‘We Need a Aircraft to Search For Them’: 13-Year-Old’s Urgent Plea to Aid Relatives Adrift Off Down Under Coast Revealed

“We became disoriented out there,” young Austin Appelbee informs the emergency operator, after swimming 4km in choppy, open water and sprinting 2km to get assistance for his kin.

The operator asks how much time has gone by since he began.

“[It] was ages past … I think they’re a long way from land. I think we need a chopper to search for them,” he says.

Authorities have made public the distress call made previously after the youth left his loved ones floating at sea off the Western Australian coast to find rescuers.

His tone remains steady and composed, even as he details his worry for his family members.

“I don’t know what their state is right now, and I’m extremely frightened,” he tells the operator.

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

The Perilous Situation

The holidaymakers had been carried 4km out to sea in stormy conditions while enjoying water sports.

His mother instructed him to take his kayak and locate rescue, so the boy set off, discarding first his waterlogged vessel then his cumbersome lifejacket to swim the distance.

After making it to shore – after an extensive period – he ran for two kilometres to access a cell 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 exposure … I’m really, I’m utterly fatigued. I have heatstroke, and I feel like I’m about to faint.”

A Getaway in Peril

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

The mother later described that they were playing around when the kids “drifted further than intended”. The conditions worsened, they dropped their paddles, and started being carried out.

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

The parent also described having to make “one of the hardest decisions” to instruct her son to swim to land.

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

The Search Operation

The youth described being “completely out of breath”.

“I just continued swimming, I do breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do a floating stroke,” he recalled.

The emergency call was made at about 6pm.

At around 8.30pm, ten hours after they first began, the stranded individuals were found and brought to safety. They had been carried about fourteen kilometres out to sea.

The recording was shared with the family’s permission.

A forward commander who managed the search and rescue effort said the group was in an “incredibly perilous state”.

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

“What the boy did was nothing short of extraordinary. His heroic actions in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a positive result.”

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

When asked to detail the boards for the rescue team, the boy said: “They were green and white.”

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