We Require a Helicopter to Search For Them’: Teenager’s Urgent Plea to Save Relatives Lost Off Aussie Coast Disclosed

“We got lost out there,” young Austin Appelbee informs the emergency operator, having swum four kilometres in choppy, open water and jogging 2km to secure help for his family.

The call taker inquires how much time has passed since he started out.

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

Police have disclosed the recorded plea made last month after the teen departed from his relatives adrift at sea off the West Australian coast to find rescuers.

His voice remains lucid and collected, even as he details his worry for his family.

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

“Mum said to find rescue … We were in serious danger.”

The Harrowing Ordeal

The holidaymakers had been pulled 4km out to sea in rough conditions while kayaking and paddleboarding.

His mother asked him to take his kayak and find help, so the boy began, discarding first his waterlogged vessel then his cumbersome lifejacket to swim the distance.

After reaching land – four hours later – he sprinted for 2km to access a phone.

“Hello, my name is Austin … I have younger siblings, Beau and Grace. Beau is 12 and Grace is eight,” he states the operator.

“I’m sitting on the beach right now, and I have to also mention – I think I need an medical help 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 faint.”

A Vacation Gone Wrong

The group was on a break in Quindalup, 200km south of Perth. They began their trip from Geographe Bay around 10am on a Friday in late January.

The mother later explained that they were enjoying themselves when the young ones “ventured out too far”. The conditions worsened, they lost their oars, and started being carried out.

“It pretty much all went wrong very, very quickly,” she noted.

The parent also described having to make “a terribly difficult call” to send her son to swim to land.

“I knew he was the best swimmer and he could do it,” she stated.

The Rescue Effort

The youth explained being “very puffed out”.

“I just keep swimming, I do the breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do survival backstroke,” he recalled.

The emergency call was made at around 6pm.

At around 8.30pm, a full ten hours after they first began, the stranded individuals were located and saved. They had drifted about fourteen kilometres out to sea.

The recording was made public with the family’s permission.

A forward commander who coordinated the search and rescue effort said the family 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 daylight fading.

“What the teenager did was incredibly brave. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were exceptional, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a rescue.”

The sergeant also commended how the youth clearly relayed critical information.

When asked to detail the equipment for the authorities, the teenager replied: “They were a green and white colour.”

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