{"id":1990,"date":"2026-02-11T22:41:47","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T22:41:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=1990"},"modified":"2026-02-11T22:41:47","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T22:41:47","slug":"police-release-call-from-boy-13-who-swam-for-hours-to-save-his-family-stranded-at-sea-world-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=1990","title":{"rendered":"Police release call from boy, 13, who swam for hours to save his family stranded at sea | World News"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Authorities have released the audio of an emergency call made by a 13-year-old boy who swam for hours to save his family after they were swept out to sea. <\/p>\n

Austin Appelbee, his mother, brother and sister, from Perth, were on an inflatable kayak and paddleboards when they got into difficulty off the west coast of Western Australia<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mum Joanne Appelbee, 47, asked her son to swim around 4km (2.5miles) to shore – where he then ran 2km to find a phone<\/a><\/strong> he could use to call the emergency services.<\/p>\n

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\n \"Austin\n <\/div>
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\n Austin Appelbee. Pic: ABC\/AP
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With Ms Appelbee’s permission, the Western Australia Police Force has released the audio of Austin’s call, on which he can be heard calmly explaining the life-threatening situation.<\/p>\n

“Hello, my name is Austin and I’m outside [the] beach,” he says, before explaining that he has two siblings, brother Beau, aged 12, and sister Grace, eight.<\/p>\n

“We went out on a kayak trip and a paddleboard trip, and we got took out to sea and we got lost out there,” he continues.<\/p>\n

“We got lost around about, I don’t know what time it was, but it was a very long time ago. You know, we couldn’t get back to shore and mum told me to go back and get help, and then I haven’t seen them since.”<\/p>\n

Austin then suggests: “I think we need a helicopter to go find them.”<\/p>\n

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