🔗 Share this article We Require a Chopper to Go Find Them’: 13-Year-Old’s Distress Call to Save Loved Ones Lost Off Down Under Coast Unveiled “We got lost out there,” young Austin Appelbee explains to the emergency operator, having swum 4km in treacherous, open ocean and jogging 2km to get assistance for his kin. The call taker questions how long has gone by since he began. “[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we must get a rescue aircraft to go find them,” he says. Emergency services have made public the recorded plea made in recent weeks after the boy departed from his loved ones adrift at sea off the WA coast to fetch help. His voice remains steady and composed, even as he voices his worry for his family. “I am unsure of what their status is right now, and I’m extremely frightened,” he informs the operator. “Mum said go get help … We were in massive trouble.” The Perilous Situation The family group had been carried 4km out to sea in treacherous conditions while using kayaks and paddleboards. His parent instructed him to use his craft and find help, so the boy set off, discarding first his failing kayak then his cumbersome lifejacket to cover the remaining stretch. After reaching land – following a four-hour swim – he ran for two kilometres to get to a mobile phone. “Hello, my name is Austin … I have younger siblings, Beau and Grace. Beau is 12 and Grace is eight,” he explains the emergency services. “I’m positioned 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 utterly fatigued. I have hyperthermia, and I feel like I’m about to pass out.” A Vacation Gone Wrong The group was on vacation in Quindalup, 200km south of Perth. They began their trip from Geographe Bay around 10am on a Friday in late January. The woman later explained that they were having fun when the young ones “drifted further than intended”. The breeze strengthened, they lost their oars, and started drifting. “It sort of all became dangerous very, very quickly,” she remarked. The parent also described having to make “a terribly difficult call” to ask her son to swim to land. “I knew he was the best swimmer and he could do it,” she stated. The Search Operation The boy explained being “extremely winded”. “I just pressed on, I do the breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do elementary backstroke,” he recalled. The emergency call was made at about 6pm. At roughly 8.30pm, ten hours after they first began, the stranded individuals were spotted and rescued. They had been carried about 9 miles out to sea. The audio was made public with the parents' permission. A forward commander who managed the rescue mission said the family was in an “extremely dire situation”. “They were in serious jeopardy, and time was of the essence given how much time they had been in the water and with light running out. “What Austin did was incredibly brave. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were instrumental in bringing about a rescue.” The commander also praised how the youth calmly conveyed vital details. When asked to detail the equipment for the authorities, the boy replied: “They were green and white.” “And I’m not sure if it’s still on, but they had this fishing rod, and there was a fish hooked. As we managed to catch a fish.”
“We got lost out there,” young Austin Appelbee explains to the emergency operator, having swum 4km in treacherous, open ocean and jogging 2km to get assistance for his kin. The call taker questions how long has gone by since he began. “[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we must get a rescue aircraft to go find them,” he says. Emergency services have made public the recorded plea made in recent weeks after the boy departed from his loved ones adrift at sea off the WA coast to fetch help. His voice remains steady and composed, even as he voices his worry for his family. “I am unsure of what their status is right now, and I’m extremely frightened,” he informs the operator. “Mum said go get help … We were in massive trouble.” The Perilous Situation The family group had been carried 4km out to sea in treacherous conditions while using kayaks and paddleboards. His parent instructed him to use his craft and find help, so the boy set off, discarding first his failing kayak then his cumbersome lifejacket to cover the remaining stretch. After reaching land – following a four-hour swim – he ran for two kilometres to get to a mobile phone. “Hello, my name is Austin … I have younger siblings, Beau and Grace. Beau is 12 and Grace is eight,” he explains the emergency services. “I’m positioned 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 utterly fatigued. I have hyperthermia, and I feel like I’m about to pass out.” A Vacation Gone Wrong The group was on vacation in Quindalup, 200km south of Perth. They began their trip from Geographe Bay around 10am on a Friday in late January. The woman later explained that they were having fun when the young ones “drifted further than intended”. The breeze strengthened, they lost their oars, and started drifting. “It sort of all became dangerous very, very quickly,” she remarked. The parent also described having to make “a terribly difficult call” to ask her son to swim to land. “I knew he was the best swimmer and he could do it,” she stated. The Search Operation The boy explained being “extremely winded”. “I just pressed on, I do the breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do elementary backstroke,” he recalled. The emergency call was made at about 6pm. At roughly 8.30pm, ten hours after they first began, the stranded individuals were spotted and rescued. They had been carried about 9 miles out to sea. The audio was made public with the parents' permission. A forward commander who managed the rescue mission said the family was in an “extremely dire situation”. “They were in serious jeopardy, and time was of the essence given how much time they had been in the water and with light running out. “What Austin did was incredibly brave. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were instrumental in bringing about a rescue.” The commander also praised how the youth calmly conveyed vital details. When asked to detail the equipment for the authorities, the boy replied: “They were green and white.” “And I’m not sure if it’s still on, but they had this fishing rod, and there was a fish hooked. As we managed to catch a fish.”