they obviously needing somebody to help them.

你这个句子不对,前面后面肯定有其他成分,不是一个独立的句子.独立的句子不可能没有BE动词.
一篇文章里的句子：
And here I was—a Puerto Rican—hours past midnight,faced with two white children and a white lady,with a baby on her right arm and a bag in her left hand,obviously needing somebody to help them at least until they went up the long concrete stairs.
这里没有be动词是因为它不是一个独立的句子.句子主干是 i faced with two children and a lady.obviously 这个句子是修饰lady 的,表示她当时的一种状态.