A young rancher from Montana found himself at the heart of a miraculous rescue on the Yellowstone River, thanks to divine timing and his well-honed cowboy skills. At just 14, the aspiring rancher, who had diligently practiced his lassoing, managed to save a drowning man after a rafting trip went dangerously awry.
On July 5, Jory Thomas and his family were enjoying a camping trip near Greycliff, Montana, when their peaceful evening took a dramatic turn. Cries for help echoed through the air, alerting them to the unfolding crisis.
“We all heard, ‘Help, help,'” Jory recounted to KTVQ. As he surveyed the scene, he noticed a group of people fighting against the river’s current, one man in particular hanging on to a cooler, wordless and struggling.
The Sweet Grass County Sheriff’s Office recognized Jory’s courageous act, bestowing him with a Certificate of Achievement, a testament to his quick thinking and bravery. (Facebook/Sweet Grass County Sheriff’s Office)
The incident unfolded when a raft and a paddleboard collided with a bridge pillar, plunging four individuals into the icy waters. While three of them managed to reach safety, one man drifted farther downstream, his lifeline a simple cooler.
Thomas said there was no time to wait.
“This current was pretty fast then, and he was moving pretty quickly,” he said. “Only thing I could focus on was helping him get out of the water because I didn’t want to see anyone go in front of me.”
A general view of the Yellowstone River and the Absaroka Mountains on July 31, 2023, in Paradise Valley near Pray, Montana. (David Madison / Getty Images)
He emptied his pockets, crossed a waist-deep side channel and ran along the bank. Then he grabbed a 12-foot lariat he’d brought from home — something his grandmother told the station he’d never packed for a camping trip before.
“My first instinct, I thought, was try and rope him and drag him out before he gets too far down the river,” Thomas said. “Luckily, I caught him first try.”
The Yellowstone River erodes river banks as it flows north towards Livingston, Montana, on June 15, 2022. (Louise Johns for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Thomas pulled the man toward shore through chest-deep water until first responders arrived.
The teenager said he’d only started taking roping seriously this year while helping with cattle on the family ranch, telling the station that his skills improving the more he roped cattle.
Thomas said he believes his faith guided him to act.
“God was basically putting me in the place of all this,” he said. “God was just telling me all of this at the time and saying, ‘Go get him, you got it, and I believe in you.'”
He later reflected that he never expected the same skills he learned on the ranch would save a person’s life.
“I just thought I could help with cattle,” Thomas said. “Not really helping humans and stuff like that. But I’m glad I was here to help.”
The Sweet Grass County Sheriff’s Office later honored Thomas with a Certificate of Achievement. Sheriff Alan Ronneberg and Undersheriff Ron Swanson recognized the teen for rescuing the man near Pelican Fishing Access.
“Well done, Jory!” the sheriff’s office wrote in a social media post.