We Require a Aircraft to Search For Them’: Teenager’s Urgent Plea to Aid Relatives Stranded Off Down Under Coast Disclosed

“We ended up adrift out there,” young Austin Appelbee informs the emergency operator, following a swim 4km in choppy, open ocean and running two kilometres to summon rescue for his family.

The dispatcher questions how long has passed since he began.

“[It] was ages past … I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we require a chopper to go find them,” he reports.

Authorities have made public the emergency phone call made last month after the teen left his loved ones floating at sea off the WA coast to seek assistance.

His voice remains clear and calm, even as he voices his worry for his family.

“I am unsure of what their state is right now, and I’m terrified,” he confides in the operator.

“Mum said go get help … We were in serious danger.”

The Harrowing Ordeal

The holidaymakers had been pulled 2.5 miles out to sea in treacherous conditions while kayaking and paddleboarding.

His mum urged him to use his craft and locate rescue, so the youth commenced, discarding first his waterlogged vessel then his unwieldy PFD to swim the distance.

After getting to the beach – after an extensive period – he ran for two kilometres 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 states the emergency services.

“I’m located on the beach right now, and I have to also add – 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 Vacation Gone Wrong

The group was on holiday in Quindalup, two hundred kilometres south of Perth. They set off from Geographe Bay around 10am on a Friday in late January.

The parent later explained that they were playing around when the children “drifted further than intended”. The wind picked up, they lost their oars, and started drifting.

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

The parent also described having to make “a terribly difficult call” to instruct her son to make the swim for help.

“I knew he was the strongest and he could do it,” she said.

The Successful Mission

The youth described being “very puffed out”.

“I just continued swimming, I do the breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do elementary backstroke,” he recalled.

The emergency call was made at about 6pm.

At around 8.30pm, a full ten hours after they first departed, the stranded individuals were spotted and rescued. They had floated about 14km out to sea.

The emergency call was released with the parents' permission.

A forward commander who managed the rescue mission said the family was in an “desperately dangerous position”.

“They were in genuine danger, and time was extremely pressing given how much time they had been in the water and with daylight fading.

“What Austin did was truly remarkable. His bravery and courage in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a positive result.”

The commander also highlighted how the youth calmly conveyed critical information.

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

“And I’m not sure if it’s there, but they had this fishing rod, and there was a fish on there. Since we hooked one.”