We Must Have a Helicopter to Locate Them’: 13-Year-Old’s Urgent Plea to Save Family Stranded Off Australian Coast Unveiled

“We became disoriented out there,” young Austin Appelbee tells the 000 call handler, having swum four kilometres in treacherous, open ocean and sprinting two kilometres to secure help for his household.

The operator inquires how much time has gone by since he began.

“[It] was ages past … I think they’re far offshore. I think we must get a rescue aircraft to search for them,” he reports.

Emergency services have disclosed the recorded plea made previously after the teen left his loved ones floating at sea off the West Australian coast to find rescuers.

His demeanour remains lucid and collected, even as he voices his fear for his family.

“I have no idea about what their status is right now, and I’m terrified,” he informs the person on the line.

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

The Harrowing Ordeal

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

His mum instructed him to take his kayak and get assistance, so the youth began, ditching first his waterlogged vessel then his bulky flotation device to swim the distance.

After getting to the beach – four hours later – he sprinted for 2km to get to a mobile phone.

“Hello, my name is Austin … I have a brother and sister, Beau and Grace. Beau is 12 and Grace is eight,” he states the operator.

“I’m located on the beach right now, and I have to also mention – I think I need an ambulance because I think I have a dangerously low body temperature … I’m really, I’m extremely tired. I have hyperthermia, and I feel like I’m about to faint.”

A Getaway in Peril

The family was on vacation in Quindalup, 125 miles south of Perth. They departed from Geographe Bay following 10am on a Friday in late January.

The mother later recalled that they were playing around when the kids “ventured out too far”. The breeze strengthened, they lost their oars, and started floating away.

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

The mother also referenced having to make “an incredibly tough choice” to instruct her son to swim ashore.

“I knew he was the most capable and he could do it,” she stated.

The Successful Mission

The boy described being “very puffed out”.

“I just pressed on, I do the breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do elementary backstroke,” he explained.

The emergency call was made at approximately 6pm.

At about 8.30pm, a full ten hours after they first departed, the stranded individuals were located and saved. They had been carried about 9 miles out to sea.

The emergency call was released with the parents' permission.

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

“They were in serious jeopardy, and time was extremely pressing given how long they had been in the water and with night approaching.

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

The commander also commended how the teenager effectively communicated vital details.

When asked to identify the paddleboards for the authorities, the teenager said: “They were coloured green and white.”

“And I’m not sure if it’s still attached, but they had this fishing rod, and there was a fish on there. Because we caught one.”