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A 13-year-old boy swam for hours through rough ocean waters to save his family after they were swept out to sea off Australia’s coast, a heroic effort police say saved his mother and two younger siblings.
Austin Appelbee recalled ditching his life jacket so it wouldn’t restrict his swimming before he set off alone on a nearly 4-hour-long, 2.5-mile (4-kilometer) swim that saw him battle huge waves until he ultimately reached shore and triggered a rescue that saved his mother, Joanne Appelbee, 47, his brother Beau, 12, and his sister Grace, 8, police said.
“The waves are massive and I have no life jacket on.… I just kept thinking, ‘Just keep swimming, just keep swimming,’” Austin said on Tuesday. “And then I finally I made it to shore and I hit the bottom of the beach and I just collapsed.”
The family, visiting from Perth, was using rented kayaks and paddle boards near Quindalup in Western Australia around midday Friday when strong winds and rough seas dragged them farther from shore. Austin initially tried to paddle for help on an inflatable kayak, but abandoned it when it began taking on water.
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This image taken from video shows Austin Appelbee, right, posing with his family in Gidgegannup, Australia, on Tuesday Feb. 3, 2026. (ABC via AP)
A search helicopter later found Joanne and the two younger children clinging to a paddleboard while wearing life jackets around 8:30 p.m. They had drifted about 9 miles (14 kilometers) from shore and spent up to 10 hours in the water, police said.
“The actions of the 13-year-old boy cannot be praised highly enough — his determination and courage ultimately saved the lives of his mother and siblings,” said Police Inspector James Bradley.
This image taken from video shows Austin Appelbee being interviewed in Gidgegannup, Australia, on Tuesday Feb. 3, 2026. (ABC via AP)
Joanne Appelbee said sending her eldest son for help was the hardest decision she has ever made.
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“One of the hardest decisions I ever had to make was to say to Austin: ‘Try and get to shore and get some help,’” she told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
She said the group tried to stay positive as conditions worsened, but fear set in as night approached and help had not yet arrived.
“We kept positive, we were singing and we were joking and … we were treating it as a bit of a game until the sun started to go down and that’s when it was getting very choppy. Very big waves,” she said.
This photo shows Castle Rock Bay, a popular tourist area, in Geographe Bay near Dunsborough, Western Australia, Australia. (Auscape/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
By the time rescuers arrived, all three were shivering, and Beau had lost feeling in his legs due to the cold, his mother said.
“I have three babies. All three made it. That was all that mattered,” she said.
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All four family members were medically evaluated and did not require hospitalization.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.