We Require a Aircraft to Go Find Them’: 13-Year-Old’s Distress Call to Aid Loved Ones Adrift Off Australian Coast Unveiled

“We became disoriented out there,” young Austin Appelbee tells the 000 call handler, after swimming four kilometres in treacherous, open ocean and sprinting two kilometres to summon rescue for his kin.

The call taker questions how long has passed since he set off.

“[It] was ages past … I think they’re a long way from land. I think we require a rescue aircraft to go find them,” he reports.

Authorities have disclosed the recorded plea made previously after the boy left his loved ones floating at sea off the Western Australian coast to seek assistance.

His demeanour remains clear and calm, even as he expresses his concern for his family members.

“I don’t know what their state is right now, and I’m extremely frightened,” he confides in the dispatcher.

“Mum said go get help … We were in serious danger.”

The Perilous Situation

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

His parent instructed him to take his kayak and locate rescue, so the boy began, ditching first his waterlogged vessel then his bulky flotation device to cover the remaining stretch.

After reaching land – four hours later – he ran for 2km to get to 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 call handler.

“I’m located on the beach right now, and I have to also explain – I think I need an ambulance because I think I have exposure … I’m really, I’m extremely tired. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to pass out.”

A Getaway in Peril

The holidaymakers was on vacation in Quindalup, two hundred kilometres south of Perth. They began their trip from Geographe Bay some time after 10am on a Friday in late January.

The mother later described that they were enjoying themselves when the young ones “drifted further than intended”. The conditions worsened, they dropped their paddles, and started drifting.

“It pretty much all went wrong very, very quickly,” she noted.

The mother also described having to make “an incredibly tough choice” to send her son to swim to land.

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

The Search Operation

The boy described being “very puffed out”.

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

The distress call was made at around 6pm.

At about 8.30pm, a full ten hours after they first set out, the group were found and brought to safety. They had floated about 14km out to sea.

The recording was shared with the parents' permission.

A senior officer who oversaw 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 truly remarkable. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were instrumental in bringing about a successful outcome.”

The commander also highlighted how the boy calmly conveyed vital details.

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

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