A Montana teen heard ‘help, help’ across the river, grabbed his rodeo lasso, and roped a drowning man on his first throw

A 14-year-old from Montana is being credited with saving a man’s life after grabbing his rodeo lasso and roping him out of the Yellowstone River’s current. According to the New York Post, Jory Thomas was camping with his family near Greycliff when he heard shouting coming from across the river. “We all heard, ‘Help, help,'” he told KTVQ. “There’s two or three people floating down the river, one hanging on to the cooler, and he wasn’t saying anything.”

A raft and a paddleboard had crashed into one of the bridge’s support pillars moments earlier, sending all four occupants into the current. Three managed to swim themselves to shore, but the fourth man kept drifting downstream, holding onto a cooler as the current carried him along. “This current was pretty fast then, and he was moving pretty quickly,” Thomas said.

Rather than wait for help to arrive, Thomas cut through a side channel that came up to his waist, then kept pace along the bank to close the gap before the man drifted any farther. He grabbed his 12-foot lariat, something he’d been practicing with for about a year on a roping dummy back home on his family’s ranch, and threw a loop toward the man on his very first attempt.

He caught the man on his very first throw

“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.” He then pulled the man toward shore and held on until first responders arrived on scene. Looking back on it, Thomas credited more than just his roping skills. “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.'”

Sweet Grass County Sheriff Alan Ronneberg later told Cowboy State Daily he believes the teen’s quick action made the difference. “My opinion, Jory saved the individual’s life, 100%,” Ronneberg said. “Had Jory not acted, I believe the chances of this individual not making it to shore were very slim.”

Water rescues like this one carry real stakes statewide. According to the Billings Gazette, citing Montana’s Department of Public Health and Human Services, the state has averaged roughly 20 drowning deaths a year over the past decade. The sheriff’s office also awarded Thomas a Certificate of Achievement for the rescue, according to a Facebook post from the department.

His mother, Robin Thomas, described her son’s instincts to the outlet. “Jory is a strong believer of if somebody needs help, you’re going to do everything you can,” she said. A similarly selfless act of heroism made headlines recently when a 16-year-old lifeguard pulled a 10-year-old boy from dangerous surf off a California beach, later saying he simply refused to let go until the child was safe.