Friends gathered near the bank of the Arkansas River on Saturday afternoon after a 19-year-old man disappeared while swimming.
Khalil Smith was last seen swimming in the river west of North Little Rock's Riverview Park.
The Pulaski County Water Patrol was searching the river Saturday night for a person, spokesman Lt. Theodore Haase said.
Charlene Hampton said she was in a car near the bank of the river, listening to music, when she heard a commotion outside. As she rushed down to the river, Hampton saw that her 16-year-old son had survived the swim, but she was told that Smith went under the water.
"I was in so much shock I couldn't even cry," she said.
Hampton said she fears the worst has happened to Smith.
"He's been down there way too long," she said, crying at the scene Saturday evening.
Hampton said she had welcomed Smith into her family a year ago. Smith would call her "mom" and she thought of him as a son.
She said Smith loved the outdoors, but she warned him not to swim in the river earlier that day.
"I just can't get that out of my head," she said of her warning.
At one point, authorities were waiting for lightning to pass before continuing their search.
Some friends cried and others hugged as they waited for the search to resume.
Lt. Dustin Free with the North Little Rock Fire Department said firefighters stopped their search about 9:30 p.m., after about five hours, because of low visibility.
The department transferred the search to Pulaski County authorities, who have more advanced equipment. They were still looking late Saturday.
Austin Huneycutt left work his first day on the job after he heard Smith was missing in the river.
"He was my brother, my sponsor, my best friend," he said.
Smith always had a way of lightening up a tense situation, Huneycutt said, and was amazing around his kids -- so much so they even called him "uncle."
Smith loved heavy metal music, Hampton said, and he could be found dancing with headphones on.
Huneycutt said Smith was a guardian angel for so many, and Smith was there for him when he thought of relapsing into drug use.
Huneycutt said he can only hope Smith is found alive.
Metro on 07/24/2016