Coast Guard Petty Officer Scott Ruskan saved 165 people during the deadly Texas floods over the Fourth of July weekend, setting a new record for most lives saved in a single Coast Guard response operation. The 26-year-old rescue swimmer from New Jersey accomplished the feat during his first operational mission after completing training, serving as the sole triage coordinator at Camp Mystic, a girls' summer camp in Hunt, Texas.
The rescue operation comes as search efforts continue for dozens still missing from flash floods that killed at least 82 people across Central Texas, making it among the deadliest flooding events in U.S. history since 1925.
Ruskan and his aircrew from Air Station Corpus Christi responded when the Guadalupe River jumped its banks Friday morning, reaching 29 feet near Hunt—19 feet above flood stage1. The river rose 26 feet in just 45 minutes, according to Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick2.
At Camp Mystic, where about 700 girls were attending summer camp, Ruskan volunteered to stay on the ground so his helicopter could carry two additional evacuees per trip1. Working alongside multiple Coast Guard and National Guard helicopters, he marshaled evacuees—many still in pajamas and without shoes—to waiting aircraft1.
"I'm mostly just a dude. I'm just doing a job," Ruskan told The New York Post3. "This is what I signed up for, and I think that any single Coast Guard rescue swimmer would have done the exact same thing in our situation."
The rescue involved cooperation between the Coast Guard, Texas Department of Public Safety, Air National Guard, and Texas Task Force 1, a FEMA urban search and rescue team1. Coast Guard crews conducted 12 flights to the affected area, rescuing 237 people total, including 167 by helicopter23.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem praised Ruskan's efforts on social media, calling him "an American hero" whose "selfless courage embodies the spirit and mission of the Coast Guard"14.
Ten campers and one counselor from Camp Mystic remain missing, according to Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha1. The camp's owner, Dick Eastland, died attempting to save campers1. International assistance has arrived, with firefighters from Mexico joining search operations2.
The floods have drawn criticism over the lack of early warning systems in Kerr County, with officials acknowledging no evacuation orders were issued3. County Judge Rob Kelly said authorities "had no reason to believe that this was gonna be anything like what's happened here"3.
"There's still a lot of people missing and unaccounted for, so the mission's not over yet," Ruskan said4.
