We Must Have a Aircraft to Search For Them’: Teenager’s Emergency Call to Aid Family Adrift Off Aussie Coast Revealed

“We ended up adrift out there,” young Austin Appelbee tells the triple-zero dispatcher, following a swim 4km in choppy, the sea and jogging 2km to summon rescue for his kin.

The call taker inquires how long has gone by since he set off.

“[It] was a very long time ago … I think they’re far offshore. I think we need a rescue aircraft to search for them,” he reports.

Authorities have made public the recorded plea made last month after the teen left his loved ones drifting at sea off the WA coast to seek assistance.

His demeanour remains clear and calm, even as he voices his concern for his family.

“I have no idea about what their condition is right now, and I’m extremely frightened,” he confides in the person on the line.

“Mum said to find rescue … We were in massive trouble.”

The Dangerous Incident

The mother and children had been carried 4km out to sea in treacherous conditions while enjoying water sports.

His mother asked him to take his kayak and find help, so the boy began, abandoning first his failing kayak then his cumbersome lifejacket to make the journey by swimming.

After getting to the beach – after an extensive period – he raced for 1.25 miles 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 explains the emergency services.

“I’m sitting on the beach right now, and I have to also explain – I think I need an medical help because I think I have a dangerously low body temperature … I’m really, I’m utterly fatigued. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to collapse.”

A Getaway in Peril

The holidaymakers was on vacation in Quindalup, two hundred kilometres 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 enjoying themselves when the young ones “went out a bit too far”. The conditions worsened, they lost their oars, and started drifting.

“It kind of 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 to land.

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

The Rescue Effort

The teenager described being “completely out of breath”.

“I just pressed on, I do the breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do a floating stroke,” he explained.

The distress call was made at approximately 6pm.

At roughly 8.30pm, ten hours after they first set out, the family were spotted and rescued. They had drifted about 14km out to sea.

The recording was made public with the family’s permission.

A forward commander who oversaw the search and rescue effort said the group was in an “extremely dire situation”.

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

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

The commander also commended how the boy effectively communicated critical information.

When asked to identify the equipment for the rescue team, the teenager responded: “They were green and white.”

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