We Must Have a Aircraft to Search For Them’: Teenager’s Urgent Plea to Rescue Family Lost Off Down Under Coast Disclosed

“We got lost out there,” young Austin Appelbee explains to the 000 call handler, following a swim 2.5 miles in treacherous, open ocean and running 2km to summon rescue for his kin.

The operator inquires how long has gone by since he set off.

“[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we require a helicopter to search for them,” he reports.

Police have disclosed the recorded plea made in recent weeks after the boy departed from his loved ones floating at sea off the West Australian coast to find rescuers.

His demeanour remains steady and composed, even as he voices his concern for his kin.

“I am unsure of what their status is right now, and I’m terrified,” he confides in the person on the line.

“Mum said to find rescue … We were in massive trouble.”

The Perilous Situation

The family group had been swept 4km out to sea in treacherous conditions while enjoying water sports.

His mum asked him to set out and find help, so the teenager began, abandoning first his waterlogged vessel then his cumbersome lifejacket to swim the distance.

After reaching land – after an extensive period – he sprinted for 1.25 miles to get to a mobile phone.

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

“I’m positioned on the beach right now, and I have to also add – 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 hyperthermia, and I feel like I’m about to collapse.”

A Getaway in Peril

The holidaymakers was on vacation in Quindalup, two hundred kilometres south of Perth. They began their trip from Geographe Bay around 10am on a Friday in late January.

The parent later explained that they were playing around when the children “drifted further than intended”. The wind picked up, they lost their oars, and started being carried out.

“It kind of all became dangerous very, very quickly,” she said.

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

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

The Search Operation

The boy recalled being “completely out of breath”.

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

The distress call was made at approximately 6pm.

At roughly 8.30pm, a full ten hours after they first began, the family were found and brought to safety. They had floated about 14km out to sea.

The emergency call was made public with the parents' permission.

A forward commander who oversaw the operation said the group was in an “extremely dire situation”.

“They were in real trouble, and time was extremely pressing given how much time they had been in the water and with light running out.

“What the teenager did was incredibly brave. His heroic actions in those conditions were astonishing, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a successful outcome.”

The commander also commended how the teenager effectively communicated key facts.

When asked to describe the paddleboards for the search crew, the youth said: “They were a green and white colour.”

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