Hero cowboy, 14, rescues drowning man with his LASSO during camping trip to Montana

A teenage boy turned into an unlikely hero when he used his lasso to rescue a drowning man during a camping trip to Montana. 

Jory Thomas, 14, recalled camping with his family on July 5 near the Yellowstone River, in Greycliff, when he heard someone screaming 'help, help' across the river.

Four people had been tossed into the fast moving river after a floating raft and paddleboard had struck a bridge pillar, according to KTVQ.

While three of the individuals made it safely to shore, one man was still drifting downstream as he desperately clung to a cooler.

That was when Thomas sprung into action, emptying his pockets, boldly running through a waist–deep side channel and heroically throwing his 12–foot lasso into the water.

'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,' Thomas told the outlet.

He added that his first instinct was trying to rope the man in order to 'drag him out before he [got] too far down the river.'

'Luckily, I caught him first try,' he added.

Thomas then dragged the drowning man toward shore until first responders arrived.

After the rescue, Thomas explained that he only started 'really getting into roping' this year on the ranch where he grew up.

'I went to brandings and started roping cattle then, and I started getting better,' he told the outlet.

The teen boy goes out every afternoon and ropes a dummy to practice, though how that paid off was unexpected, even to Thomas.

Photos shared to a public social media profile showed him practicing with his lasso while mounted on top of a horse.

'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.'

Thomas said he felt 'pretty good afterwards' once he knew that the man was out of the water and safe.

He credited his faith in playing a role in the daring rescue.

'God was basically putting me in the place of all this,' Thomas told the outlet.

The boy's grandmother, Sandy Thomas, said that the family typically visited the campground during the summer but that it was the first time Thomas brought his lasso.

'Jory comes over quite frequently and has never, ever brought his lariat with him before,' she said. 'And that day he did.'

Sandy said after the rescue Thomas returned to his family and said, 'I think I just saved a life.'

Sweet Grass County Sheriff Alan Ronneberg agreed with the proud grandmother's assessment.

'Had Jory not acted, I believe the chances of this individual not making it to shore were very slim,' Ronneberg told Cowboy State Daily.

Thomas was honored with a Certificate of Achievement by the sheriff's office last Tuesday. 

'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.'

The teen’s father, Jase Thomas, said that he had been worried about his son getting caught up in the river water.

'My biggest concern was to let me have my son back,' he told the outlet.

‘He understands water, but I don't think he understands what could happen.’

However, he proudly said that Thomas had 'one thing in mind' and 'got it done.'

Otherwise, the father feared that the drowning man could have died just moments later.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Thomas and the Sweet Grass County Sheriff's Office for further comment.