‘American Hero’: Coast Guard Swimmer Praised for Saving 165 From Flood at Camp Mystic

‘The real heroes were the kids on the ground; those guys are heroic,’ Scott Ruskan said.

A Coast Guard rescue swimmer, Scott Ruskan, is being hailed as a hero for helping to rescue more than 160 people at Camp Mystic during flash floods that ravaged central Texas over the weekend.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said Ruskan directly saved 165 people from the floodwaters that inundated Camp Mystic, a Christian girls’ camp near the Guadalupe River. He was the only triage coordinator at the scene.

“Scott Ruskan is an American hero. His selfless courage embodies the spirit and mission of the [U.S. Coast Guard],” Noem stated on social media platform X, noting that it was Ruskan’s first rescue mission as a Coast Guard rescue swimmer.

The rescue team was dispatched from the Coast Guard Air Station in Corpus Christi after receiving a report at 5:57 a.m. on July 4 about rising floodwaters near Kerrville, Texas, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

In an interview with Good Morning America, Ruskan recalled that nearly 200 people, mostly children, were later found in need of rescue as floodwaters surged through the area.

“I got on scene, boots on the ground at Camp Mystic. I kind of discovered I was the only person there as far as first responders go. So I had about 200, kids mostly, all scared, terrified, cold, having probably the worst day of their life,” he said. “I just kind of needed to triage them, get them to a higher level of care and get them off the flood zone.”

U.S. Army National Guard helicopters used the camp’s archery and soccer fields as landing zones during the rescue. Ruskan said he “was kind of the main guy as far as grabbing people,” taking groups of 10 to 15 people, including some adults, at a time to the aircraft, which then airlifted them to the landing zones for safety.

The U.S. Coast Guard stated that Ruskan helped to evacuate a total of 230 victims at the scene. He also provided them with medical assistance during the rescue mission, according to a July 5 statement.

“The real heroes, I think, were the kids on the ground; those guys are heroic,” Ruskan said. “They were dealing with some of the worst times of their lives, and they were staying strong, and that helped inspire me to get in there and help them.”

A sheriff’s deputy pauses while combing through the banks of the Guadalupe River near Camp Mystic after a flash flood swept through the area in Hunt, Texas, on July 5, 2025. Julio Cortez/AP Photo

Camp Mystic said that 27 campers and counselors lost their lives in the floods and that it had been in contact with local and state authorities in the search for missing campers and counselors.

“Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy. We are praying for them constantly,” the camp said in a statement posted to its website.

The flash floods that swept through central Texas have left more than 100 people dead and at least 161 missing. Gov. Greg Abbott said during a July 8 press briefing that those figures are likely to rise, due in part to the area’s popularity with campers.

Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said that hundreds of first responders are on the scene in flooded areas around the Guadalupe River, with local, federal, and state personnel working to recover bodies or locate missing people.

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