “They were green and white.” “And I’m not sure if it’s still on, but they had this fishing line, and there was a fish hooked. As we caught one.”