Terrified and uncertain, these families crossed mountains to escape Myanmar's deadly junta

The woman had almost reached the border when the police spotted her. She had fled her home in Myanmar late one night in early March with her husband and 5-year-old daughter. They brought only two or three days' worth of clothes and some emergency cash, moving quickly but carefully through the country's mountainous western region -- she is six months pregnant with her second child, and her husband was a policeman leaving the force during a violent military crackdown.

They traveled at night to hide from military patrols, and took unpopulated routes during the day. They managed to avoid detection for almost 110 miles (177 kilometers) -- until the third day, as they were nearing the India-Myanmar border. "They were searching for us in our town," said the woman, 36, who CNN is not naming for her safety. "When we were about to cross over, the Myanmar police chased after us."

The family ran -- and just managed to cross into India's northeastern state of Mizoram, and into safety.

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