Overview
- A raft and a paddleboard struck a Greycliff bridge pillar on July 5, throwing four people into the Yellowstone River and leaving one man drifting downstream while clinging to a cooler.
- Fourteen-year-old Jory Thomas ran into a chest-deep side channel, threw a 12-foot lariat on his first try, and pulled the struggling man to shore before emergency teams arrived about 10 minutes later.
- Sweet Grass County Sheriff Alan Ronneberg called Thomas’s actions heroic and the sheriff’s office awarded him a Certificate of Achievement while a social media post about the rescue drew wide regional and national attention.
- Officials said the river’s strong current and hazards around bridge piers can be deadly and that the rapid, improvised rescue probably prevented a recovery search, underscoring safety steps like life jackets and caution near bridge structures.
- Thomas’s parents and local interviews say months of practicing roping on the family ranch prepared him for the moment, showing how everyday skills learned by youth can translate into real-world lifesaving actions.