We Must Have a Chopper to Go Find Them’: Teenager’s Emergency Call to Aid Relatives Stranded Off Down Under Coast Disclosed

“We got lost out there,” young Austin Appelbee explains to the 000 call handler, after swimming 2.5 miles in treacherous, open ocean and jogging 1.25 miles to summon rescue for his kin.

The call taker inquires how much time has elapsed since he began.

“[It] was a very long time ago … I think they’re far offshore. I think we require a rescue aircraft to locate them,” he reports.

Police have made public the distress call made previously after the teen left his family adrift at sea off the WA coast to fetch help.

His tone remains lucid and collected, even as he expresses his concern for his family members.

“I don’t know what their state is right now, and I’m terrified,” he confides in the dispatcher.

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

The Perilous Situation

The family group had been pulled 4km out to sea in treacherous conditions while kayaking and paddleboarding.

His mother instructed him to take his kayak and get assistance, so the teenager set off, discarding first his sinking craft then his unwieldy PFD to cover the remaining stretch.

After reaching land – following a four-hour swim – he sprinted for 1.25 miles to retrieve a cell phone.

“Hello, my name is Austin … I have two siblings, Beau and Grace. Beau is 12 and Grace is eight,” he tells the call handler.

“I’m located on the beach right now, and I have to also explain – 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 pass out.”

A Getaway in Peril

The holidaymakers was on a break in Quindalup, two hundred kilometres south of Perth. They began their trip from Geographe Bay some time after 10am on a Friday in late January.

The mother later explained that they were enjoying themselves when the kids “drifted further than intended”. The conditions worsened, they lost their oars, and started floating away.

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

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

“I knew he was the best swimmer and he was able to manage it,” she commented.

The Rescue Effort

The youth recalled being “completely out of breath”.

“I just pressed on, I do the breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do survival backstroke,” he explained.

The distress call was made at approximately 6pm.

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

The recording was shared with the family’s permission.

A forward commander who managed the operation said the group was in an “desperately dangerous position”.

“They were in real trouble, and time was of the essence given how long they had been in the water and with night approaching.

“What the teenager did was truly remarkable. His heroic actions in those conditions were astonishing, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a rescue.”

The commander also praised how the boy effectively communicated key facts.

When asked to describe the equipment for the authorities, the boy said: “They were coloured green and white.”

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