Six days after two firefighters went to sea for a day of fishing and never returned, the U.S. Coast Guard has decided this will be the last of active searching.
WJCT News partner News4Jax reported that Capt. Mark Vlaun called the decision "extremely difficult" and said Coast Guard assets will continue to work off the coast, but the search area now exceeds 105,000 square miles and continues to grow.
"At this point, without additional information, we have simply reached a point where our computer modeling and our ability to search in a given location are no longer allowing us to search with any reasonable probability of success," Vlaun said.
Vlaun quickly added, "When we suspend a search, we never stop operating. Everyone will know that we still have Brian and Justin somewhere out there. Our thoughts and prayers, of course, remain with Justin, Brian and their families."
JFRD Chief Keith Powers said he informed the families of Brian McCluney, a JFRD paramedic, and Justin Walker, a firefighter from Fairfax, Virginia, just before announcing the decision to the public.
"It's unimaginable. They're heartbroken. They're going through a tough time," Power said. "That is an extremely tough decision because we've got a brother out there that we just haven't been able to find.
This announcement comes as JFRD coordinated boaters leaving from Savannah and Charleston on Thursday morning. The U.S. Coast Guard, Navy and Customers and Border Protection aircraft will continue their massive search operation for the rest of the day.
For expanded coverage of the search, including video reports, visit News4Jax.com.
