We Must Have a Helicopter to Search For Them’: Adolescent’s Distress Call to Aid Loved Ones Stranded Off Aussie Coast Disclosed

“We ended up adrift out there,” young Austin Appelbee tells the 000 call handler, after swimming 4km in rough, the sea and running 1.25 miles to summon rescue for his kin.

The call taker asks how much time has passed since he began.

“[It] was ages past … I think they’re far offshore. I think we require a chopper to go find them,” he states.

Police have released the emergency phone call made last month after the teen departed from his loved ones floating at sea off the West Australian coast to fetch help.

His tone remains lucid and collected, even as he voices his fear for his kin.

“I am unsure of what their status is right now, and I’m really scared,” he confides in the operator.

“Mum said to find rescue … We were in grave peril.”

The Perilous Situation

The family group had been carried 4km out to sea in rough conditions while kayaking and paddleboarding.

His mum urged him to set out and locate rescue, so the youth set off, ditching first his waterlogged vessel then his cumbersome lifejacket to swim the distance.

After making it to shore – four hours later – he ran for 1.25 miles to retrieve a phone.

“Hello, my name is Austin … I have a brother and sister, 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 add – I think I need an paramedic 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 family 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 mother later explained that they were enjoying themselves when the young ones “drifted further than intended”. The breeze strengthened, they were separated from their equipment, and started floating away.

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

The mother also spoke of having to make “a terribly difficult call” to send her son to swim ashore.

“I knew he was the most capable and he had the ability to succeed,” she said.

The Successful Mission

The youth explained being “very puffed out”.

“I just continued swimming, I do the breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do a floating stroke,” he explained.

The call for help was made at approximately 6pm.

At around 8.30pm, many hours after they first departed, the group were spotted and rescued. They had been carried about 14km out to sea.

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

A forward commander who coordinated the rescue mission said the family was in an “incredibly perilous state”.

“They were in genuine danger, and time was of the essence given how long they had been in the water and with light running out.

“What Austin did was nothing short of extraordinary. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a rescue.”

The sergeant also highlighted how the teenager effectively communicated key facts.

When asked to describe the boards for the rescue team, the boy responded: “They were a green and white colour.”

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