We Must Have a Chopper to Search For Them’: 13-Year-Old’s Urgent Plea to Aid Relatives Lost Off Aussie Coast Disclosed

“We got lost out there,” a 13-year-old boy explains to the emergency operator, following a swim four kilometres in choppy, open water and running two kilometres to get assistance for his kin.

The operator questions how long has elapsed since he started out.

“[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re a long way from land. I think we require a rescue aircraft to search for them,” he states.

Authorities have disclosed the distress call made last month after the teen left his family floating at sea off the West Australian coast to find rescuers.

His demeanour remains steady and composed, even as he expresses his fear for his family members.

“I am unsure of what their condition is right now, and I’m extremely frightened,” he informs the dispatcher.

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

The Dangerous Incident

The family group had been carried 4km out to sea in rough conditions while enjoying water sports.

His parent asked him to take his kayak and get assistance, so the boy set off, discarding first his sinking craft then his cumbersome lifejacket to cover the remaining stretch.

After making it to shore – following a four-hour swim – he ran for 1.25 miles to access a cell phone.

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

“I’m positioned on the beach right now, and I have to also add – I think I need an medical help because I think I have a dangerously low body temperature … I’m really, I’m utterly fatigued. I have hyperthermia, and I feel like I’m about to collapse.”

A Vacation Gone Wrong

The holidaymakers was on vacation in Quindalup, 200km south of Perth. They set off from Geographe Bay following 10am on a Friday in late January.

The parent later described that they were having fun when the young ones “ventured out too far”. The wind picked up, they dropped their paddles, and started being carried out.

“It sort of all turned bad very, very quickly,” she remarked.

The parent also described having to make “one of the hardest decisions” to instruct her son to swim ashore.

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

The Successful Mission

The boy described being “extremely winded”.

“I just continued swimming, I do breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do a floating stroke,” he said.

The distress call was made at approximately 6pm.

At about 8.30pm, a full ten hours after they first set out, the group were located and saved. They had been carried about fourteen kilometres out to sea.

The recording was made public with the family’s permission.

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

“They were in serious jeopardy, and time was extremely pressing given how long they had been in the water and with night approaching.

“What the boy did was truly remarkable. His heroic actions in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a positive result.”

The sergeant also highlighted how the boy effectively communicated critical information.

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

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