A year later, 2 children drowning in Johnston Co. a harrowing memory for WRAL photographer

The horrendous search and rescue left emotional scars on rescue teams after four rescue boats were lost in the effort to save lives and many rescuers ended up in the water.

It’s a night many emergency responders from this area will never forget.

I was there that night. It was a most unbelievable night with a very tragic ending.

I rounded a Galilee Road curve and was suddenly on the edge of a raging river crossing the very dark and normally quiet two-lane road. I could hardly believe my eyes – and had almost driven right into it. I've seen water crossing the road before, but never anything like this.

Unknown to me at that time was that a mother and her two small children had just moments before also rounded that curve. But they had driven into the water and were washed off of the road. Now, they were somewhere out there in the chilly, rushing waters.

She somehow called 911.

Emergency responders rushed to the scene. Swift water rescue teams quickly arrived. The rain continued to fall, and the water rose with the intensity of a major river.

The first rescue crew from Four Oaks launched into the darkness. Then a second boat crew, this one from Princeton, headed out. But, within minutes the chilling words, "MAYDAY! MAYDAY!" came from a Princeton crew member.

Unanswered calls from the command post and Johnston Central silenced all who were there. Emergency tones sounded, "FOUR OAKS and PRINCETON CREWS IN THE WATER, UPDATE!" No response.

The call quickly went out for more help. The Johnston County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue (SAR) team members arrived with their "jet boat," and, after a quick briefing, headed downstream. They immediately ran into trouble as the water was flowing through what is normally dense woodland with many obstacles and snags. But they pressed on.

The mother and one of her children clung to a tree as she waved her flashlight, hoping for help. But, the water was too strong and too swift.

It was total darkness as rescue boat after rescue boat with highly trained and skilled personnel, capsized, turning rescuers into victims who now, themselves, needed to be rescued. It was an unbelievable turn of events.

The overwhelming urgency of the situation weighed on those still on dry land as additional specialized teams from Clayton, Cleveland, Raleigh, Cary, and Mar-Mac in Wayne County arrived.

Many ambulance crews staged at a local school, hoping not to be called upon. Emergency vehicles lined the roadway on both sides of the flooded and washed out area.

Four rescue boats were lost and all of the heroic crew members were scattered, alone, out in the darkness.

The water began to recede but the roar of the rushing flood filled the air most of the night.

Those ready and willing on the scene to help could only peer downstream in the limited light, looking for a sign that their "brothers" were safe. It was a long night.

Finally word came that all of the rescuers plus the young mother were accounted for, and most were being taken by a Clayton crew to the nearby Neuse River "Town Commons" boat ramp in Smithfield.

There are many details untold. Some of pain and suffering. Some of grief and heartache. But, all gave their very best to help save innocent lives.

Unfortunately, as the sun came up, two young children, a 4- and a 5-year-old, were still missing.

The search for them had begun.