Heartbreaking final photo shows NC grandparents trapped on roof before swept away by floodwaters with grandson

A heartbreaking final photo of North Carolina grandparents waiting to be rescued on the roof of their home while surrounded by fierce floodwaters has emerged following the devastation left by Hurricane Helene.

Jessica Drye Turner had begged for someone to save her family after they became stranded on top of their Asheville home and were “watching 18-wheelers and cars floating by” them as they waited for help, she wrote on Facebook as the storm ravaged the area Friday.

She posted a photo taken by her sister, Megan Drye — who, along with their “parents, in their 70s,” and her nephew, Micah, 7, were trapped.

The gut-wrenching photo shows the couple huddled together, with her mother in a coat and surrounded by blankets, as the floodwater was only steps away from the base of the roof.

“They’ve called 911 but they aren’t the only ones needing rescue. This is definitely a moment when faith is all you have,” Turner wrote on Friday.

Tragically, in a follow-up message posted on Saturday, Turner shared that her parents, along with their grandson, drowned after the roof collapsed with them still waiting to be rescued.

“My parents and nephew drowned bc the roof collapsed,” Turner wrote.

Her sister, Megan Drye, got “wedged” between something when the roof gave way and was “rescued an hour later.”

“I cannot convey in words the sorrow, heartbreak and devastation my sisters and I are going through nor imagine the pain before us,” she wrote.

“Please lift my sister who lost her son up in prayers and my other sister and myself as we come together to somehow comfort her and get through each moment banded together.”

Turner revealed that she and her other sister, Heather, raced over Asheville through the night to be with their sister, adding they disregarded the warning that travel was “prohibited in Western North Carolina.”

“If we had listened instead of willing to do anything to get there, Megan would still be in one of the loneliest situations ever,” she wrote.

On Monday, Turner then posted another heart-rending update that her 7-year-old nephew’s body was “found 1/4 of a mile past where” her sister Megan was rescued.

“That was and still is a gut wrenching moment. First hearing that. He was such a perfect little boy. He wanted to be a superhero. And now he is,” she wrote.

“If his and my parents deaths lead many to Christ, then their deaths were worth it. I will praise the goodness of God when he takes death to lead others into new life. The last thing Micah yelled before he was taken was, ‘Jesus! Please help me!’”

A GoFundMe page has been started to help Megan after the loss of her son.

Nationwide, there have been at least 133 fatalities from Hurricane Helene across North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, and Virginia after making landfall late Thursday night.

However, officials expect the death toll to rise once rescue teams reach isolated towns and telecommunications are restored.

The death toll from catastrophic flooding in the Asheville area of western North Carolina more than tripled on Monday to at least 40.

“There are a lot of people hurting,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper told MSNBC on Monday night.

“When you don’t have power, when you don’t have cell phone service, when you don’t have water, this is a catastrophic situation for you.”

He added that “some of our communities are completely wiped out.”

Cooper said the state is coordinating 92 search and rescue teams from 20 states and the US government, with most efforts being sent to the western part of North Carolina.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said at least 25 people in his state had died on Monday, and South Carolina reported at least 29 dead.

with Post wires