US Coast Guard rescue swimmer hailed as a hero after saving 165 kids from Texas flooding

[babylonsister]

US Coast Guard rescue swimmer hailed as a hero after saving 165 kids from Texas flooding
By Zoe Sottile
Updated 13 hr ago


It was Petty Officer Scott Ruskan’s first mission as a US Coast Guard rescue swimmer.

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For around three hours, Ruskan said, he was the only rescuer on site and had no communication due to poor radio reception and no cell service. But any fear he had, he pushed aside to focus on his young charges.

“They’re having probably the worst day of their life. They’re missing friends. They’re missing loved ones,” he said. “They don’t know where they are. Some of them may be unaccounted for. Some of them may be somewhere else.”

He did his best to reassure the shell-shocked campers, promising he would get them out and that other rescuers were looking for their missing friends. Comfort “could be something as simple as holding their hand,” he added.

Texas Air National Guard aircraft landed at the camp’s archery field and soccer field, and Ruskan led the children, about 10 to 15 at a time, to the aircraft. He focused on getting the youngest children out first.

Ruskan helped rescue approximately 165 campers with him, carrying some to the helicopter to help them avoid slipping on wet rocks or cutting their feet even more.

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https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/07/us/scott-ruskan-coast-guard-texas-flooding