NJ rescue swimmer hailed as hero after saving 165 in Texas flash floods

A United States Coast Guard rescue swimmer from New Jersey is being called a hero after rescuing close to 200 people following flash floods in Central Texas.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Scott Ruskan, 26, was singled out by U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for his efforts saving 165 victims as the only triage coordinator at the scene of the floods.

“United States Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer and Petty Officer Scott Ruskin (Ruskan), directly saved an astonishing 165 victims in the devastating flooding in central Texas. This was the first rescue mission of his career and he was the only triage coordinator at the scene. Scott Ruskin is an American hero. His selfless courage embodies the spirit and mission of the @USCG,” Noem’s posted to her social media account on X.

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Ruskan said in an interview on “Fox and Friends” that they were in the air when they saw a huge crowd of about 200 kids at a campsite. That is how they decided to focus on Camp Mystic.

“Yeah, as far as right now, we’ve been getting our tasks from higher above mostly from the Army as of right now. But a lot of it has just been large state triages, so we were at Mystic yesterday for a long period of time. We probably got about 200 people out of there alone, and it was just, yeah, we just saw a huge crowd, about 200 kids at a campsite. So, we’re like, cool that’s where we’re gonna go, and we’re just gonna get as many people out as we can until they’re all gone,” Scott told “Fox and Friends.”

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Kerr County Sheriff’s Office says that as of 1:30pm Sunday they had recovered 68 deceased in Kerr County. 

“Among those who are deceased, we have 40 adults and 28 children. Eighteen adults are pending identification, and 10 children also pending identification. At present, there are 10 Camp Mystic campers unaccounted for, along with one counselor,” they posted to Facebook.

Search and rescue operations are ongoing, they said, and there is a full response from local, state, and national first responders.

“We continue to have hundreds of officers, deputies, and support staff working every aspect of this emergency, along with air, water, K9, and other assets conducting search and rescue,” the sheriff’s office said.