{"id":324723,"date":"2026-06-30T14:55:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T14:55:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/324723\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T14:55:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T14:55:20","slug":"teen-remembered-as-a-hero-after-drowning-while-rescuing-cousin-in-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/324723\/","title":{"rendered":"Teen remembered as a hero after drowning while rescuing cousin in Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A Rusk High School student, Rhilynn Myers, is hailed as a hero after family say he died saving his 5-year-old cousin from drowning.<\/p>\n<p>JACKSONVILLE, Texas \u2014 A 15-year-old boy is being remembered as a hero after family members say he <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/4g7g1C0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">drowned while rescuing his 5-year-old autistic cousin<\/a> at Lake Jacksonville in Texas.<\/p>\n<p>Jacksonville <a href=\"https:\/\/www.firstcoastnews.com\/crime\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">police\u00a0<\/a>said emergency crews were called to the Lake Jacksonville Campgrounds at around 2:31 p.m. Saturday following reports of a drowning.<\/p>\n<p>Police <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JacksonvilleTXPD\/posts\/pfbid02BKiZwZ9xtNDyKRU9oEijX6R5yySfK83QHetWz2ZRbrE8HoqHMZHzgkagTvKjn3oMl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">said\u00a0<\/a>the child had drifted into deeper water on an inflatable flotation device. The teen entered the lake to bring the child back, but was unable to make it safely to shore.<\/p>\n<p>The teen then called out for help before going underwater. A boater pulled the teen from the water and attempted to save his life before first responders arrived.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He was then transported to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.<\/p>\n<p>Family members identified the teen as 15-year-old Rhilynn Myers, a Rusk High School sophomore and football player.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/4g7g1C0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">CBS19\u00a0<\/a>spoke to the teen&#8217;s grandfather, Jason Myers, and he described his grandson as someone who stepped in without hesitation to protect his younger cousin.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Me and my wife, were both trying to save the little girl first, and we couldn&#8217;t get to her,&#8221; said Myers. &#8220;Then Rhilynn tried to swim after her also, and that&#8217;s where he started cramping up.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>His school district said teachers described him as &#8220;curious and inquisitive&#8221; in a<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0rrusYPykDyY5RokUrSCfTWVagHUAEbEerbKpQTkbWrHNPNJB7vUmk85ETsYKXYYTl&amp;id=100063502573197\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">\u00a0social media post.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He thrived in classroom discussions, always thinking on a deeper and more mature level, and was one of the best theatrical readers in class,&#8221; the post said. &#8220;He was kind and had the biggest heart. His smile was contagious and lit up a room. He kept his classmates laughing and he was a fierce protector of them when needed.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The post added that counselors will be available Monday to support students and staff.<\/p>\n<p>Rusk Eagle Athletics said Myers left a lasting impact on teammates and coaches, calling him a strong example of the school\u2019s values.<\/p>\n<p>According to the Texas Game Wardens, this drowning was among at least five water-related fatalities and emergencies reported statewide Saturday, calling attention to the importance of water safety precautions.<\/p>\n<p>The Jacksonville Police Department is still investigating the drowning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Rusk High School student, Rhilynn Myers, is hailed as a hero after family say he died saving&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":324249,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-324723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=324723"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324723\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/324249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=324723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=324723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=324723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}