Firefighters go missing off Florida coast during fishing trip

Author: CBS News
Published: Updated:
Firefighters Brian McCluney and Justin Walker.

The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for two firefighters who appear to have gone missing during a fishing trip in Port Canaveral, Florida, CBS Jacksonville affiliate WJAX-TV reports. Brian McCluney and Justin Walker were last seen departing a boat ramp Friday.

Their families notified the Coast Guard after the pair failed to return home that evening. The Coast Guard deployed a search plane and several boats and are being assisted by the Navy and Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.

McCluney works as a firefighter for the city of Jacksonville while Walker is a master technician for the Fairfax County, Virginia Fire and Rescue Department.

McCluney’s wife wrote in a Facebook post that the Coast Guard moved its search north.

Surveillance footage shows Brian McCluney and Justin Walker, who were last seen departing a Port Canaveral, Fla., boat ramp Friday, Aug. 16, 2019. The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for the firefighters, who went missing on a fishing trip. Credit: U.S. Coast Guard.

Though the Coast Guard was notified that a debris field was spotted 50 miles east of St. Augustine, the agency confirmed it was unrelated to the missing firefighters.

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

Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.