14-Year-Old Uses Rodeo Lasso to Pull Drowning Man from Yellowstone River

During a family camping trip near Greycliff, Montana, 14-year-old Jory Thomas responded to shouts for assistance after a rafting mishap sent several people into the Yellowstone River. A raft and paddleboard collided with a bridge support, flinging four individuals into the current; three managed to get ashore, while a man clung to a cooler and was swept downstream. Thomas ran through a waist-deep side channel, grabbed his 12-foot rodeo lasso, and looped it around the struggling man on his first attempt, pulling him to safety until emergency crews arrived.

He said his recent year-long practice on a backyard cattle head and his belief that God guided him were crucial to the rescue. Local law enforcement honored his actions with a Certificate of Achievement from the Sweet Grass County Sheriff’s Office. His mother, Robin Thomas, praised his willingness to help anyone in need.