Emergency Call Shows 13-Year-Old Said ‘We’re in Massive Trouble’ After He Swam to Shore to Save Mom and Siblings

After a 13-year-old boy swam nearly three miles back to shore to save family members who had been swept out to sea, Australian officials released his call to emergency dispatch.

“We got swept out to sea, and we got lost out there,” Austin Appelbee said in the triple-zero call he made after he and his family were pulled far off the coast of Quindalup, in Geographe Bay, on Jan. 30, according to a recording and statement shared by the Western Australia Police Force.

“I don’t know what their condition is right now,” he told the dispatcher later, after giving his location and explaining what happened. “I’m really scared.”

That evening, Appelbee, his mother, Joanne, and his two siblings, Beau, 12, and Grace, 8, were kayaking and paddleboarding off the coast of Western Australia when they were swept far out to sea, police said.

As daylight faded and conditions worsened, the 13-year-old decided to try to reach shore for help. He was able to paddle only a short distance before his kayak took on water, officials said. With no other option, he swam roughly two and a half miles back to land.

“I didn’t think I was a hero — I just did what I did,” Austin later told the BBC about the risk he took to help his family.

Joanne told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that asking her eldest child to go for help was “one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make.”

Once he made it to shore, Austin ran more than a mile along the beach to reach a mobile phone, according to police.

“We got lost around about, I don’t know what time it was, but it was a very long time ago, we couldn’t get back to shore and Mum told me to go back to get help … we’re in massive trouble,” he told the dispatcher, according to the recording. “I haven’t seen them since. I think they’re kilometres out in sea, I think we need helicopters to go find them.”

Austin also requested an ambulance, saying he feared he had hypothermia and might pass out because he was dizzy.

By 8:30 p.m. local time — about 10 hours after the family first entered the water — Joanne, Grace and Beau were located during a multi-agency search, officials said. The three were clinging to a paddleboard.

The family was treated at a local hospital and later released without serious injury, according to authorities.

While releasing an emergency call is not standard procedure, the Western Australia Police Force said it received permission from Austin’s mother to share the recording to help educate others about how to respond in an emergency.

In its statement, police praised the teen’s “calm, clear communication,” which they said helped save the lives of his mother and two younger siblings.

“What Austin did was nothing short of extraordinary,” said Police Forward Commander Acting Sergeant Andrew McDonnell, who coordinated the rescue effort. “His bravery and courage in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a successful outcome.”

The Western Australia Police Force added that it hopes to “join forces” with Austin in the future.