Montana Teen Uses Rodeo Lasso to Save Drowning Man in Yellowstone River

A 14-year-old Montana boy’s quick reflexes — and a rodeo lasso — helped save a man from drowning in the Yellowstone River last month.

Jory Thomas was camping with his family in Greycliff, near the Wyoming border, on July 5 when he heard noises coming from the river.

"We all heard, 'Help, help,'" Thomas recounted to KTVQ. “There's two or three people floating down the river, one hanging on to the cooler, and he wasn't saying anything.”

A paddle board and raft had struck a bridge, sending four people into the water. Three managed to swim to shore, but one man remained in the current, clutching a cooler as he floated along the Yellowstone, which stretches for more than 600 miles through the American West.

While his father dialed 911, Thomas sprang into action, running toward the water with a lariat, or lasso, in hand, he told The Washington Post.

Chest-deep in the river and nearing the man, he spun the lariat overhead and threw it toward him — landing the rope around him on the first try and pulling him to shore.

Authorities arrived roughly 10 minutes later and credited Thomas with saving the man’s life.

“It’s a really good possibility that search and rescue would’ve been looking for a body by that time,” Sweet Grass County Sheriff Alan Ronneberg told the Post.

Thomas, who lives with his family on a ranch in Big Timber, Montana, had, it turned out, been training for that moment without knowing it.

“I actually started really getting into roping this year,” the teenager told KTVQ. “I went to brandings and started roping cattle then, and I started getting better…Every afternoon when it cools off, I go out and rope the roping dummy.”

“I really didn’t think I could actually use it and help humans and stuff,” Thomas told the Post, referring to the lariat. “I thought I could just use it for ranch life.”

His quick thinking earned him a certificate of achievement from the Sweet Grass County Sheriff’s Office in late July. Ronneberg called his actions “heroic.”

The sheriff’s office Facebook post about the incident drew thousands of likes and numerous comments — and later helped propel the story into headlines across the country.

“Thank you to his parents for raising him right,” wrote one commenter, while another added: “You, Sir, are an inspiration to your community.”

Every year, more than 4,000 people die of drowning in the U.S., according to the CDC. It is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death for children between the ages of five and 14.

Learning basic swimming skills and CPR, wearing a life jacket and refraining from drinking alcohol while swimming can help save lives, according to the health agency.