We Require a Aircraft to Search For Them’: Adolescent’s Urgent Plea to Rescue Loved Ones Stranded Off Australian Coast Revealed

“We got lost out there,” young Austin Appelbee informs the triple-zero dispatcher, after swimming 2.5 miles in choppy, open water and sprinting two kilometres to get assistance for his kin.

The dispatcher questions how long has gone by since he set off.

“[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re a long way from land. I think we require a chopper to go find them,” he says.

Authorities have disclosed the distress call made last month after the boy departed from his relatives drifting at sea off the West Australian coast to fetch help.

His tone remains lucid and collected, even as he details his worry for his family.

“I don’t know what their condition is right now, and I’m extremely frightened,” he tells the operator.

“Mum said go get help … We were in massive trouble.”

The Perilous Situation

The holidaymakers had been carried 2.5 miles out to sea in rough conditions while using kayaks and paddleboards.

His parent asked him to use his craft and locate rescue, so the boy began, ditching first his failing kayak then his unwieldy PFD to cover the remaining stretch.

After reaching land – following a four-hour swim – he raced for 1.25 miles to access a phone.

“Hello, my name is Austin … I have younger siblings, Beau and Grace. Beau is 12 and Grace is eight,” he states the call handler.

“I’m sitting on the beach right now, and I have to also mention – I think I need an medical help because I think I have hypothermia … I’m really, I’m extremely tired. I have hyperthermia, and I feel like I’m about to pass out.”

A Getaway in Peril

The group was on holiday in Quindalup, 200km south of Perth. They departed from Geographe Bay around 10am on a Friday in late January.

The parent later recalled that they were playing around when the kids “drifted further than intended”. The breeze strengthened, they were separated from their equipment, and started drifting.

“It pretty much all turned bad very, very quickly,” she said.

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

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

The Search Operation

The youth explained being “completely out of breath”.

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

The distress call was made at approximately 6pm.

At about 8.30pm, a full ten hours after they first set out, the stranded individuals were located and saved. They had drifted about 14km out to sea.

The recording was shared with the family’s permission.

A senior officer who managed the rescue mission said the group was in an “incredibly perilous state”.

“They were in real trouble, and time was extremely pressing given how much time they had been in the water and with daylight fading.

“What the teenager did was nothing short of extraordinary. His heroic actions in those conditions were exceptional, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a positive result.”

The commander also highlighted how the teenager effectively communicated critical information.

When asked to describe the paddleboards for the rescue team, the boy responded: “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. Because we hooked one.”