We Must Have a Chopper to Go Find Them’: Teenager’s Distress Call to Save Loved Ones Stranded Off Australian Coast Unveiled

“We got lost out there,” a 13-year-old boy informs the emergency operator, having swum 2.5 miles in rough, the sea and running 2km to get assistance for his household.

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

“[It] was a very long time ago … I think they’re far offshore. I think we need a chopper to search for them,” he reports.

Police have released the emergency phone call made last month after the teen departed from his relatives drifting at sea off the Western Australian coast to seek assistance.

His demeanour remains steady and composed, even as he expresses his fear for his family.

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

“Mum said to seek assistance … We were in massive trouble.”

The Harrowing Ordeal

The holidaymakers had been pulled four kilometres out to sea in treacherous conditions while enjoying water sports.

His mum instructed him to set out and locate rescue, so the youth set off, ditching first his waterlogged vessel then his bulky flotation device to make the journey by swimming.

After getting to the beach – following a four-hour swim – he ran for 1.25 miles to get to a phone.

“Hello, my name is Austin … I have two siblings, Beau and Grace. Beau is 12 and Grace is eight,” he states the emergency services.

“I’m located on the beach right now, and I have to also add – I think I need an ambulance because I think I have a dangerously low body temperature … I’m really, I’m extremely tired. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to collapse.”

A Holiday Turned Crisis

The group was on vacation in Quindalup, 125 miles south of Perth. They departed from Geographe Bay following 10am on a Friday in late January.

The woman later recalled that they were enjoying themselves when the kids “drifted further than intended”. The wind picked up, they dropped their paddles, and started floating away.

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

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

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

The Successful Mission

The teenager described being “very puffed out”.

“I just keep swimming, I do the breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do elementary backstroke,” he recalled.

The distress call was made at around 6pm.

At roughly 8.30pm, a full ten hours after they first began, the group were spotted and rescued. They had floated about fourteen kilometres out to sea.

The audio was released with the parents' permission.

A police sergeant who oversaw the operation said the family was in an “desperately dangerous position”.

“They were in serious jeopardy, and time was absolutely critical given how long they had been in the water and with night approaching.

“What the teenager did was incredibly brave. His heroic actions in those conditions were exceptional, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a rescue.”

The sergeant also commended how the boy effectively communicated key facts.

When asked to identify the equipment for the search crew, the youth responded: “They were green and white.”

“And I’m not sure if it’s still on, but they had this fishing line, and there was a fish hooked. Since we managed to catch a fish.”