We Require a Chopper to Go Find Them’: Teenager’s Distress Call to Aid Relatives Adrift Off Down Under Coast Revealed

“We became disoriented out there,” young Austin Appelbee informs the 000 call handler, following a swim 2.5 miles in treacherous, open water and running 2km to get assistance for his family.

The dispatcher asks how much time has gone by since he started out.

“[It] was ages past … I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we must get a chopper to locate them,” he says.

Police have made public the recorded plea made in recent weeks after the teen departed from his family adrift at sea off the WA coast to seek assistance.

His demeanour remains steady and composed, even as he expresses his worry for his family.

“I am unsure of what their state is right now, and I’m extremely frightened,” he tells the person on the line.

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

The Harrowing Ordeal

The family group had been carried 2.5 miles out to sea in treacherous conditions while enjoying water sports.

His mum asked him to set out and find help, so the youth set off, abandoning first his sinking craft then his bulky flotation device to swim the distance.

After getting to the beach – after an extensive period – he raced for 1.25 miles to get to 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 states the operator.

“I’m located on the beach right now, and I have to also add – I think I need an ambulance because I think I have exposure … I’m really, I’m utterly fatigued. I have hyperthermia, 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 some time after 10am on a Friday in late January.

The parent later recalled that they were having fun when the children “ventured out too far”. The wind picked up, they were separated from their equipment, and started floating away.

“It pretty much all became dangerous very, very quickly,” she said.

The mother also described having to make “an incredibly tough choice” to send her son to make the swim for help.

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

The Successful Mission

The teenager described being “completely out of breath”.

“I just pressed on, I do breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do survival backstroke,” he said.

The call for help was made at approximately 6pm.

At about 8.30pm, many hours after they first departed, the family were spotted and rescued. They had been carried about 14km out to sea.

The recording was released with the parents' permission.

A police sergeant who managed the search and rescue effort said the family was in an “extremely dire situation”.

“They were in real trouble, and time was of the essence given how much time they had been in the water and with daylight fading.

“What the teenager did was truly remarkable. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were instrumental in bringing about a positive result.”

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

When asked to detail the paddleboards for the search crew, the teenager responded: “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 hooked. Since we caught one.”