We Must Have a Helicopter to Locate Them’: Teenager’s Urgent Plea to Aid Loved Ones Lost Off Australian Coast Revealed

“We became disoriented out there,” young Austin Appelbee informs the emergency operator, having swum four kilometres in rough, open ocean and sprinting 2km to get assistance for his kin.

The operator asks how much time has elapsed since he started out.

“[It] was ages past … I think they’re a long way from land. I think we must get a chopper to locate them,” he says.

Authorities have made public the distress call made in recent weeks after the teen departed from his family adrift at sea off the West Australian coast to fetch help.

His voice remains clear and calm, even as he details his fear for his family.

“I am unsure of what their condition is right now, and I’m terrified,” he tells the person on the line.

“Mum said to find rescue … We were in grave peril.”

The Perilous Situation

The family group had been swept 2.5 miles out to sea in rough conditions while using kayaks and paddleboards.

His parent instructed him to use his craft and find help, so the boy began, discarding first his waterlogged vessel then his cumbersome lifejacket to make the journey by swimming.

After getting to the beach – four hours later – he ran for 1.25 miles to access a cell phone.

“Hello, my name is Austin … I have younger siblings, 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 ambulance because I think I have hypothermia … I’m really, I’m utterly fatigued. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to collapse.”

A Getaway in Peril

The group was on a break in Quindalup, 200km south of Perth. They began their trip from Geographe Bay following 10am on a Friday in late January.

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

“It pretty much all became dangerous very, very quickly,” she remarked.

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

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

The Search Operation

The boy recalled being “extremely winded”.

“I just pressed on, I do the breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do elementary backstroke,” he recalled.

The emergency call was made at about 6pm.

At about 8.30pm, a full ten hours after they first departed, the stranded individuals were spotted and rescued. They had been carried about 9 miles out to sea.

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

A police sergeant who oversaw the rescue mission said the family was in an “extremely dire situation”.

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

“What Austin did was nothing short of extraordinary. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were exceptional, and his actions were instrumental in bringing about a positive result.”

The sergeant also highlighted how the teenager calmly conveyed key facts.

When asked to identify the paddleboards for the authorities, the teenager said: “They were green and white.”

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