‘We Need a Chopper to Go Find Them’: 13-Year-Old’s Emergency Call to Aid Family Lost Off Aussie Coast Disclosed

“We got lost out there,” young Austin Appelbee informs the 000 call handler, after swimming 2.5 miles in rough, the sea and jogging 1.25 miles to secure help for his family.

The dispatcher questions how much time has passed since he began.

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

Police have disclosed the emergency phone call made last month after the teen departed from his loved ones drifting at sea off the Western Australian coast to find rescuers.

His demeanour remains steady and composed, even as he expresses his fear for his family.

“I am unsure of what their status is right now, and I’m extremely frightened,” he tells the operator.

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

The Dangerous Incident

The holidaymakers had been swept 4km out to sea in stormy conditions while using kayaks and paddleboards.

His mum instructed him to set out and get assistance, so the youth commenced, discarding first his waterlogged vessel then his bulky flotation device to cover the remaining stretch.

After making it to shore – after an extensive period – he sprinted for 1.25 miles to access a 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 operator.

“I’m positioned on the beach right now, and I have to also mention – I think I need an paramedic because I think I have a dangerously low body temperature … 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 a break in Quindalup, 125 miles south of Perth. They set off from Geographe Bay following 10am on a Friday in late January.

The parent later recalled that they were playing around when the kids “went out a bit too far”. The breeze strengthened, they were separated from their equipment, and started drifting.

“It pretty much all became dangerous very, very quickly,” she said.

The mother also referenced having to make “one of the hardest decisions” to send her son to swim ashore.

“I knew he was the most capable and he was able to manage it,” she said.

The Search Operation

The boy explained being “very puffed out”.

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

The call for help was made at around 6pm.

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

The audio was released with the parents' permission.

A police sergeant who managed the rescue mission said the family was in an “extremely dire situation”.

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

“What Austin did was incredibly brave. His bravery and courage in those conditions were exceptional, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a successful outcome.”

The officer also commended how the youth effectively communicated critical information.

When asked to identify the paddleboards for the search crew, the youth said: “They were coloured green and white.”

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