‘We Need a Chopper to Go Find Them’: Adolescent’s Distress Call to Aid Family Adrift Off Down Under Coast Unveiled

“We became disoriented out there,” young Austin Appelbee tells the emergency operator, after swimming 2.5 miles in choppy, open water and running 2km to summon rescue for his household.

The call taker 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 rescue aircraft to search for them,” he reports.

Police have disclosed the distress call made in recent weeks after the youth departed from his relatives floating at sea off the West Australian coast to fetch help.

His voice remains steady and composed, even as he details his concern for his family.

“I am unsure of what their status is right now, and I’m extremely frightened,” he tells the operator.

“Mum said go get help … We were in serious danger.”

The Harrowing Ordeal

The holidaymakers had been pulled 2.5 miles out to sea in rough conditions while using kayaks and paddleboards.

His mother urged him to use his craft and get assistance, so the youth commenced, abandoning first his failing kayak then his unwieldy PFD to cover the remaining stretch.

After reaching land – four hours later – he raced for 1.25 miles to access a cell phone.

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

“I’m located on the beach right now, and I have to also mention – 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 collapse.”

A Getaway in Peril

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

The woman later described that they were playing around when the kids “drifted further than intended”. The conditions worsened, they were separated from their equipment, and started floating away.

“It sort of all became dangerous 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 strongest and he was able to manage it,” she stated.

The Rescue Effort

The teenager described being “completely out of breath”.

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

The distress call was made at about 6pm.

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

The audio was made public with the mother’s permission.

A forward commander who oversaw the rescue mission said the group 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 truly remarkable. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were exceptional, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a positive result.”

The commander also commended how the boy calmly conveyed critical information.

When asked to identify the equipment for the search crew, the boy replied: “They were green and white.”

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