‘We need a helicopter to go find them’: 13-year-old’s emergency call to save family stranded off WA coast revealed

“We got lost out there,” 13-year-old Austin Appelbee tells the triple-zero operator, after swimming 4km (2.5 miles) in the rough, open ocean and running 2km (1.25 miles) to save his family.

The operator asks how long it is since he set off.

“[It] was a very long time ago … I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we need a helicopter to go find them,” he says.

WA police have released the phone call Austin made last month after he left his family drifting at sea off the West Australian coast to get help.

His voice is clear and calm, even as he details his concern for his family.

“I don’t know what their condition is right now, and I’m really scared,” he tells the operator.

“Mum said go get help … We were in massive trouble.”

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Austin and his family had been swept 4km (2.5 miles) out to sea, in rough conditions, while kayaking and paddleboarding.

His mum asked him to take his kayak and find help, so Austin started out, ditching first his sinking craft then his cumbersome lifejacket to swim the distance.

After reaching land – four hours later – he ran for 2km (1.25 miles) to get to his mother’s 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 sitting on the beach right now, and I have to also explain – I think I need an ambulance because I think I have hypothermia … I’m really, I’m extremely tired. I have heatstroke, and I feel like I’m about to pass out.”

The family was on holiday in Quindalup, 200km (125 miles) south of Perth. They set off from Geographe Bay some time after 10am on Friday, 30 January.

Joanne Appelbee, Austin’s mother, told the BBC that they were playing around when the kids “went out a bit too far”. The wind picked up, they lost their oars, and started drifting.

“It kind of all went wrong very, very quickly,” she said.

Joanne Appelbee told the ABC about having to make “one of the hardest decisions” to send Austin to swim ashore to get help.

“I knew he was the strongest and he could do it,” she says.

Austin described being “very puffed out”.

“I just keep swimming, I do breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do survival backstroke,” he says.

Austin called emergency services at about 6pm.

At about 8.30pm, 10 hours after they first set out, the Appelbees were spotted and rescued. They had floated about 14km (9 miles) out to sea.

WA police released the call with Austin’s mother’s permission.

Forward commander acting Sgt Andrew McDonnell coordinated the search and rescue effort. He says the family was in an “extremely dire situation”.

“They were in real trouble, and time was absolutely critical given how long they had been in the water and with daylight fading.

“What Austin did was nothing short of extraordinary. His bravery and courage in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a successful outcome.”

McDonnell praised how Austin calmly conveyed critical information.

Austin is asked to describe the paddleboards for the search and rescue team.

“They were green and white,” he says.

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