Overview
- Austin Appelbee, 13, abandoned a flooding kayak, removed his lifejacket to swim more efficiently, and covered about 4 km to shore, reaching land around 6 p.m. to raise the alarm.
- Rescuers located Joanne Appelbee and her children, Beau, 12, and Grace, 8, around 8:30 p.m. clinging to a paddleboard roughly 14 km offshore after up to 10 hours in the water.
- All four were assessed at Busselton Health Campus and released without needing hospital admission, police and local reports said.
- Joanne described the decision to send her eldest for help as agonising and said the children stayed focused by singing and keeping spirits up as conditions worsened after dark.
- A multiagency sea and air search was launched, with police and the state premier praising Austin’s actions, while experts highlighted the protective role of lifejackets and the risks posed by offshore winds to small or inflatable craft.