Teen Swims 2.5 Miles in Rough Seas to Save Stranded Family

When a family kayaking trip off Western Australia turned dangerous on January 30, a mother had to make an impossible choice: ask her 13-year-old son to swim nearly four miles through rough seas to save them all.

Austin Appelbee and his family were enjoying a peaceful afternoon of kayaking and paddleboarding when the wind suddenly picked up. Within minutes, they lost their oars and began drifting helplessly into open ocean.

As conditions worsened and daylight faded, Joanne Appelbee faced the hardest decision of her life. "I knew he was the strongest and he could do it," she told ABC News. "I would have never went because I wouldn't have left the kids at sea, so I had to send somebody."

Austin paddled his kayak toward shore, but it quickly filled with water in the choppy seas. He swam for two hours wearing his life jacket, then made a bold decision to ditch it when it slowed him down. He swam another two hours without it.

"I was trying to get the happiest things in my head, and trying to make it through," Austin told ABC News. "I just kept thinking 'just keep swimming, just keep swimming.'"

When he finally reached shore, Austin collapsed on the beach. But his mission wasn't over. He ran another 1.25 miles to his family's parked car and called emergency services. "I said, 'I need helicopters, I need planes, I need boats, my family's out at sea,'" he recalled.

Sunny's Take

While Austin swam toward help, his mother kept her two younger children alive by tethering them to the paddleboard. She kept spirits high by singing songs and turning their terrifying situation into a game until darkness fell. After 10 hours at sea, a rescue helicopter spotted them 8.5 miles offshore, and a marine rescue vessel brought them safely home.

Paul Bresland, commander of Naturaliste Marine Rescue, called Austin's swimming "superhuman." Days later, walking on crutches from sore legs, Austin remained humble about his heroic act. "I don't think I am a hero," he told BBC News. "I just did what I did."

Sometimes courage looks like a mother making an impossible choice, and sometimes it looks like a teenager swimming through darkness to save the people he loves.