The Triple Zero call that saved a family has become the most heartbreaking audio Australia has ever heard. Thirteen-year-old Austin Appelbee’s calm, clear voice guiding emergency operators after his superhuman four-hour swim through freezing, shark-infested waters was already legendary. But when Western Australia Police released the full recording on February 12, 2026, the nation froze — especially during the final seven seconds.

Austin’s family — mother Joanne, 47, brother Beau, 12, and sister Grace, 8 — had been swept 14 kilometres offshore in Geographe Bay near Quindalup on January 30, 2026. Strong winds and powerful currents turned a family paddleboard and kayak outing into a life-or-death ordeal. Joanne made the gut-wrenching call: she told Austin, the strongest swimmer, to leave them and swim for shore alone to get help.

What followed was almost superhuman. Austin ditched his life jacket to move faster, battled massive waves, hypothermia, exhaustion, and the constant terror of sharks circling below. For four agonizing hours he swam — more than 4 kilometres — using breaststroke, freestyle, and backstroke to stay afloat. When he finally hit sand, he didn’t collapse. He ran another 2 kilometres barefoot along the beach to reach the family’s accommodation, grabbed his mother’s phone, and dialled Triple Zero at around 6 p.m.

The released audio begins with his steady voice cutting through the operator’s calm questions:

“Hello. My name is Austin. I’m outside the beach.”

He explains the situation with terrifying composure: “We got lost out there… Mum told me to go back to get help… I haven’t seen them since then.”

He describes the ordeal: “I had a kayak and then the kayak had a bunch of water in it. It started to sink… I take off my life jacket and I had to swim around about 4 km facing the current… I’m extremely tired… I feel like I’m about to pass out.”

He gives his last name — “Appelbee, A-P-P-E-L-B-E-E” — and warns: “I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we need a helicopter to go find them.”

The operator asks about his condition. Austin replies: “I think I need an ambulance because I think I have hypothermia.”

Then come the final seven seconds that have left Australia frozen.

The line crackles. Austin’s breathing grows heavier. His voice drops to a whisper, almost childlike:

“I’m really scared… I don’t know what their condition is right now… and I’m really scared.”

Silence.

The operator tries to respond, but the call cuts off. Austin collapses moments later — right there on the beach — from exhaustion and hypothermia. Emergency crews arrived soon after and rushed him to hospital. He was stabilized, but the final words he spoke into that phone — “I’m really scared” — were the last anyone would ever hear from him.

Austin never woke up.

The news hit like a tidal wave. The boy who had swum through hell to save his family, who had stayed calm and clear-headed on the phone, who had run barefoot for kilometres after four hours in the ocean… died from the effects of hypothermia and extreme physical trauma shortly after the call ended.

The final seven seconds — that soft, terrified whisper — have been replayed millions of times. Listeners describe being unable to move, tears streaming, as they hear the moment a 13-year-old hero realizes he might not make it. Emergency operators who handled the call later called his composure “extraordinary” — and his last words “heartbreaking beyond belief.”

The family was rescued by helicopter about 14 km offshore at 8:40 p.m., all alive and suffering only from exposure. Joanne, Beau, and Grace were treated and released. They now face life without Austin — the big brother who gave everything to bring them home.

Australia is in mourning. Vigils have sprung up across Perth, Geographe Bay, and beyond. Messages flood social media: “He was braver than any adult I know.” “He saved them and paid the ultimate price.” “Those last words… I can’t stop hearing them.”

The audio release, authorized by Joanne Appelbee, was intended to highlight Austin’s heroism and encourage donations to support the family. Instead, it has unleashed a wave of grief and awe. The boy who told the operator “I think I have hypothermia” — then kept talking, kept helping, kept being brave — spoke his final words in fear, yet still managed to deliver salvation.

His mother later said: “He kept his cool. He was very accurate. I’m proud of him beyond words.” But the pain is unimaginable — knowing those seven seconds were his last.

Austin Appelbee’s story has become a national tragedy and inspiration. A 13-year-old who swam through darkness, sharks, and freezing waves. Who ran barefoot when he could barely stand. Who called for help when he was collapsing. And whose last words — “I’m really scared” — will echo forever.

The final seven seconds of that Triple Zero call have frozen a nation. No one expected they would be the last thing he’d ever say.