The ocean is a beautiful, but dangerous place. Currents, waves, and predators like sharks pose a threat to people who choose to spend time in open waters. In Australia, a family's afternoon outing almost turned deadly when they were swept more than two hours out to sea.
To save his mom and siblings, a 13-year-old boy named Austin Appelbee, made a harrowing swim back to shore, where he then had to run for help.
NEW: 13-year-old Australian boy swims for four hours in cold and dangerous waters to save his mom and siblings who were swept into the ocean, says God is who got him to shore.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) February 3, 2026
The family was on kayaks & paddleboards when they were swept about 2.5 miles out to sea.
After a… pic.twitter.com/Gg7OctvHi4
"I knew it would be a long way, because it was four kilometers," Austin said. "I was also thinking about all my friends at school."
"The waves were massive, and I had no lifejacket on," he said. "At one point...I was looking, I could actually see underwater, which I couldn't do before."
When Austin made it to shore, he came across another hurdle: no one on the beach spoke English, so he had to run another mile to find help.
"I had to sprint two kilometers to get to the phone," he said. "There were a lot of foreign people on the beach, so I really couldn't get much help."
He called 000 to get police help.
"In that meantime, when I didn't know where they were or how they were and I thought they were dead, I had a lot of guilt on my heart," Austin said. "I thought...I wasn't fast enough, I wasn't fast enough."
Austin said that on the swim, he said he kept on praying. "I said to God, I'll get baptized," Austin said.
His mother, Joanne, also said she feared Austin didn't make it back to shore. "Did I make the wrong decision by sending him? cause I knew he was a strong swimmer and he could do it," she said. "I would have never went, because I wouldn't have left the kids at sea, so I had to send somebody."
"I can't...there's no bigger word to describe it other than proud," his mom said of his efforts. "Me and his dad are super proud."
The Associated Press said the family had drifted nine miles away from Quindalup, and was in the ocean for ten hours.
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