A two-year-old boy was ripped from his mum's arms as she held onto a clothesline during the devastating Tennessee floods on Saturday.
The child, Kellen Cole Burrow, is one of ten people who are still missing in the wake of the deluge that has left at least 21 people dead.
Record downpours and flash flooding have caused devastation in the region over the weekend.
Humphreys County Emergency Management Agency said rescuers were going house to house and digging through rubble for about 40 people unaccounted for in the area, directly west of Nashville.
Sheriff Chris Davis said residents and his officers were overwhelmed with destruction from the storm, with people returning home to find houses ruined and cars swept away.
"Right now, I close my eyes and cannot get over the devastation," he said.
"Knowing that you grew up in that. Knowing this is your roots. It all comes together and it's pretty breath-taking."
The Tennessean reports one family caught out by the deluge saw the lost boy's mum, Brittney LeAnn McCord, clutch onto a clothes line, holding her five children.
She held on for as long as she could outside their family's home as the flood waters rose before a powerful surge pulled little Kellen from her arms.
His stepdad, Kalaub McCord, was said to have been away that night, seeking treatment for a medical condition.
Recalling the last time he saw the boy he told Fox 17 : "I seen him that night when we put him to bed, but she had him in her arms whenever he got swept away.
"I couldn’t get back to him, but she managed to save our other four children. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have any children right now."
Another missing child is 15-year-old Lilly Bryant, who had reportedly just started her first year of high school.
A family friend, Chelsea Simons, said: "Loved everybody, loved to make people laugh. There’s not another one like her.
"If we don’t find her tonight, we’ll be right back here in the morning as soon as daylight breaks to continue. We’re not gonna stop until we find their baby."
Authorities said five or six teams of rescuers were searching through the destruction, some using dogs trained to find the missing.
"We're going to every home," said Grey Collier, a Humphreys County Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman.
"Many have slid off their foundations, some collapsed. We're also working along side the creeks, looking for anyone we can."
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee said on Sunday he would request emergency assistance from the federal government in the next few days after an initial assessment.
President Joe Biden said federal emergency officials will coordinate with the state to offer assistance.
