A rescuer's tale at Camp Mystic, Texas: terrified girls, helicopters and a harrowing scene
Scott Ruskan, a 26-year-old Coast Guard rescue swimmer based in Corpus Christi, Texas, woke up to banging on his door in the early hours of last Friday, July 4th. There was flooding around San Antonio and he was being deployed, he was told. Did he have a chainsaw?
Ruskan was part of a crew that was tasked with evacuating hundreds of people at
Camp Mystic, an all-girls' Christian summer camp
along the Guadalupe River that has become a hub of loss in the catastrophic floods that killed more than 80 people across central Texas. About 750 girls were at the camp, officials said.
Ruskan and his team took off on a helicopter at about 7am to the camp, near Hunt, Texas. It took them nearly six hours to reach San Antonio because of poor visibility and challenging weather conditions. 'A white-knuckle experience,' he said.
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By the end of their operations, Ruskan was credited with saving 165 people from Camp Mystic.
He was part of the more than 1,700 emergency responders, bystanders, family members and others who used helicopters and drones, arrived on horseback and in trucks to help. Some searched from boats and golf carts for those who remained unaccounted for as search-and-rescue operations entered into a fourth day.
Many rescue stories have been harrowing. A 22-year-old woman was taken to safety after clinging to a tree overnight. A young girl was found after floating on a mattress for hours. A mother and her 19-year-old son survived by clinging onto each other and a tree. A counsellor at Camp Mystic helped evacuate her 14 young campers to safety.
Ruskan and his crew had a particularly onerous task.
After their treacherous journey from Corpus Christi, Ruskan and his crew eventually landed at Camp Mystic, where they began working with 12 rescue helicopters, including those from the Army National Guard. Close to 200 people – mostly campers and some camp staff members – needed to be evacuated. Two main landing zones were set up: one on an archery field and one on a soccer field.
Ruskan realised that staying on scene would free up two extra spots on his helicopter for the evacuees, he said, so he told his unit: 'I'd love to stay; I could do a lot more good on the ground.'
He became the main person on scene to both triage and provide emotional support to the survivors.
'Kids were in pyjamas,' he recalled in an interview with The New York Times, noting some were wearing just one shoe on their feet. They were cold and tired, many soaking wet. And they were desperate for answers about their friends.
'I had a job to do,' Ruskan added. 'All these people are looking at you terrified with a 1,000-yard stare. They want some sort of comfort, someone to save them.'
Across the state, at least 82 people were reported on Monday have died from the floods. Despite the heroic work of Ruskan and others like him, Camp Mystic reported that 27 people had died between campers and counsellors.
Texas officials have assured residents that they will continue searching for the missing until every person is found — while at the same time acknowledging that the hope of finding more people alive was diminishing by the hour.
At Camp Mystic on Friday, Ruskan shuttled campers to the helicopters that would lift them to safety — sometimes carrying two girls in one arm. As he took some evacuees away, he assured the others that he would come back for them.
Some asked if they could bring their stuffed animal with them. 'Of course,' he told them.
- This article originally appeared in
The New York Times
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2025 The New York Times Company
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Irish Times
13 hours ago
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A rescuer's tale at Camp Mystic, Texas: terrified girls, helicopters and a harrowing scene
It was his first rescue operation. Scott Ruskan, a 26-year-old Coast Guard rescue swimmer based in Corpus Christi, Texas, woke up to banging on his door in the early hours of last Friday, July 4th. There was flooding around San Antonio and he was being deployed, he was told. Did he have a chainsaw? Ruskan was part of a crew that was tasked with evacuating hundreds of people at Camp Mystic, an all-girls' Christian summer camp along the Guadalupe River that has become a hub of loss in the catastrophic floods that killed more than 80 people across central Texas. About 750 girls were at the camp, officials said. Ruskan and his team took off on a helicopter at about 7am to the camp, near Hunt, Texas. It took them nearly six hours to reach San Antonio because of poor visibility and challenging weather conditions. 'A white-knuckle experience,' he said. READ MORE By the end of their operations, Ruskan was credited with saving 165 people from Camp Mystic. He was part of the more than 1,700 emergency responders, bystanders, family members and others who used helicopters and drones, arrived on horseback and in trucks to help. Some searched from boats and golf carts for those who remained unaccounted for as search-and-rescue operations entered into a fourth day. Many rescue stories have been harrowing. A 22-year-old woman was taken to safety after clinging to a tree overnight. A young girl was found after floating on a mattress for hours. A mother and her 19-year-old son survived by clinging onto each other and a tree. A counsellor at Camp Mystic helped evacuate her 14 young campers to safety. Ruskan and his crew had a particularly onerous task. After their treacherous journey from Corpus Christi, Ruskan and his crew eventually landed at Camp Mystic, where they began working with 12 rescue helicopters, including those from the Army National Guard. Close to 200 people – mostly campers and some camp staff members – needed to be evacuated. Two main landing zones were set up: one on an archery field and one on a soccer field. Ruskan realised that staying on scene would free up two extra spots on his helicopter for the evacuees, he said, so he told his unit: 'I'd love to stay; I could do a lot more good on the ground.' He became the main person on scene to both triage and provide emotional support to the survivors. 'Kids were in pyjamas,' he recalled in an interview with The New York Times, noting some were wearing just one shoe on their feet. They were cold and tired, many soaking wet. And they were desperate for answers about their friends. 'I had a job to do,' Ruskan added. 'All these people are looking at you terrified with a 1,000-yard stare. They want some sort of comfort, someone to save them.' Across the state, at least 82 people were reported on Monday have died from the floods. Despite the heroic work of Ruskan and others like him, Camp Mystic reported that 27 people had died between campers and counsellors. Texas officials have assured residents that they will continue searching for the missing until every person is found — while at the same time acknowledging that the hope of finding more people alive was diminishing by the hour. At Camp Mystic on Friday, Ruskan shuttled campers to the helicopters that would lift them to safety — sometimes carrying two girls in one arm. As he took some evacuees away, he assured the others that he would come back for them. Some asked if they could bring their stuffed animal with them. 'Of course,' he told them. - This article originally appeared in The New York Times . 2025 The New York Times Company
Irish Times
2 days ago
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Texas flood victims: What we know
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Irish Times
3 days ago
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Texas floods: The girls camp where 20 children are missing is nearly a century old
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