GREYCLIFF — What began as a quiet summer camping trip along the Yellowstone River ended with a 14-year-old ranch kid using his rodeo skills to save a man from drowning.
Watch the rescue story here:
Jory Thomas was camping with his family near Greycliff on July 5, when cries for help echoed across the river.
"We all heard, 'Help, help,'" Thomas said. "There's two or three people floating down the river, one hanging on to the cooler, and he wasn't saying anything."
A floating raft and paddleboard had struck a bridge pillar, throwing four people into the Yellowstone River. Three made it to shore, but one man continued drifting downstream while clinging to a cooler.
Thomas said he didn't hesitate.
"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.”
The teenager emptied his pockets, ran through a waist-deep side channel, and sprinted along the riverbank to catch up with the struggling man.
That day, Jory had brought his lariat, a tool he had spent the year learning to use on the ranch where he grew up.
“I actually started really getting into roping this year. I went to brandings and started roping cattle then, and I started getting better,” he said. "Every afternoon when it cools off, I go out and rope the roping dummy."
It was a tool his grandmother, Sandy Thomas, said he'd never brought with him on camping trips.
“We come down to this campground a couple times during the summer," she said. "Jory comes over quite frequently and has never, ever brought his lariat with him before. And that day he did.”
Like a scene out of a Western movie, Jory took his 12-foot lariat in hand and threw his loop toward the drowning man.
“First instinct I thought was try and rope him and drag him out before he gets too far down the river,” he said. “Luckily, I caught him first try.”
Thomas slowly pulled the man through chest-deep water toward shore until first responders arrived, and said the rescue had a profound impact on him.
“I felt pretty good afterwards that I knew he was okay and was out of the water,” said Jory.
"He comes up, and he said, 'I think I just saved a life,'" added Sandy. "And we all said, 'Yeah, you did.'”
Thomas, whose father and brothers serve on the local fire department, said he knew waiting for emergency crews wasn't an option. He believes he was meant to be there that day.
"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.'”
His grandmother said helping others has always come naturally to him.
"His first instinct always is to help other people. He's always been that way," said Sandy. "The whole community is proud of him. We've had a lot of feedback, but that's Jory. He's always there to help somebody else.”
Looking back, Thomas said he never imagined the same skills he learned on the ranch would one day save a person's life.
"I just thought I could help with cattle," he said. "Not really helping humans and stuff like that. But I'm glad I was here to help."
