Glenda Moore has been devastated by the loss of her two young boys swept away by the waters in Staten Island. There was hope that the boys would be found alive, but police dashed those dreams yesterday after their bodies were found.

"It's a shock for everybody right now," a family friend told The New York Post. "She's in pain."

The boys, Brandon, 2, and Connor, 4, were swept away in the rushing water as Moore tried to get them to safety during Hurricane Sandy. She lost her grip on the boys' hands and they were separated, leading to an intense search by the NYPD and other rescuers.

Making matters worse was the fact that neighbors would allegedly not help Moore try to save her boys as they floated away. She went door to door, pleading for help, but no one would step outside to help the young mother. Moore wound up spending the night on a neighbor's porch until rescuers were able to save her.

The search then changed to a rescue operation for Brandon and Connor, though the longer the time they were away, the less likely the odds that they would be found alive. Rescuers finally found the boys about 20 yards apart in the debris of the storm.

The family has already made funeral arrangements for the boys, which is likely to be a very public event, given the high-profile nature of the story. Even Police Commissioner Ray Kelly called the ordeal "terrible, absolutely terrible. It compounds all the tragic aspects of this horrific event," he told the Post.

Follow us

Fellow New Yorkers and those across the nation have expressed their outrage at the seeming lack of humanity by neighbors who could have helped Moore, as well as their sympathy for the loss of the young lives.

"It must be criminal to deny aid/shelter in a catastrophe to a woman and her children. Jesus told us the parable about the Good Samaritan-showing compassion and mercy to the robbed, half-dead traveler. Jesus said, 'Go and do,'" noted Post reader Theresa Clarke.