Harrison Ford has played plenty of heroes on screen, but one of his best rescue stories has nothing to do with Hollywood. ABC News reported earlier, in March 2015, that the beloved “Star Wars” actor, who turned 84 on Monday, July 13, once climbed into a helicopter and helped bring a missing Boy Scout home safely near Yellowstone National Park, a real-life moment that’s stuck with fans for 25 years.
A Sun Reflection Led Ford Straight to a Missing Teen
As per the outlet, in July 2001, search crews scrambled after 13-year-old Cody Clawson, a Boy Scout from Utah, wandered away from his troop during a hike in a forest just south of Yellowstone.
Harrison, a part-time Wyoming resident at the time, joined the search in his helicopter and was the first to spot Clawson, after the teen used the sun’s reflection off his belt buckle to flag down the aircraft.
The Boy Scout’s Family Got the Shock of Their Lives
Clawson’s family was just grateful he’d made it through the night unharmed. Learning his rescuer was the “Indiana Jones” star turned a happy ending into an unforgettable one.
“Cody said the kids [in his Boy Scout troop] asked if he got an autograph and he said, ‘No, but I got a hug and a handshake, and that’s better than an autograph,'” Clawson’s mother said, as per ABC.
Harrison Ford’s First Real-Life Rescue Came a Year Earlier
GettyThe Yellowstone rescue wasn’t Harrison’s first time coming through in a crisis. ABC News reported in 2000 — a year earlier — that Sarah George, 20, and Megan Freeman, 22, were making a five-hour climb up the 11,106-foot Table Mountain on July 31 when heat, high altitude, and dehydration caught up with George, leaving her too weak to keep walking.
A fellow hiker called for help, and Ford, a licensed pilot and Air Force One star, answered. This time, Han Solo skipped the Millennium Falcon. He flew in aboard his own Bell 407 helicopter instead.
He got her into his helicopter and flew her straight to the nearest hospital.
These Days, Harrison Trades His Cockpit for a Bike Trail
These days, Harrison spends less time in the cockpit and more time on two wheels. “I fly from time to time, but I’m cutting back,” he recently told People in May 2026.
“One does not replace the other,” he explained. “But, I used to spend a lot of time flying. Now I spend a lot of time on my bike.”
That shift followed a scary crash in his World War II-era plane on March 5, 2015.
An engine malfunction forced him into an emergency landing shortly after takeoff in Los Angeles, leaving him with a shattered pelvis, a broken ankle, a broken back and a head injury.
Now married to Calista Flockhart since 2010, Harrison sticks close to home for his rides. “I really enjoy being outside in nature on a bike, and that’s recent for me — the last 3 or 4 years,” he said. “I’ve always ridden bikes, but I’ve ridden road bikes, and now I enjoy riding mountain bikes. And we have a beautiful place to ride it in here with the Santa Monica Mountains.”
On the professional front, Ford can be seen as Dr. Paul Rhoades on Apple TV+’s “Shrinking.”
The comedy just wrapped its third season, which premiered earlier this year, and has already been renewed for a fourth, with Ford set to return in his fan-favorite role.
