‘We Need a Chopper to Search For Them’: 13-Year-Old’s Urgent Plea to Aid Loved Ones Adrift Off Aussie Coast Revealed

“We ended up adrift out there,” young Austin Appelbee informs the 000 call handler, following a swim 4km in treacherous, open water and running two kilometres to get assistance for his household.

The call taker inquires how long has elapsed since he started out.

“[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we require a helicopter to locate them,” he reports.

Police have disclosed the distress call made in recent weeks after the boy departed from his relatives floating at sea off the Western Australian coast to find rescuers.

His voice remains clear and calm, even as he expresses his worry for his kin.

“I don’t know what their state is right now, and I’m really scared,” he confides in the person on the line.

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

The Harrowing Ordeal

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

His mother asked him to use his craft and locate rescue, so the youth commenced, discarding first his failing kayak then his bulky flotation device to cover the remaining stretch.

After reaching land – after an extensive period – he ran for 1.25 miles to access a mobile phone.

“Hello, my name is Austin … I have two siblings, 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 paramedic because I think I have exposure … I’m really, I’m extremely tired. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to collapse.”

A Holiday Turned Crisis

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

The parent later described that they were playing around when the children “ventured out too far”. The wind picked up, they lost their oars, and started floating away.

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

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 stated.

The Rescue Effort

The youth described being “completely out of breath”.

“I just continued swimming, I do the breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do survival backstroke,” he explained.

The emergency call was made at around 6pm.

At roughly 8.30pm, a full ten hours after they first set out, the group were located and saved. They had been carried about fourteen kilometres out to sea.

The emergency call was made public with the parents' permission.

A senior officer who managed the search and rescue effort said the family was in an “incredibly perilous state”.

“They were in real trouble, and time was absolutely critical given how much time they had been in the water and with light running out.

“What Austin did was nothing short of extraordinary. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were exceptional, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a positive result.”

The sergeant also commended how the teenager calmly conveyed vital details.

When asked to describe the boards for the search crew, the youth replied: “They were green and white.”

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