Search continues for two firefighters missing at sea since Friday

The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office and United States Coast Guard are actively searching for two missing boaters, Brian McCluney and Justin Walker, who were last seen Friday morning (August 16)  around 11:00 a.m. The two friends left on a fishing trip and are believed to have gone off shore about 30 miles.  They were expected to return around 6:00 p.m. on Friday but never did.

The missing boaters, both off-duty firefighters, were last seen departing the 300 Christopher Columbus boat ramp at Cape Canaveral, Florida, Friday morning in a 24-foot center console heading toward “8A” reef.  McCluney is a firefighter with the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department. Walker is a firefighter in Fairfax, Virginia, according to MSN.

Coast Guard Station Port Canaveral watchstanders were notified by a family member of the boaters not returning as expected Friday evening. Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville Command Center watchstanders launched assets including a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium from Station Canaveral, an HC-130 Hercules search plane from Air Station Clearwater and the Coast Guard Cutter Ridley, an 87-foot Patrol Boat to conduct searches.

“We’re saturating the area,” Petty Officer 1st Class Luke Clayton told FLORIDA TODAY earlier on Sunday. “They’re considered overdue. We’ve had no radio communication or GPS pings. We’re trying to find them so we can bring them back home.” ~ USA Today

On Sunday, the Coast Guard said they and their partner agency crews would be searching through the night with surface and air assets for the overdue Port Canaveral boaters.

#UPDATE 9: @USCG, partner agency crews will be searching through the night w/ surface and air assets for the @PortCanaveral boaters. The search has covered 20,029 sq miles with an est 70 hrs of active searches. Images show today's searches from #PortCanaveral to #Charleston S.C. pic.twitter.com/KevxSwSpEL

— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) August 19, 2019

Others actively searching for the missing boaters include volunteers, more than one dozen private boaters, the U.S. Navy and the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville Command Center at 904-714-7558.

For more on the missing boaters, see the video accompanying this article.

(Sources: Brevard County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Coast Guard)

~ Written by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Connect with Richard on Facebook and Twitter