We Must Have a Aircraft to Locate Them’: Teenager’s Urgent Plea to Save Loved Ones Lost Off Aussie Coast Unveiled

“We became disoriented out there,” young Austin Appelbee informs the emergency operator, following a swim four kilometres in choppy, the sea and running two kilometres to get assistance for his household.

The dispatcher asks how much time has gone by since he set off.

“[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re a long way from land. I think we need a rescue aircraft to go find them,” he reports.

Police have disclosed the distress call made previously after the teen departed from his relatives adrift at sea off the West Australian coast to fetch help.

His demeanour remains steady and composed, even as he details his worry for his kin.

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

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

The Harrowing Ordeal

The family group had been swept 2.5 miles out to sea in stormy conditions while using kayaks and paddleboards.

His parent instructed him to use his craft and locate rescue, so the boy began, discarding first his sinking craft then his cumbersome lifejacket to cover the remaining stretch.

After making it to shore – following a four-hour swim – he ran for two kilometres to access 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 located 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 completely exhausted. I have heatstroke, and I feel like I’m about to pass out.”

A Getaway in Peril

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

The parent later described that they were having fun when the children “drifted further than intended”. The wind picked up, they dropped their paddles, and started drifting.

“It kind of all went wrong very, very quickly,” she said.

The parent also spoke of having to make “a terribly difficult call” to send her son to swim ashore.

“I knew he was the strongest and he was able to manage it,” she stated.

The Rescue Effort

The boy recalled being “extremely winded”.

“I just keep swimming, I do the breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do a floating stroke,” he explained.

The distress call was made at about 6pm.

At about 8.30pm, many hours after they first set out, the family were spotted and rescued. They had been carried about fourteen kilometres out to sea.

The audio was released with the family’s permission.

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

“They were in serious jeopardy, and time was extremely pressing given how long they had been in the water and with daylight fading.

“What the boy did was incredibly brave. 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 youth calmly conveyed critical information.

When asked to describe the equipment for the rescue team, the youth said: “They were green and white.”

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