We Must Have a Chopper to Locate Them’: Teenager’s Distress Call to Save Family Adrift Off Aussie Coast Unveiled

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

The dispatcher inquires how much time has elapsed since he set off.

“[It] was a very long time ago … I think they’re far offshore. I think we require a chopper to locate them,” he states.

Police have made public the recorded plea made previously after the youth left his loved ones floating at sea off the Western Australian coast to seek assistance.

His demeanour remains clear and calm, even as he details his fear for his family members.

“I am unsure of what their state is right now, and I’m extremely frightened,” he confides in the person on the line.

“Mum said to seek assistance … We were in massive trouble.”

The Harrowing Ordeal

The holidaymakers had been carried four kilometres out to sea in rough conditions while using kayaks and paddleboards.

His mum instructed him to set out and find help, so the boy set off, ditching first his failing kayak then his cumbersome lifejacket to cover the remaining stretch.

After reaching land – after an extensive period – he ran for two kilometres to get to a cell phone.

“Hello, my name is Austin … I have younger siblings, Beau and Grace. Beau is 12 and Grace is eight,” he explains the operator.

“I’m sitting on the beach right now, and I have to also mention – 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 heatstroke, and I feel like I’m about to faint.”

A Holiday Turned Crisis

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

The parent later recalled that they were enjoying themselves when the kids “ventured out too far”. The breeze strengthened, they lost their oars, and started drifting.

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

The mother also described having to make “an incredibly tough choice” to ask her son to swim to land.

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

The Successful Mission

The youth explained being “extremely winded”.

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

The call for help was made at about 6pm.

At roughly 8.30pm, ten hours after they first began, the family were located and saved. They had floated about 14km out to sea.

The recording was shared with the parents' permission.

A senior officer who oversaw the search and rescue effort said the family was in an “extremely dire situation”.

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

“What the teenager did was truly remarkable. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a positive result.”

The sergeant also praised how the teenager clearly relayed vital details.

When asked to describe the boards for the authorities, the youth responded: “They were a green and white colour.”

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