GREYCLIFF, Montana — A 14-year-old ranch kid used his roping skills to rescue a man from the Yellowstone River after a boating accident near Greycliff on July 5th, 2026.
Q2 reports Jory Thomas was camping with his family along the river when multiple people were heard calling for help. A raft and paddleboard had collided with a bridge pillar, throwing four people into the water. Three were able to reach shore, but one man continued drifting downstream while holding onto a cooler and was unable to call out.
With the river running fast and the man moving quickly downstream, Thomas acted immediately, focusing on getting him out of the water before the situation worsened. He emptied his pockets, ran through a waist-deep side channel, and sprinted along the riverbank to keep pace with the drifting man.
Thomas had brought a lariat (also known as a lasso) a tool he had spent the past year learning to use while working on his family’s ranch. He had practiced roping cattle at brandings and regularly trained on a roping dummy, steadily improving his skill.
According to his family, it was unusual for him to bring the rope on camping trips, but he had it with him that day. Using the 12-foot lariat, Thomas threw a loop toward the struggling man and successfully caught him on the first attempt. He then pulled the man through chest-deep water toward shore until first responders arrived.
Thomas comes from a family with ties to emergency response, with his father and brothers serving on the local fire department. He recognized that immediate action was necessary rather than waiting for help to arrive.
Cheers to this young cowboy whose rodeo rope training ended up saving a life. Well done kid!
