The bodies of the four young siblings that were swept away from their parents in ferocious Kentucky flood waters Thursday have been recovered.
First responders found the bodies of 18-month-old Chance Noble and Maddison Noble, 8, in the Knott County community of Montgomery Friday, a day after the bodies of Nevaeh Noble, 4, and Riley Noble Jr., 6, were discovered, according to The Lexington-Herald Leader.
The brothers and sisters were among the at least 19 victims that have been killed by sweeping floods in the region that have swamped entire Appalachian towns — a death toll that was expected to sharply rise when waterways finally crest and recede, officials said.
The Noble children were swept away from the grip of their parents Riley Noble and Amber Smith when a deluge filled their house with water, a cousin of the victims told the newspaper.
“They got on the roof and the entire underneath washed out with them and the children,” Brittany Trejo reportedly said. “They managed to get to a tree and … held the children a few hours before a big tide came and wash them all away at the same time.”
“The mother and father was stranded in the tree for eight hours before anyone got there to help,” she added.
A frantic search remained underway for victims in survivors in the region Friday night after violent record-breaking flash flooding ravaged homes and businesses in some of the poorest communities in the US.
“The numbers, I think, are going to be really hard to tell right now because some of the people they haven’t got to yet, and I’m sure some of the coroners haven’t been able to report them,” Kentucky State Police spokesman Shane Goodall told the outlet.
Rain subsided on Friday morning but water levels were expected to rise until Saturday. The region was expected to be hit with more storms early next week, according to forecasters.
With Post wires
By: Ny Post
