We Must Have a Chopper to Search For Them’: Teenager’s Emergency Call to Save Loved Ones Stranded Off Aussie Coast Revealed

“We ended up adrift out there,” the teenager explains to the triple-zero dispatcher, following a swim four kilometres in treacherous, open water and running 1.25 miles to summon rescue for his family.

The operator asks how much time has gone by since he set off.

“[It] was ages past … I think they’re far offshore. I think we need a helicopter to search for them,” he states.

Police have disclosed the emergency phone call made in recent weeks after the youth departed from his loved ones floating at sea off the WA coast to fetch help.

His voice remains steady and composed, even as he details his concern for his kin.

“I don’t know what their status is right now, and I’m extremely frightened,” he tells the dispatcher.

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

The Harrowing Ordeal

The mother and children had been carried 4km out to sea in rough conditions while using kayaks and paddleboards.

His mother instructed him to take his kayak and get assistance, so the boy set off, ditching first his failing kayak then his cumbersome lifejacket to swim the distance.

After making it to shore – after an extensive period – he raced for two kilometres to retrieve a phone.

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

“I’m positioned on the beach right now, and I have to also explain – I think I need an ambulance because I think I have exposure … I’m really, I’m extremely tired. I have heatstroke, and I feel like I’m about to pass out.”

A Vacation Gone Wrong

The family was on vacation in Quindalup, two hundred kilometres south of Perth. They set off from Geographe Bay around 10am on a Friday in late January.

The woman later recalled that they were playing around when the kids “ventured out too far”. The conditions worsened, they were separated from their equipment, and started drifting.

“It sort of all became dangerous very, very quickly,” she said.

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

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

The Rescue Effort

The boy described being “very puffed out”.

“I just keep swimming, I do the breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do survival backstroke,” he said.

The emergency call was made at around 6pm.

At around 8.30pm, many hours after they first set out, the stranded individuals were spotted and rescued. They had been carried about 9 miles out to sea.

The recording was released with the family’s permission.

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

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

“What the teenager did was nothing short of extraordinary. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were astonishing, and his actions were instrumental in bringing about a rescue.”

The commander also highlighted how the teenager calmly conveyed critical information.

When asked to describe the boards for the search crew, the youth said: “They were green and white.”

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