🔗 Share this article We Must Have a Helicopter to Locate Them’: Adolescent’s Urgent Plea to Rescue Family Adrift Off Down Under Coast Disclosed “We became disoriented out there,” young Austin Appelbee informs the triple-zero dispatcher, having swum 2.5 miles in choppy, open ocean and sprinting 1.25 miles to summon rescue for his household. The call taker inquires how long has passed since he began. “[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re far offshore. I think we require a chopper to search for them,” he reports. Authorities have disclosed the emergency phone call made last month after the youth departed from his relatives floating at sea off the West Australian coast to fetch help. His tone remains steady and composed, even as he expresses his worry for his family. “I have no idea about what their condition is right now, and I’m really scared,” he tells the dispatcher. “Mum said to find rescue … We were in serious danger.” The Perilous Situation The family group had been carried 2.5 miles out to sea in rough conditions while enjoying water sports. His parent urged him to use his craft and locate rescue, so the boy began, abandoning first his waterlogged vessel then his unwieldy PFD to make the journey by swimming. After making it to shore – after an extensive period – he ran for two kilometres 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 tells the emergency services. “I’m located on the beach right now, and I have to also add – 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 pass out.” A Holiday Turned Crisis The holidaymakers was on holiday in Quindalup, 125 miles south of Perth. They departed from Geographe Bay following 10am on a Friday in late January. The parent later described that they were playing around when the kids “ventured out too far”. The conditions worsened, they dropped their paddles, and started floating away. “It kind of all became dangerous very, very quickly,” she said. The mother also spoke of having to make “a terribly difficult call” to send her son to swim ashore. “I knew he was the most capable and he had the ability to succeed,” she said. The Rescue Effort The boy recalled being “completely out of breath”. “I just continued swimming, I do breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do survival backstroke,” he said. The distress call was made at around 6pm. At about 8.30pm, a full ten hours after they first began, the stranded individuals were located and saved. They had floated about fourteen kilometres out to sea. The recording was made public with the mother’s permission. A police sergeant who managed the search and rescue effort said the group was in an “incredibly perilous state”. “They were in genuine danger, and time was extremely pressing given how long they had been in the water and with daylight fading. “What Austin did was nothing short of extraordinary. His heroic actions in those conditions were exceptional, and his actions were instrumental in bringing about a positive result.” The commander also praised how the youth calmly conveyed vital details. When asked to identify the boards for the rescue team, 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 hooked. Since we managed to catch a fish.”
“We became disoriented out there,” young Austin Appelbee informs the triple-zero dispatcher, having swum 2.5 miles in choppy, open ocean and sprinting 1.25 miles to summon rescue for his household. The call taker inquires how long has passed since he began. “[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re far offshore. I think we require a chopper to search for them,” he reports. Authorities have disclosed the emergency phone call made last month after the youth departed from his relatives floating at sea off the West Australian coast to fetch help. His tone remains steady and composed, even as he expresses his worry for his family. “I have no idea about what their condition is right now, and I’m really scared,” he tells the dispatcher. “Mum said to find rescue … We were in serious danger.” The Perilous Situation The family group had been carried 2.5 miles out to sea in rough conditions while enjoying water sports. His parent urged him to use his craft and locate rescue, so the boy began, abandoning first his waterlogged vessel then his unwieldy PFD to make the journey by swimming. After making it to shore – after an extensive period – he ran for two kilometres 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 tells the emergency services. “I’m located on the beach right now, and I have to also add – 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 pass out.” A Holiday Turned Crisis The holidaymakers was on holiday in Quindalup, 125 miles south of Perth. They departed from Geographe Bay following 10am on a Friday in late January. The parent later described that they were playing around when the kids “ventured out too far”. The conditions worsened, they dropped their paddles, and started floating away. “It kind of all became dangerous very, very quickly,” she said. The mother also spoke of having to make “a terribly difficult call” to send her son to swim ashore. “I knew he was the most capable and he had the ability to succeed,” she said. The Rescue Effort The boy recalled being “completely out of breath”. “I just continued swimming, I do breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do survival backstroke,” he said. The distress call was made at around 6pm. At about 8.30pm, a full ten hours after they first began, the stranded individuals were located and saved. They had floated about fourteen kilometres out to sea. The recording was made public with the mother’s permission. A police sergeant who managed the search and rescue effort said the group was in an “incredibly perilous state”. “They were in genuine danger, and time was extremely pressing given how long they had been in the water and with daylight fading. “What Austin did was nothing short of extraordinary. His heroic actions in those conditions were exceptional, and his actions were instrumental in bringing about a positive result.” The commander also praised how the youth calmly conveyed vital details. When asked to identify the boards for the rescue team, 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 hooked. Since we managed to catch a fish.”