‘We Need a Helicopter to Go Find Them’: 13-Year-Old’s Urgent Plea to Save Loved Ones Lost Off Australian Coast Unveiled

“We became disoriented out there,” young Austin Appelbee explains to the 000 call handler, having swum four kilometres in rough, open water and running two kilometres to secure help for his family.

The dispatcher questions how long has elapsed since he began.

“[It] was a very long time ago … I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we require a rescue aircraft to search for them,” he says.

Emergency services have made public the distress call made in recent weeks after the boy left his family adrift at sea off the WA coast to fetch help.

His tone remains lucid and collected, even as he details his fear for his kin.

“I don’t know what their state is right now, and I’m terrified,” he informs the dispatcher.

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

The Dangerous Incident

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

His parent instructed him to take his kayak and locate rescue, so the teenager set off, ditching first his waterlogged vessel then his cumbersome lifejacket to swim the distance.

After reaching land – four hours later – he ran for two kilometres to retrieve a cell phone.

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

“I’m sitting on the beach right now, and I have to also mention – I think I need an ambulance because I think I have hypothermia … I’m really, I’m utterly fatigued. I have heatstroke, and I feel like I’m about to collapse.”

A Vacation Gone Wrong

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

The mother later recalled that they were having fun when the kids “ventured out too far”. The breeze strengthened, they were separated from their equipment, and started floating away.

“It sort of all went wrong very, very quickly,” she noted.

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

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

The Rescue Effort

The youth recalled being “completely out of breath”.

“I just keep swimming, I do the breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do survival backstroke,” he explained.

The distress call was made at approximately 6pm.

At about 8.30pm, ten hours after they first departed, the group were located and saved. They had drifted about fourteen kilometres out to sea.

The audio was shared with the parents' permission.

A forward commander who oversaw the operation said the family was in an “desperately dangerous position”.

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

“What Austin did was incredibly brave. His heroic actions in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a positive result.”

The officer also commended how the boy clearly relayed key facts.

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

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