We Require a Aircraft to Locate Them’: Teenager’s Distress Call to Rescue Relatives Lost Off Aussie Coast Unveiled

“We got lost out there,” young Austin Appelbee informs the 000 call handler, having swum four kilometres in treacherous, open ocean and running two kilometres to get assistance for his household.

The dispatcher asks how much time has passed since he set off.

“[It] was a very long time ago … I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we must get a helicopter to search for them,” he reports.

Authorities have released the distress call made last month after the youth left his relatives adrift at sea off the Western Australian coast to find rescuers.

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

“I have no idea about what their status is right now, and I’m terrified,” he informs the dispatcher.

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

The Dangerous Incident

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

His mum asked him to set out and get assistance, so the youth commenced, abandoning first his failing kayak then his cumbersome lifejacket to cover the remaining stretch.

After getting to the beach – four hours later – he sprinted for two kilometres 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 explains the operator.

“I’m located on the beach right now, and I have to also mention – I think I need an paramedic because I think I have exposure … I’m really, I’m utterly fatigued. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to faint.”

A Vacation Gone Wrong

The family was on holiday in Quindalup, 200km south of Perth. They set off from Geographe Bay some time after 10am on a Friday in late January.

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

“It pretty much all turned bad very, very quickly,” she said.

The parent also referenced having to make “a terribly difficult call” to ask her son to make the swim for help.

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

The Rescue Effort

The boy explained being “extremely winded”.

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

The call for help was made at about 6pm.

At about 8.30pm, ten hours after they first began, the group 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 forward commander who coordinated the operation said the family was in an “incredibly perilous state”.

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

“What the teenager did was nothing short of extraordinary. His heroic actions in those conditions were astonishing, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a successful outcome.”

The sergeant also commended how the teenager clearly relayed critical information.

When asked to detail the equipment for the rescue team, the youth replied: “They were a green and white colour.”

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