Teen Swims 4 Hours for Help as Mother, Siblings Hold On

A teenager turned a family paddle outing in Western Australia into a survival story after swimming for hours through choppy water to get help. Police say the 13-year-old was kayaking with his mother, 47, and his younger brother, 12, and sister, 8, off Geographe Bay on Friday when strong winds pushed their kayak and paddleboards away from shore near Quindalup Beach. The boy tried to paddle back to land to raise the alarm, but his kayak began filling with water, the BBC reports. So he ditched it and started swimming the roughly 2 nautical miles to shore.

Naturaliste Volunteer Marine Rescue Group said the boy swam for around four hours, wearing a life jacket for roughly the first half. "The brave fella thought he's not going to make it with a life jacket on, so he ditched it," Cmdr. Paul Bresland told ABC News. He reached land around 6pm, triggering a large air and sea search. Around 8:30pm, a rescue helicopter found his mother and two siblings about 8.5 miles offshore, clinging to a paddleboard, Western Australia Police said. Bresland also praised the mother as an "absolute hero," per People.

"Physically, she just said, 'I'm struggling, I can't,' but she just said they're looking her in the eye, and she just kept going and kept them together," he said. A volunteer marine rescue vessel brought the three back to land, where all they were checked by paramedics and taken to a hospital before being discharged. Inspector James Bradley said the case shows how quickly ocean conditions can deteriorate. The boy's "determination and courage ultimately saved the lives of his mother and siblings," he said. The family later visited the rescue crew to thank them.