Jory Thomas, 14, was absent-mindedly flipping loops with a rope while visiting his grandparents' campground on the Yellowstone River over the Fourth of July weekend when he heard someone start screaming for help.
Within seconds, the Montana ranch kid emptied his pockets, splashed across a side channel and waded chest-deep into the river.
Then he did something he'd spent the past year practicing on calves.
This time, he roped a drowning man.
The July 5 rescue unfolded so quickly that by the time the first Sweet Grass County Sheriff’s Office deputy arrived three minutes after Jory's father called 911, everyone was already safely on shore.
"My opinion, Jory saved the individual's life, 100%," Sweet Grass County Sheriff Alan Ronneberg told Cowboy State Daily. "Had Jory not acted, I believe the chances of this individual not making it to shore were very slim.”'
A Boat Hits A Bridge
The Thomas family lives on a ranch about a dozen miles outside Big Timber, directly across from a campground where Jory's grandparents had been staying for the week.
Jory wandered over to visit with his parents and grandparents that afternoon, a rope already in his hand as he casually practiced throwing loops.
"All of a sudden he heard some yells for help," Jory's father, Jase Thomas, told Cowboy State Daily.
A boat had struck a bridge pillar, throwing its occupants into the Yellowstone River.
Three people fell in, but only two managed to get out, leaving one person alone in the swift current, desperately clinging to a cooler.
Jory didn't hesitate.
Somehow, said his father, he convinced the drowning man to let go of the cooler. Then he threw the rope, catching the man around the neck and one arm.
Jory and another bystander then pulled the man safely to shore before emergency responders arrived.
In the moment, Jory didn’t think about any potential danger to himself, he just acted on instinct, the teen told KTVQ television in Billings, Montana, which first reported the story Sunday.
"This current was pretty fast then, and he was moving pretty quickly," he told the outlet. "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.”
'Let Me Have My Son Back'
Jory's father has spent three decades on the Big Timber Volunteer Fire Department and immediately called 911.
Dispatch records show the call came in at 5:39 p.m. A deputy arrived just three minutes later and reported everyone was already out of the water.
Watching the rescue unfold wasn't easy for the elder Thomas.
He knows that stretch of river, and that it becomes more dangerous just downstream, where swift current, deep holes and logjams create deadly hazards.
"My biggest concern was to let me have my son back," he said before taking a long pause, reflecting on the potential for Jory to also get caught up in the current.
"He understands water, but I don't think he understands what could happen,” Jase said. "I mean, he does, but he had one thing in mind, which is great, and he got it done."
Jase believes the man his son rescued likely wouldn't have survived much longer.
Sheriff Ronneberg agrees.
"I'm not sure how close the individual was to being 'lost,' but in my experience such things happen faster than you might guess they can," he said.
'He Loves Roping'
Although the rescue looked almost unbelievable, it wasn't blind luck. Jory has spent the past year immersing himself in roping.
He practices on roping dummies in his spare time and started roping calves from horseback during local brandings, his father said.
"He's always had a rope," Jase said. "He loves roping."
Outside of ranch work, he's an avid hunter and is spending this week showing a steer and a pig at the county fair.
'That's Just Who He Is'
To his family, the rescue wasn't entirely surprising.
Jase said his son has always been the first person to help someone else.
"We'll be in town at the grocery store, and you'll see an elderly person," he said. "They can't pack the groceries, and he never says a word. He goes over and gets their groceries and packs them out. That's just who he is."
Ronneberg said the rescue is a reminder that courage often appears in ordinary moments.
"Jory saw another in trouble and acted, not for himself but for another," Ronneberg said. "He didn't pull out a phone, but a lariat. He didn't watch what was happening but intervened."
"Jory is a lesson for all of us in this day and age and showed us what is courageous and right.”
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
