We Require a Helicopter to Go Find Them’: Adolescent’s Emergency Call to Aid Relatives Stranded Off Aussie Coast Revealed

“We ended up adrift out there,” young Austin Appelbee explains to the emergency operator, following a swim 4km in treacherous, open water and running 2km to get assistance for his kin.

The operator inquires how much time has passed since he set off.

“[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re far offshore. I think we need a rescue aircraft to search for them,” he says.

Authorities have released the emergency phone call made last month after the youth departed from his family floating at sea off the WA coast to seek assistance.

His voice remains steady and composed, even as he voices his fear for his family members.

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

“Mum said to seek assistance … We were in grave peril.”

The Harrowing Ordeal

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

His mum instructed him to use his craft and get assistance, so the youth set off, discarding first his failing kayak then his unwieldy PFD to cover the remaining stretch.

After making it to shore – following a four-hour swim – he ran for 2km to access 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 emergency services.

“I’m positioned 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 heatstroke, and I feel like I’m about to faint.”

A Holiday Turned Crisis

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

The parent later recalled that they were enjoying themselves when the young ones “drifted further than intended”. The breeze strengthened, they were separated from their equipment, and started drifting.

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

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

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

The Rescue Effort

The teenager described being “extremely winded”.

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

The emergency call was made at about 6pm.

At about 8.30pm, ten hours after they first began, the stranded individuals were found and brought to safety. They had been carried about 9 miles out to sea.

The audio was shared with the mother’s permission.

A senior officer who oversaw the operation said the group was in an “desperately dangerous position”.

“They were in genuine danger, and time was absolutely critical given how much time they had been in the water and with light running out.

“What Austin did was truly remarkable. His heroic actions in those conditions were astonishing, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a successful outcome.”

The officer also commended how the teenager effectively communicated critical information.

When asked to identify the paddleboards for the search crew, 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 hooked one.”