Teenage boy with autism rescued by off-duty cop after being swept out to sea near Hamelin Bay

A teenage boy with autism has been rescued by an off-duty officer after being swept into treacherous waters for nearly two hours in the State’s South West.

The terrifying incident unfolded when the 13-year-old was pulled into a rip after running into the ocean during a family outing at Cosy Corner — a secluded beach near Hamelin Bay — about 5.15pm on January 14.

The young boy’s mother stayed at the beach to monitor her son’s position in the water, while his 10-year-old sister ran to the carpark to ask a member of the public to phone triple-0.

Local police were notified about 6pm, prompting Sergeant Simon Harrison, the officer in charge of Augusta Police Station, to drive to the beach with his fins and snorkel. Sgt Harrison was off-duty at the time.

“Sergeant Harrison arrived at the scene and ran tracking north along the rock cliffs, searching for the missing boy,” a police spokesperson said.

“The ocean was extremely treacherous with strong winds causing white caps and wind chop to the water surface, making it even harder to see a child in the water.”

Sgt Harrison jumped into the water about 6.30pm and swam out to sea, while following directions provided by members of the public and another officer, who was scanning the ocean with his binoculars.

A private vessel went to the area to assist with the search about 25 minutes’ later, before locating Sgt Harrison and pulling him onto the boat.

The crew continued their search for the boy, who was found moments later about 800m from where Sgt Harrison had jumped into the water.

The boy was taken to Margaret River Hospital as a precaution. He was found to be uninjured and discharged a short while later.

Dramatic body-cam footage shows an officer running along a secluded track before clambering across a series of rocks near a seaside cliff.

The officer stops and stares out to sea before opening a pair of binoculars, saying “It’s going to be very hard to see.”.