Scott Ruskan had only been a fully trained Coast Guard rescue swimmer for six months when he was called upon to help save campers from Camp Mystic during the deadly Texas flood over July 4th weekend.
Though the state’s death toll has riven to more than 80, including 27 campers and staffers from the Christian girls’ camp, as of Monday morning, that number could have been much higher — because Ruskan himself saved 165 kids.
“We encountered some pretty serious weather, some of the worst flying we’ve ever dealt with. Personally, it should have been an hour flight, it took us probably about seven or eight just to get into the landing zone. Once we made about four different approaches trying to get in … we decided to leave me on scene at Camp Mystic,” Ruskan told “Good Morning America” on Monday.
“We decided, ‘Hey, if we leave the rescue swimmer on scene, we’ll have more space in our Dolphin MH-65.’ So based on that, I got on scene, boots on the ground, can’t miss it. Discovered I was the only person there, as far as first responders go,” he continued. “So I had about 200 kids, mostly all scared, terrified, having probably the worst day of their life. And I just kind of need to triage them, get them to a higher level and get them out of the flood zone.”
“We kind of came up with two different landing zones: there was one off an archery field, and then one at a soccer field,” Ruskan explained. “So we were able to kind of land those [helicopters] in there and then I was the main guy, as far as grabbing people. Usually 15 to 10 kids at a time, maybe one adult with them.”
But believe it or not, this was actually Ruskan’s first rescue operation after being with the Coast Guard as a swimmer for just a year.
“This is my first one, I haven’t had any cases before. I’ve been a rescue swimmer for about a year, fully trained for about six months. So yeah, this was my first experience,” he revealed. “But I really just kind of relied on the training we get. Coast Guard rescue swimmers get some of the highest level training in the world. So, really, I just relied on that and, you know, just knowing that any of the rescue swimmers in the Coast Guard would have done the exact same, if not better than me.”
“When I got on scene, there were 200 kids looking to someone for some sort of comfort and safety. They don’t really know what my experience is or my rank or my age. They just know, ‘Hey, this guy is a professional. He’s here to help us.’ And I kind of had to live up to that standard,” Ruskan said. “But yeah, the real heroes, I think, were the kids on the ground; like those guys are heroic. 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 out.”
The death toll from the Fourth of July natural disaster is also expected to climb as officials continue to search for survivors amongst the devastation.
“We have been in communication with local and state authorities who are tirelessly deploying extensive resources to search for our missing girls,” Camp Mystic shared in a Monday statement. “We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of support from community, first responders and officials at every level.”
