🔗 Share this article We Must Have a Chopper to Search For Them’: 13-Year-Old’s Emergency Call to Rescue Loved Ones Stranded Off Australian Coast Unveiled “We got lost out there,” the teenager informs the emergency operator, after swimming four kilometres in rough, open water and sprinting 1.25 miles to secure help for his household. The call taker asks how much time has passed since he began. “[It] was ages past … I think they’re a long way from land. I think we must get a helicopter to go find them,” he states. Emergency services have disclosed the emergency phone call made in recent weeks after the youth departed from his loved ones floating at sea off the West Australian coast to find rescuers. His demeanour remains steady and composed, even as he details his worry for his family. “I have no idea about what their condition is right now, and I’m terrified,” he confides in the dispatcher. “Mum said go get help … We were in massive trouble.” The Dangerous Incident The family group had been carried four kilometres out to sea in rough conditions while using kayaks and paddleboards. His mum urged him to set out and get assistance, so the youth began, abandoning first his waterlogged vessel then his bulky flotation device to swim the distance. After reaching land – four hours later – he ran for 2km to get to a phone. “Hello, my name is Austin … I have two siblings, Beau and Grace. Beau is 12 and Grace is eight,” he states the emergency services. “I’m sitting 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 completely exhausted. I have heatstroke, and I feel like I’m about to collapse.” A Getaway in Peril The group was on vacation in Quindalup, 200km south of Perth. They departed from Geographe Bay around 10am on a Friday in late January. The mother later recalled that they were enjoying themselves when the young ones “went out a bit too far”. The breeze strengthened, they lost their oars, and started being carried out. “It pretty much all went wrong very, very quickly,” she noted. The parent also spoke of having to make “a terribly difficult call” to instruct her son to swim ashore. “I knew he was the most capable and he was able to manage it,” she commented. The Rescue Effort The boy recalled being “completely out of breath”. “I just keep swimming, I do breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do a floating stroke,” he said. The distress call was made at about 6pm. At roughly 8.30pm, many hours after they first set out, the stranded individuals were spotted and rescued. They had floated about 14km out to sea. The emergency call was made public with the parents' permission. A forward commander who managed the operation said the family was in an “desperately dangerous position”. “They were in real trouble, and time was absolutely critical given how long they had been in the water and with light running out. “What the boy did was nothing short of extraordinary. His heroic actions in those conditions were astonishing, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a rescue.” The officer also highlighted how the youth clearly relayed vital details. When asked to detail the boards for the search crew, the boy responded: “They were a green and white colour.” “And I’m not sure if it’s still on, but they had this fishing line, and there was a fish on there. Since we caught one.”
“We got lost out there,” the teenager informs the emergency operator, after swimming four kilometres in rough, open water and sprinting 1.25 miles to secure help for his household. The call taker asks how much time has passed since he began. “[It] was ages past … I think they’re a long way from land. I think we must get a helicopter to go find them,” he states. Emergency services have disclosed the emergency phone call made in recent weeks after the youth departed from his loved ones floating at sea off the West Australian coast to find rescuers. His demeanour remains steady and composed, even as he details his worry for his family. “I have no idea about what their condition is right now, and I’m terrified,” he confides in the dispatcher. “Mum said go get help … We were in massive trouble.” The Dangerous Incident The family group had been carried four kilometres out to sea in rough conditions while using kayaks and paddleboards. His mum urged him to set out and get assistance, so the youth began, abandoning first his waterlogged vessel then his bulky flotation device to swim the distance. After reaching land – four hours later – he ran for 2km to get to a phone. “Hello, my name is Austin … I have two siblings, Beau and Grace. Beau is 12 and Grace is eight,” he states the emergency services. “I’m sitting 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 completely exhausted. I have heatstroke, and I feel like I’m about to collapse.” A Getaway in Peril The group was on vacation in Quindalup, 200km south of Perth. They departed from Geographe Bay around 10am on a Friday in late January. The mother later recalled that they were enjoying themselves when the young ones “went out a bit too far”. The breeze strengthened, they lost their oars, and started being carried out. “It pretty much all went wrong very, very quickly,” she noted. The parent also spoke of having to make “a terribly difficult call” to instruct her son to swim ashore. “I knew he was the most capable and he was able to manage it,” she commented. The Rescue Effort The boy recalled being “completely out of breath”. “I just keep swimming, I do breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do a floating stroke,” he said. The distress call was made at about 6pm. At roughly 8.30pm, many hours after they first set out, the stranded individuals were spotted and rescued. They had floated about 14km out to sea. The emergency call was made public with the parents' permission. A forward commander who managed the operation said the family was in an “desperately dangerous position”. “They were in real trouble, and time was absolutely critical given how long they had been in the water and with light running out. “What the boy did was nothing short of extraordinary. His heroic actions in those conditions were astonishing, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a rescue.” The officer also highlighted how the youth clearly relayed vital details. When asked to detail the boards for the search crew, the boy responded: “They were a green and white colour.” “And I’m not sure if it’s still on, but they had this fishing line, and there was a fish on there. Since we caught one.”