🔗 Share this article We Require a Aircraft to Locate Them’: 13-Year-Old’s Distress Call to Rescue Family Adrift Off Down Under Coast Unveiled “We ended up adrift out there,” young Austin Appelbee tells the triple-zero dispatcher, after swimming 4km in rough, open water and sprinting 2km to secure help for his household. The operator asks how long has elapsed since he set off. “[It] was a very long time ago … I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we need a rescue aircraft to locate them,” he reports. Authorities have released the recorded plea made in recent weeks after the teen left his relatives drifting at sea off the Western Australian coast to find rescuers. His demeanour remains lucid and collected, even as he details his concern for his kin. “I don’t know what their condition is right now, and I’m terrified,” he informs the dispatcher. “Mum said to seek assistance … We were in grave peril.” The Perilous Situation The holidaymakers had been swept four kilometres out to sea in treacherous conditions while kayaking and paddleboarding. His mother instructed him to take his kayak and locate rescue, so the teenager commenced, discarding first his sinking craft then his cumbersome lifejacket to make the journey by swimming. After making it to shore – following a four-hour swim – he sprinted for 1.25 miles to access 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 tells the operator. “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 a dangerously low body temperature … I’m really, I’m extremely tired. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to pass out.” A Getaway in Peril The holidaymakers was on holiday in Quindalup, 125 miles south of Perth. They departed from Geographe Bay around 10am on a Friday in late January. The woman later recalled that they were enjoying themselves when the young ones “went out a bit too far”. The wind picked up, they lost their oars, and started being carried out. “It kind of all turned bad very, very quickly,” she said. The parent also spoke of having to make “an incredibly tough choice” to ask her son to swim to land. “I knew he was the best swimmer and he had the ability to succeed,” she stated. The Rescue Effort The boy recalled being “completely out of breath”. “I just pressed on, I do the breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do survival backstroke,” he said. The emergency call was made at around 6pm. At about 8.30pm, many hours after they first set out, the group were found and brought to safety. They had floated about fourteen kilometres out to sea. The recording was released with the family’s permission. A forward commander who managed the search and rescue effort said the family was in an “incredibly perilous state”. “They were in serious jeopardy, and time was absolutely critical given how long they had been in the water and with night approaching. “What the boy did was nothing short of extraordinary. His heroic actions in those conditions were exceptional, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a positive result.” The officer also praised how the teenager calmly conveyed vital details. When asked to detail the equipment for the authorities, the teenager said: “They were coloured green and white.” “And I’m not sure if it’s still on, but they had this rod, and there was a catch on the line. Since we caught one.”
“We ended up adrift out there,” young Austin Appelbee tells the triple-zero dispatcher, after swimming 4km in rough, open water and sprinting 2km to secure help for his household. The operator asks how long has elapsed since he set off. “[It] was a very long time ago … I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we need a rescue aircraft to locate them,” he reports. Authorities have released the recorded plea made in recent weeks after the teen left his relatives drifting at sea off the Western Australian coast to find rescuers. His demeanour remains lucid and collected, even as he details his concern for his kin. “I don’t know what their condition is right now, and I’m terrified,” he informs the dispatcher. “Mum said to seek assistance … We were in grave peril.” The Perilous Situation The holidaymakers had been swept four kilometres out to sea in treacherous conditions while kayaking and paddleboarding. His mother instructed him to take his kayak and locate rescue, so the teenager commenced, discarding first his sinking craft then his cumbersome lifejacket to make the journey by swimming. After making it to shore – following a four-hour swim – he sprinted for 1.25 miles to access 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 tells the operator. “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 a dangerously low body temperature … I’m really, I’m extremely tired. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to pass out.” A Getaway in Peril The holidaymakers was on holiday in Quindalup, 125 miles south of Perth. They departed from Geographe Bay around 10am on a Friday in late January. The woman later recalled that they were enjoying themselves when the young ones “went out a bit too far”. The wind picked up, they lost their oars, and started being carried out. “It kind of all turned bad very, very quickly,” she said. The parent also spoke of having to make “an incredibly tough choice” to ask her son to swim to land. “I knew he was the best swimmer and he had the ability to succeed,” she stated. The Rescue Effort The boy recalled being “completely out of breath”. “I just pressed on, I do the breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do survival backstroke,” he said. The emergency call was made at around 6pm. At about 8.30pm, many hours after they first set out, the group were found and brought to safety. They had floated about fourteen kilometres out to sea. The recording was released with the family’s permission. A forward commander who managed the search and rescue effort said the family was in an “incredibly perilous state”. “They were in serious jeopardy, and time was absolutely critical given how long they had been in the water and with night approaching. “What the boy did was nothing short of extraordinary. His heroic actions in those conditions were exceptional, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a positive result.” The officer also praised how the teenager calmly conveyed vital details. When asked to detail the equipment for the authorities, the teenager said: “They were coloured green and white.” “And I’m not sure if it’s still on, but they had this rod, and there was a catch on the line. Since we caught one.”