A teenager from Montana used his practiced lasso skills to save a man from drowning in the Yellowstone River near Greycliff, Montana. The dramatic rescue unfolded when Jory Thomas, who was camping with his family, heard urgent cries for help coming from the river.

A raft and a paddleboard had hit a bridge pillar, tossing four people into the fast-moving current. While three managed to swim ashore, one man was swept downstream, clinging to a cooler and struggling to stay afloat.

Thomas, who had spent months practicing roping cattle at his family’s ranch in Big Timber, Montana, quickly grabbed his 12-foot lariat and raced through a waist-deep channel to the riverbank. He told KTVQ, “First instinct I thought was try and rope him and drag him out before he gets too far down the river. Luckily, I caught him first try.” With a single toss, Thomas looped the rope around the man and hauled him to shore just as first responders arrived.

Sweet Grass County Sheriff Alan Ronneberg credited Thomas’s quick thinking with saving the man's life, stating, “It’s a really good possibility that search and rescue would’ve been looking for a body by that time.” The sheriff’s office later awarded Thomas a Certificate of Achievement and called his actions “heroic” in a Facebook post.

Thomas, reflecting on the event, said, “God was basically putting me in the place of all this. God was just telling me all of this at the time and saying, ‘Go get him, you got it, and I believe in you.’” His mother, Robin Thomas, told reporters, “Jory is a strong believer of if somebody needs help, you’re going to do everything you can.”

The man rescued by Thomas is expected to recover fully.

Aly