Petty Officer Scott Ruskan had just six months of experience under his belt when he got the call for his first rescue mission. A former accountant turned Coast Guard rescue swimmer, the 26-year-old was about to be thrust into one of the worst natural disasters in recent Texas history.
Early Friday morning, Task Force 1, a local search-and-rescue unit, urgently requested help. Torrential floods had devastated central Texas, killing dozens and leaving many more missing. Among the hardest hit: Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County.
What should have been a quick one-hour flight from Corpus Christi, about 200 miles south, turned into a grueling six-to-seven-hour battle through violent storms. “Some of the worst weather I’ve ever experienced,” Ruskan told CNN.
From the air, the devastation was overwhelming. Floodwaters had surged from 3 feet to nearly 30, battering youth camps and drowning entire cabins. At Camp Mystic, about 200 campers needed to be rescued. Roads were submerged, bridges washed out, and water too high for boats. Airlift was the only option.
“The Worst Day of Their Lives”
By the time Ruskan touched down at Camp Mystic, the scale of the disaster was clear: terrified children huddled above the flood zone, many of them barefoot, soaked, and injured. Camp staff had scrambled to push girls through windows and float them on mattresses as water rapidly rose.
Ruskan was the only first responder on site. With poor radio reception and no cell service, he had no way to contact his team. Still, he stayed. The Coast Guard crew needed to reach another high-priority site, and leaving Ruskan behind to manage triage was the best decision.
“I was surrounded by about 200 kids—scared, cold, confused,” he said. “They were having probably the worst day of their life.”
He reassured the girls, held their hands, and told them help was on the way. Many didn’t know if their friends had survived. Some were missing. Others bore cuts from running barefoot across sharp debris. He did what he could to calm them until help returned.
A Race Against Time
Texas Air National Guard helicopters eventually arrived, landing on the camp’s archery and soccer fields. Ruskan led groups of 10 to 15 girls at a time, prioritizing the youngest. He carried some to the choppers himself to spare them further injury on the slick, debris-strewn ground.
Over the course of the day, he helped evacuate around 165 campers.
Despite heroic efforts by first responders and camp staff, 27 girls and counselors from Camp Mystic were confirmed dead. Ten campers and one counselor remain missing. The camp’s longtime director, Dick Eastman, also lost his life while trying to save others. Across the state, the death toll has surpassed 100.
“It Made Me a Better Rescuer”
Though lauded by the Department of Homeland Security as an “American hero,” Ruskan credits the counselors and the children as heroes, too.
“The way they acted—it made me a better rescuer,” he said. “They were brave. They held each other. And they trusted me.”
Reflecting on his first mission, Ruskan says the weight of it is still sinking in. But he stayed focused when it mattered most—on a day that changed many lives forever.
