Four Australians missing in Indonesia found alive as details of their first pictures emerge
The Australian surfers spent hours clinging to their surfboards after their boat sank in waters off Indonesia in the middle of the night.
The four Australians who were feared missing in Indonesia for more than 36 hours had clung to their surfboards in the middle of the ocean after their boat began to sink in pitch black darkness.
Elliot Foote, his girlfriend Steph Weisse, and their two friends Jordan Short and Will Teagle went missing on Sunday night after their charter vessel failed to return from a remote island off North Sumatra due to bad weather.
The four friends were found safe on Tuesday, along with two of the three Indonesians who were also on the boat. A third Indonesian man remains missing.
Mr Foote, who travelled with 11 of his friends to Indonesia’s remote Pinang Island to celebrate his 30th birthday, was seen on his friend’s Instagram drinking a beer just hours after his miraculous rescue was confirmed.
Will Teagle’s sister Amy described getting a Facetime from her brother.
“I didn’t realise until he told me, he said the boat they were on had sunk in the boat they were on had sunk in the middle of the night so it was pitch black and they grabbed what they could,” she told A Current Affair.
“They all managed to get a surfboard and they then spent two nights in the ocean.
“He said they had no idea where they were, what direction they were facing. By the grace of God I guess they managed to paddle into what ended up being the right direction.
“It is just very overwhelming.”
Steph, Jordan and Will were found about 11am Sydney time on Tuesday by an Australian captain who had left to search for them at about 10pm on Sunday, local time.
But it was another three hours before Elliot, who had left the group to paddle for help about 5km away from the group, was found.
Elliot’s dad said the discovery of the three was “fantastic” but he described the stress of the hours until his son was found.
“It was gut wrenching, as you could imagine,” Peter Foote told A Current Affair.
“Then when I saw that video … and you hear that voice say, ‘where’s Elliot?’ and they don’t have him.
“My heart just dropped.”
Elliot’s friends told rescuers he had paddled to the island for help, and he was found there.
Mr Toole said the four did not know the fate of their eight other friends for the time they were at sea.
Speaking to 7News, Steph’s mother Jill Weisse said she had felt helpless while the search was carried out.
“There’s so little we can do, and your mind goes to all sorts of dark places,” she said.
Steph was the first confirmed Aussie to have been found, followed by
On Tuesday afternoon, Elliot’s father, Peter, confirmed the news that three out of the friends had been rescued from the remote islands.
Moments after talking to Sky News, Mr Foote received a message form his son confirming he had been rescued.
“Hey Dad, Elliot here. I am alive, safe now, love you. Chat later,” the text read.
Mr Foote praised the work of search and rescue crews, including an Australian who lives in the area and aided in the search.
He had helped co-ordinated friends, hired charter boats and even offered rewards to local fisherman from his Sydney home.
He told Sky News the man had wanted assurance prior to calling off the search, before revealing his son’s next move.
“Elliot will make his way back to the island, they (the group) will regroup and get healthy, and probably have a great night tonight,” he said.
Asked how badly he wanted to see his son, Mr Foote said: “ I don’t really need to see him as long as I know he’s alive.
“I can’t wait to talk to him, what an adventure he’s having, what a story to tell.
“He’s got 10 days to go, so he’s in the best place. They love it, it’s paradise.
“As long as I can talk to him, he doesn't have to come home.”
A Google document used by the four families and seen by The Daily Telegraph was updated to read: “All four Australians found alive”.
The group, all from NSW, had been on a birthday surfing trip and were travelling on a longboat to Banyak Island near Banda Aceh.
A search operation was launched on Monday, with Indonesian authorities, as well as local fishermen, scrambling to find the group.
The search effort, which was also looking for three Indonesian crewmen missing from the boat, was called off at sunset on Monday.
A day earlier, Mr Foote, from Northern NSW, wrote on Instagram that it was “so good” to be back in Indonesia.
“Soho gulah Sorake … so good being back in Indo after so many years. Sharing waves with mates and the queen,” Mr Foote wrote.
“Starting the trip off with hiking in the North Sumatran jungle and seeing Orangutan’s was an amazing experience and something that I look forward to doing again for a longer time and going deeper.
“Bukit Lawang is a beautiful spot with such kind people.”
The message was adjoined by photos of Mr Foote surfing alongside his partner, Ms Weisse.
Dad not giving up hope
While visibly frazzled, Peter Foote had remained optimistic throughout the ordeal, despite there being no sign of the group in the early hours.
“Apparently they have food and water on the boat and the boat has a roof so it should be all right,” he told Nine News on Tuesday morning, before the group was found.
“But it hasn’t got electronic stuff: no navigation stuff, no communication stuff (...) IPERBs, GPS.”
Mr Foote doubted the boat had capsized and believed they likely ran out of fuel.
He had urged for co-operation between Australian and Indonesia authorities.
“Maybe they need to expand the area if they would have drifted,” he said.
“This morning they will ramp up and we will get them back soon.
“I just hope we can get some eyes in the sky, there are a lot of islands.”
On Monday, a DFAT spokesman confirmed the government was providing “consular assistance” to the families.
The government had also reportedly chartered a private plane to help co-ordinate the search from the sky.
Indonesian National Search and Rescue agency Nias Island chief Octavianto said authorities had reacted to reports from a local resort.
“Monday night the Pinang Resort reported that a speedboat with 10 passengers had arrived in Pinang Island (at about 10.18pm local time), while another speedboat with seven people on board had not arrived yet,” he said.
“We’ve deployed three ships … and they are now moving towards the location for search and rescue. However, the issue is that the (missing vessel) is a basic wooden boat without any tracking devices or the like.”
Poor weather and visibility hindered the ability of search parties to locate the missing Aussies on Monday.
Mr Foote said the news of his son’s disappearance and the ensuing two-day ordeal was “pretty tough”.
“You feel it physically, in the stomach, everywhere,” he said.
“It is really painful. Anyone who has been through it will know and understand.
“I haven‘t felt like this before. My heart is aching. It is just terrible.”
Mr Foote said the surfing community had also “come together” to aid in the desperate search.
“It is going to be a long, long day for them,” he said.
“I don‘t know how long their supplies are going to last for.
“The sooner the better, really. Every minute counts.”
After the group were found, Mr Foote praised the efforts of a local catamaran owner who aided rescuers.
He told Nine News the man had correctly guessed where the group would end up based on tidal patterns.
The father went so far as to say the man, who has not been identified, “knew more than the locals” about the area.
Birthday adventure turns to disaster
The group of 12 Australians in total had been travelling in Sumatra and on the island of Nias to celebrate Mr Foote’s 30th birthday.
On Instagram, Mr Foote shared details and photos of the groups travels, including to the popular nature park Bukit Lawang.
Setting off got Banyak Island, the group of 12 are understood to have separated onto two boats.
One boat took refuge on Sarang Alu, an island between the two the group were travelling between on Sunday.
The eight tourists on board arrived safely at their destination on Sunday night.
The other, containing the group, is understood to have opted to have continued travelling.
Mr Foote described the group as “resilient, resourceful kids”,
His son Elliot, who is a carpenter, is a former Scots College student.
He recently moved to Murwillumbah in northern NSW to be with Ms Weisse.
The elder Mr Foote had paid for his son to go on the fateful trip to Indonesia with his 11 “best mates”.
The group were all high school friends from Sydney and surfing mates from northern NSW.
Mr Teagle’s sister Amy took to social media on Monday asking anyone who might be travelling in the area to offer assistance in the search.
“My brother and three of his mates are missing,” Ms Teagle said.
“Please if you know anyone in Sumatra that can offer any assistance let me know.”
Similar calls for assistance were made by the Bronte Surf Life Saving Club and other local surf groups.
The search follows a string of high-profile incidents involving Australians, particularly in Indonesia‘s restive Aceh province.
Noosa man Bodhi Risby-Jones was asked to pay $61,000 to the families of people involved in alleged drunken rampage on Simeulue Island.
The island is likewise located off the western Sumatra coast nearby to where the four Australians disappeared on Sunday.
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