North Carolina mom, her 2 sons and fiance swept away in Helene floods after leaving car to return home

GREEN MOUNTAIN, NORTH CAROLINA: Alison Wisely, her fiance Knox Petrucci, and her two children - Felix, 9, and Lucas, 7, from western North Carolina, have been recently added to the long list of lives lost in Hurricane Helene, WRAL News reported on Wednesday, October 9.

The natural disaster, one of the worst in the recent history of the United States, struck on September 26 and continued to rage through the southeastern part of the country till September 29.

The family of four reportedly lost their lives while attempting to flee their home on September 27. Their bodies remained undiscovered for a while, but the last one was found on October 7.

How did the Wisely family lose their lives?

Relatives of the family told WRAL News that Wisely and Petrucci had prepared for the storm in their home, expecting a minor flood. However, Helene was more extreme than any weather event that the region had ever experienced.

As such, when water levels continued to rise for the second day of the storm, the couple decided to drive away from the region with the children. When they made their way through the flood water, their car began to float. The family reportedly got out of the car and tried to make their way home, but were carried away into the Toe River instead.

During the storm, the Toe River rose by 22 feet, and the water level near the family's home reached a few inches below their single-story ceiling.

The body of Petrucci was the last to be discovered. He was a local beekeeper, manager, community educator at 'Honey & the Hive' in Weaverville, and an aspiring blacksmith. He planned to marry Wisely in Burnsville on November 9.

Crowdfunding for family's memorial raises over $67K

Petrucci's sister, Briana Petrucci Yarbrough, organized a fundraiser on the platform GoFundMe on behalf of Lance Wisely, the father of Felix and Lucas who co-parented with Alison.

The purpose of the fundraiser is to "raise money to cover the costs of a fitting memorial and to support grieving family members and friends in their travels to the family's funeral services, and support friends and family who have been hard hit by Helene."

The family also shared that the extra funds would be donated "to local organizations that meant the world to their family, and those who are working tirelessly to assist those affected by this unspeakably, horrific climate tragedy."

As of October 11, the collection had crossed $67,450.