We Must Have a Helicopter to Locate Them’: Adolescent’s Emergency Call to Aid Loved Ones Adrift Off Aussie Coast Disclosed

“We got lost out there,” young Austin Appelbee explains to the 000 call handler, having swum 4km in rough, open ocean and sprinting 1.25 miles to secure help for his kin.

The operator asks 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 must get a helicopter to locate them,” he says.

Authorities have made public the distress call made previously after the boy departed from his family floating at sea off the Western Australian coast to fetch help.

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

“I am unsure of what their state is right now, and I’m really scared,” he tells the dispatcher.

“Mum said go get help … We were in massive trouble.”

The Dangerous Incident

The holidaymakers had been swept 2.5 miles out to sea in stormy conditions while enjoying water sports.

His mother urged him to take his kayak and locate rescue, so the teenager began, abandoning first his failing kayak then his unwieldy PFD to make the journey by swimming.

After getting to the beach – after an extensive period – he sprinted for two kilometres to get to 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 states the call handler.

“I’m positioned on the beach right now, and I have to also mention – I think I need an medical help because I think I have exposure … I’m really, I’m extremely tired. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to collapse.”

A Getaway in Peril

The holidaymakers 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 mother later described that they were having fun when the young ones “ventured out too far”. The conditions worsened, they were separated from their equipment, and started being carried out.

“It kind of all went wrong very, very quickly,” she noted.

The parent also spoke of having to make “an incredibly tough choice” to ask her son to swim ashore.

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

The Search Operation

The youth explained being “extremely winded”.

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

The emergency call was made at about 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 emergency call was made public with the family’s permission.

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

“They were in real trouble, and time was absolutely critical given how long they had been in the water and with light running out.

“What Austin did was incredibly brave. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were astonishing, and his actions were instrumental in bringing about a successful outcome.”

The commander also highlighted how the boy clearly relayed key facts.

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

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