‘We Need a Helicopter to Go Find Them’: Teenager’s Urgent Plea to Rescue Family Lost Off Down Under Coast Unveiled

“We got lost out there,” a 13-year-old boy informs the emergency operator, having swum 4km in rough, open ocean and jogging 1.25 miles to get assistance for his family.

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

“[It] was ages past … I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we require a rescue aircraft to go find them,” he says.

Authorities have released the recorded plea made previously after the youth departed from his loved ones drifting at sea off the WA coast to find rescuers.

His tone remains steady and composed, even as he voices his concern for his family.

“I don’t know what their status is right now, and I’m terrified,” he informs the person on the line.

“Mum said go get help … We were in grave peril.”

The Harrowing Ordeal

The mother and children had been carried four kilometres out to sea in stormy conditions while enjoying water sports.

His parent asked him to take his kayak and locate rescue, so the youth began, abandoning first his failing kayak then his cumbersome lifejacket 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 a brother and sister, Beau and Grace. Beau is 12 and Grace is eight,” he tells the emergency services.

“I’m sitting on the beach right now, and I have to also mention – I think I need an paramedic because I think I have hypothermia … I’m really, I’m extremely tired. I have heatstroke, 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 set off from Geographe Bay some time after 10am on a Friday in late January.

The parent later described that they were playing around when the children “ventured out too far”. The conditions worsened, they dropped their paddles, and started floating away.

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

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

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

The Search Operation

The teenager recalled being “extremely winded”.

“I just continued swimming, I do breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do survival backstroke,” he explained.

The distress call was made at approximately 6pm.

At about 8.30pm, ten hours after they first set out, the group were located and saved. They had floated about 9 miles out to sea.

The audio was released with the parents' permission.

A police sergeant who oversaw the operation said the group was in an “incredibly perilous state”.

“They were in real trouble, and time was of the essence given how much time they had been in the water and with light running out.

“What Austin did was truly remarkable. His bravery and courage in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were instrumental in bringing about a rescue.”

The officer also highlighted how the youth clearly relayed vital details.

When asked to describe the paddleboards for the rescue team, the teenager replied: “They were green and white.”

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