FL FL - Justin Walker & Brian McCluney, overdue fishermen on boat, Port Canaveral, 16 Aug 2019

[JerseyGirl]

BBM:

I was just thinking the other day of that case from 4 years ago of Perry Cohen and Austin Stephanos, the 14-year-old boys from Jupiter, FL that went out boating and got caught in a bad storm.

Sadly, in that case, neither of the boys' bodies were ever recovered, although their boat was eventually found.

Hoping and praying for a different outcome here.

Obviously, it's not looking good.

Tragic to contemplate losing men of such obvious caliber and character.

JMO.

Thanks for bringing Perry and Austin up. Here is their thread on WS if anyone wants another read:

FL - FL - Austin Stephanos & Perry Cohen, both 14, Jupiter, 24 July 2015 - #1

 

[bkgregg5]

Scanner stuff has to stay in the basement but there is a scanner called "Jacksonville Beach Marine" that search efforts are being heard on.

I’m usually a lurker and not a poster. Do you mind telling me how to find the basement?

 

[imstilla.grandma]

 

[enelram]

I too was surprised that these guys would take a 22' boat 20 or 30 miles offshore with no electronics, and a center console style at that (absolutely no protection from the weather)! We take our boat out too, my husband's beloved 28' Steiger Pilot House and basically just stay in the bay. When my husband and his buddies go sport fishing, they'll sometimes take it out the Barnegat inlet to the Atlantic but he makes sure he still sees land and has cell service. We don't have a marine radio aboard so that may be why he doesn't go too far offshore but we do have flares, which is mandatory.

And some reports say wife of Brian says he's
been towed in by Coast guard before due to
ongoing mechanical problems the boat has had.
It's not unusual that guys push the limits of
these boats, I've heard of locals who go all
the way to the Bahamas in boats similar to this.
For some boats, it doesn't take much in rough weather to upset these boats and flip them over. We see them stranded upside down in
sand near the beach many times. For guys who've grown up near the ocean/beach here in
Florida, they don't have any fear of the water.

 

[JerseyGirl]

I’m usually a lurker and not a poster. Do you mind telling me how to find the basement?

This is the scanner forum, but there is no thread monitoring the Jacksonville scanner at this time. I guess if someone is monitoring it and would like to set up a thread, they can do so here:

https://www.websleuths.com/forums/forums/scanner-chatter.377/

 

[JerseyGirl]

Man who found tackle bag belonging to missing JFRD firefighter speaks to First Coast News

Volunteer who found tackle bag felt called to come search

Garrett Shurling's group spotted a tackle bag on the ocean about 50 nautical miles off the coast of St. Augustine.

“It was really surreal. We ran so far out into the ocean yesterday and to think of the chances of intersecting with that bag and it actually being Brian's is just amazing,” Shurling said on Tuesday, before heading back out to rejoin the search. “We're happy to be a very small part of the process.”

Shurling said he is an avid fisherman and spends many hours on the ocean. He said he was at church Sunday in Savannah when he felt compelled to help look for the missing firefighters.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Thanks for bringing Perry and Austin up. Here is their thread on WS if anyone wants another read:

FL - FL - Austin Stephanos & Perry Cohen, both 14, Jupiter, 24 July 2015 - #1

Just thinking about those two boys out having fun on the water together makes me sad. That last photo image of them heading out in their boat will never leave me.

 

[bkgregg5]

This is the scanner forum, but there is no thread monitoring the Jacksonville scanner at this time. I guess if someone is monitoring it and would like to set up a thread, they can do so here:

https://www.websleuths.com/forums/forums/scanner-chatter.377/

Thank you

 

[Jax49]

Jennifer Ready
@JenniferReadyTV

Someone left this box of rocks asking volunteers to take one as they head out to search for Brian McCluney & Justin Walker #bringthemhome

 

[Jax49]

"I'm getting a phone call every minute or two at least," Barrow said. "I'm getting people that are volunteering airplanes -- their time and their airplane -- to assist in the search. I'm getting people that want to come out and ride on boats as spotters, and people that are trailering their boat from all around the Southeast that want to know where they should put their boat in for us, to be able to give them an area to search. So, that's what we're doing. That was a phone call from Orlando right there ... So they're coming from all over."

Day 5: Search intensifies, expands north for missing firefighters

 

[wyome]

I too was surprised that these guys would take a single engine 22' boat 20 or 30 miles offshore with no electronics, and a center console style at that (absolutely no protection from the weather)! We take our boat out too, my husband's beloved older twin engine 28' Steiger Pilot House and basically just stay in the bay. When my husband and his buddies go sport fishing, they'll sometimes take it out the Barnegat inlet to the Atlantic but he makes sure he still sees land, has a gps and cell service.

Unfortunately, it appears that their boat was not equipped to go so far offshore without a marine radio and flares.

Praying these guys are found safe!

When we had our boat, my husband would go off Port Canaveral fairly regularly. Always had the best fishing, but because of the continental shelf, you have to go out at least 30 miles to get deep water and decent fish. His boat was about the same size, but newer and very reliable. We scaled down the offshore thing as it got older and things started breaking down, until we finally just kept it for river fishing in Stuart.

Still, my husband reaction was "that could have been us." Praying hard for these men.

 

[oceanstarryeyes]

Okay, it's probably been addressed and I've just missed it so I apologize if so but were either of these guys carrying cell phones?

This sounds like the wife was leaving messages on a cell phone?

"It was supposed to be a fairly short day on the water," she said. "I gave them until 6 p.m. maybe because the fishing was great. But 6 o'clock, I didn't hear and I still could see that he didn't read my messages – they hadn't even been delivered yet … at 8 p.m. we called the Coast Guard."


Bag found by searchers looking for firefighters who vanished on fishing trip

 

[imstilla.grandma]

He said searchers found a top to a cooler on Tuesday in the general vicinity McCluney’s bag was discovered floating on the surface of the ocean. He said “we assume” the cooler top came from the boat McCluney and Walker were on.

Vlaun said another big challenge is the strong gulf current moving north and taking any new clues with it.

“Without additional clues, the area becomes vast,” Vlaun said.
Rescuers cling to hope of finding two missing firefighters off coast of Florida

 

[happyday]

Ugh. Finding the cooler lid near where the bag was found isn’t good IMO. The bag didn’t seem like a breadcrumb to me either as it did not contain a note in it (another poster pointed that out).
I’m afraid the boat sank. I sure hope I’m wrong though! It’s got to be torture for the families.

 

[oceanstarryeyes]

Ugh. Finding the cooler lid near where the bag was found isn’t good IMO. The bag didn’t seem like a breadcrumb to me either as it did not contain a note in it (another poster pointed that out).
I’m afraid the boat sank. I sure hope I’m wrong though! It’s got to be torture for the families.

They would have floating devises on board including seats, etc,

 

[happyday]

They would have floating devises on board including seats, etc,

That’s true. I hope they would be able to have access to water they had on board. Maybe a cooler that also floated? Trying to keep positive thoughts!

 

[imstilla.grandma]

We've got to get one eye to see. All it takes one eye, but it takes a multitude out there. That is a big space," Brian McCluney's wife, Stephanie McCluney said.

Crews also searched areas they have already covered.

"They may have been just a little bit further out at that time, you turned around, and then come back by, so, you just keep going," William Hood with Jacksonville Fire Rescue said.
Family holds vigil as search continues off Jacksonville coast for missing boaters

 

[zecats]

I too was surprised that these guys would take a single engine 22' boat 20 or 30 miles offshore with no electronics, and a center console style at that (absolutely no protection from the weather)! We take our boat out too, my husband's beloved older twin engine 28' Steiger Pilot House and basically just stay in the bay. When my husband and his buddies go sport fishing, they'll sometimes take it out the Barnegat inlet to the Atlantic but he makes sure he still sees land, has a gps and cell service.

Unfortunately, it appears that their boat was not equipped to go so far offshore without a marine radio and flares.

Praying these guys are found safe!

RBBM
That's what I was thinking as well. Seems a fairly far distance to take a boat like that without signaling/SOS ability. One point though I can't figure out - his wife mentioned how the boat had to be towed several times before and that SeaTow was called for Coast Guard because of the mechanical issues/breakdown of this boat. (Link posted upthread.) I'm not understanding why they weren't able to signal for help this time. Must have had some sort of radio on board on previous trips. Maybe they weren't out as far other times and were able to use cell phone.

My son's boat is 25 ft Sea Hunt with a center console as well. Extremely well equipped with all kinds of instrumentation (happily so I don't have to worry about him too much). I've been out on it once - to move it from purchase location to slip near his house and it was a cold day so we wanted sun. Not much shade offered on it though.

 

[MimosaMornings]

No electronics? It’s had mechanical issues and been towed in previously?
I hope they had flotation devices besides the top of the cooler.

 

[zecats]

No electronics? It’s had mechanical issues and been towed in previously?
I hope they had flotation devices besides the top of the cooler.

Coast Guard searches for 2 missing firefighters | One America News Network

BBM
The Coast Guard is searching for two firefighters who have been missing since departing on a fishing trip in Florida on Friday. Brian McCluney and Justin Walker were last seen on a boat ramp at Port Canaveral, and were reportedly going fishing at spot 8A Reef.

McCluney’s brother, Steve, called the Coast Guard at sunset when the two hadn’t returned, and said the trip was supposed to be a sendoff to their late father’s boat.

“Our dad passed away last month, so he left the boat behind and we were trying to work out the kinks of the boat to sell it,” Steve explained.


According to McCluney’s wife, Stephanie, the boat has had issues before, and she thinks a mechanical issue may have caused the boat to capsize.

“We know these things happen, it’s not the first time the Coast Guard’s been called or Sea Tow has been called,” she stated. “They’ve been out there before to tow us back in.”