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

[PommyMommy]

AUG 22, 2019
Coast Guard suspending search for missing boaters, Lowcountry volunteers praised
[...]

Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Chief Keith Powers expressed profuse gratitude Thursday to public agencies and private citizens that voluntarily joined the search efforts, specifically citing Charleston.

"We had a guy named Chad Walton out of Charleston, who is heading that search effort, who has poured his heart and his soul into this, making sure that we're covered in that area," said Powers.

Walton, who operates a Charleston-based performance watersports and powersports shop, used a boating enthusiast group on social media to recruit and coordinate volunteers for Lowcountry-based search efforts.

Vlaun added that federal agencies including the FBI, Navy, Air Force, and Customs and Border Protection had provided invaluable help, as well, including access to surveillance technology and aerial search assistance.

"In my 25-year career, I've never seen a more comprehensive or larger search effort for the area we covered," Vlaun said.

[...]

 

[crhedBngr]

Praying hard they are found as I type this . . .

 

[imstilla.grandma]

MISSING FIREFIGHTERS: Florida pilot won't give up looking for missing firefighters even after Coast Guard suspends search

 

[PommyMommy]

MISSING FIREFIGHTERS: Florida pilot won't give up looking for missing firefighters even after Coast Guard suspends search

I love this!

[...]

Joe Hurston has been flying for more than five decades.

[...]

The pilot remembers one mission where six men were lost out in the sea. When everyone had given up, something told Hurston they were still out there.

"I immediately got my little crew together, put them in an airplane, took off, turn 90 degrees from where everybody had been searching for days, flew straight to them in four minutes," he said.

It's now day seven of the search for Walker and McCluney. Hurston believes the men are out there somewhere and he's not losing hope.

"I've seen some real miracles and that's what we need right now we just need a miracle," Hurston said.

Hurston said he'll head to North Carolina and help search the Gulf Stream for any signs of the two firefighters.

 

[PommyMommy]

NorthAmericanRescue on Twitter
We continue to hope and pray that the missing boaters/firefighters will be found against all odds - the official @uscg search will be ended tonight at sunset unless further leads are discovered

#sar #uscg #survival #keepthefaith #nevergiveup #narescue

3:13 PM - 22 Aug 2019

 

[LietKynes]

Thanks for that photo, @PommyMommy !

Tears......

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Does anyone know how many boats and or boaters have disappeared to never be found from this area ?

This doesn’t break down Florida but I’m still searching.

In 2017, the Coast Guard counted 4,291 accidents that involved 658 deaths, 2,629 injuries and approximately $46 million dollars of damage to property as a result of recreational boating accidents.

• x The fatality rate was 5.5 deaths per 100,000 registered recreational vessels. This rate represents a 6.8% decrease from the 2016 fatality rate of 5.9 deaths per 100,000 registered recreational vessels.
• x Compared to 2016, the number of accidents decreased 3.9%, the number of deaths decreased 6.1%, and the number of injuries decreased 9.4%.
• x Where cause of death was known, 76% of fatal boating accident victims drowned. Of those drowning victims with reported life jacket usage, 84.5% were not wearing a life jacket.
• x Where length was known, eight out of every ten boaters who drowned were using vessels less than 21 feet in length.
• x Alcohol use is the leading known contributing factor in fatal boating accidents; where the primary cause was known, it was listed as the leading factor in 19% of deaths.
• x Where instruction was known, 81% of deaths occurred on boats where the operator did not receive boating safety instruction. Only 14% percent of deaths occurred on vessels where the operator had received a nationally-approved boating safety education certificate.
• x There were 172 accidents in which at least one person was struck by a propeller. Collectively, these accidents resulted in 31 deaths and 162 injuries.
• x Operator inattention, improper lookout, operator inexperience, machinery failure, and alcohol use rank as the top five primary contributing factors in accidents.
• x Where data was known, the most common vessel types involved in reported accidents were open motorboats (46%), personal watercraft (18%), and cabin motorboats (16%).
• x Where data was known, the vessel types with the highest percentage of deaths were open motorboats (47%), kayaks (15%), and personal watercraft (7%).

https://www.uscgboating.org/library/accident-statistics/Recreational-Boating-Statistics-2017.pdf

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Over 4,500 boating accidents occur in U.S. waters each year, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Last year alone, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) recorded 634 boating accidents and 73 boating-related deaths – including four missing persons who have not yet been located.

With nearly 900,000 registered vessels and up to 1 million non-registered small craft, Florida is one of the top states for recreational boating. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the top states for boating accidents.
73 People Died Last Year in Florida Boating Accidents

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Nineteen boaters have disappeared in Florida waters over the past decade.

Never were they as young as Austin Stephanos ....and Perry Cohen, 14-year-olds from Tequesta who’ve been missing since July 24. But, like the boys, most were lost in bad weather.

About 600 Florida boaters died in accidents on U.S. waters from 2005 through 2014, a Palm Beach Post analysis of Coast Guard records shows.

That includes the 19 people in 17 incidents whose bodies were never found.

Lost at sea: Two people lost yearly on average in Florida waters


https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/broward/article79151442.html

 

[PommyMommy]

Coast Guard suspending search for missing boaters, families 'not giving up'
[...]

Vlaun said if new information is discovered, such as another item from the missing boaters, the active search will immediately restart.

Meanwhile, the families and friends of the firefighters will continue their search.

"We are not giving up, we're just not giving up," Justin Walker ‘s wife told News 6 partner WJXT while holding a Bible in her arms Thursday afternoon.

"The Coast Guard can only do so much and this is bigger than man," Natasha Walker said. "I can't give up, the community hasn't given up on me either."

[...]
#MiracleBeforeSundown

 

[imstilla.grandma]

“I just left the families right before I came out here and their heart broke and I can’t say I feel any differently right now,” Powers said.

All week, Jacksonville firefighters were holding out hope, but Thursday afternoon, Powers had a different tone.

Earlier, JFRD’s chaplain led the team in prayer.

Another resource for grieving first responders was an emotional support dog.

Firefighters leaning on each other as search grows grim

 

[imstilla.grandma]

How Are People Lost at Sea Found?

 

[Blue Ridge]

I'm glad there will be people still out there searching.... even if the official search has to be stopped.

I don't even know these families but I can't stop my eyes tearing up all day today.

#MiracleBeforeSundown

 

[wyome]

I'm glad there will be people still out there searching.... even if the official search has to be stopped.

I don't even know these families but I can't stop my eyes tearing up all day today.

#MiracleBeforeSundown

Agreed. All prayers have started and ended with these men all week. My heart's heavy, but I'm thrilled to know there are those that are determined to keep going. There's super momentum that comes with knowing everyone else has had to pull out.

 

[Suglo]

How does a boat just disappear?

The same way a Boeing 777-200ER did (Malaysia Airlines MH370). It sinks to the bottom of the ocean and the pieces that do float for a while eventually become waterlogged and also sink right below the surface which are then very difficult to spot from the air.

 

[LibbyinTexas]

<modsnip: no link to info stated as fact>

So my question is - if it was mechanical wouldnt they have time to send a distress call or text saying oh no big waves are coming we need help or oh no we hit something and water is rapidly coming in the boat ? What could of caught them so off guard suddenly? Waves can be seen and heard especially big ones. Anything else happening to the boat seems they would alert for help. What type of scenario would of prevented this?

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Eternal Father,
strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bidd'st the mighty
ocean deep
It's own appointed
limits keep;
Oh, hear us when
we cry to Thee,
For those in peril
on the sea!

a pray from Harborfest 2009

 

[Chichi baby]

Eternal Father,
strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bidd'st the mighty
ocean deep
It's own appointed
limits keep;
Oh, hear us when
we cry to Thee,
For those in peril
on the sea!

a pray from Harborfest 2009

God bless you for posting this and may God bless these lost men, their families and loved ones.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

"Think about these two firefighters for a second, for their entire career what they've done is save people, it's time for us to do something for them," said Captain Steve Maynard, Alachua County Sheriff's Office.

Steve Maynard is not only a captain ACSO but he also has a Coast Guard captains license, that came in handy when he traveled to Mayport to assist in the search of the missing boaters.

But Maynard says it was something he had to do, once he saw the pictures of the families circulating online.

So he says he took the day off and used his personal boat with hopes of finding answers.

"Anytime something happens anywhere in the world that has to do with a public safety member it resonates with us it strikes a chord from a standpoint of we feel for them, we feel for there families, we feel especially for their children and this is terrible situation, its tragic.," said Sheriff Sadie Darnell, ACSO.

But as long as there is hope, there are people like Captain Maynard who are willing to help.
ACSO Captain helped with search of two firefighters who went missing from Port Canaveral

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Search volunteers: There is still a glimmer of hope in finding Brian McCluney, Justin Walker