Beatrice Jones says she would not wish this traumatizing experience on anybody.
She instantly connected to the story of missing firefighters Brian McCluney and Justin Walker.
“It was traumatic, I wouldn’t wish this on anyone," Jones said. "When I [saw] it televised this past Saturday, I just knew that I had to help."
Her husband was a veteran shrimp boat captain who took the ship "Miss Fernandina" out of Port Canaveral for a shrimping trip in April of 1999.
She says she got a call from her husband that a net was caught in the boat’s propellers, but another boat was coming to tow them.
“I thought they would be found…but that didn’t happen, and I remember fainting constantly,” Jones recalled.
She says the U.S. Coast Guard searched for three days. On the fourth day, her husband’s friend and Jones’ youngest son Blake went out on a plane to try and find Kenneth Sr.
She says that a plane found two unresponsive bodies in the water in a debris field. The plane marked the location but had to refuel.
When the plane returned to the marked location, the two bodies were gone. Jones’ husband and his crew were never found.
Jones says the crew’s family members filed a lawsuit, and she had to pay $190,000 for the boat that was never recovered.
“When that happened, it was like starting from scratch, trying to put the pieces of my life back together,” she said.
Jones started a Christian-based pre-school program in the home her family lived in at the time of her husband’s disappearance.
She says her faith brought her through the ordeal.
“I made it through what I made it through with the grace of God," Jones said. "I wouldn’t have been able to survive what I went through without God, my pain led me to seminary. It hasn’t been an easy journey, even though it’s been 20 years, it’s still painful.”
Jones wants to offer some advice to the families of Brian McCluney and Justin Walker.
“Grab hold of God’s word, stay prayerful, stay in God’s word," she said. "Stay connected with your friends and family because you need the support system, the journey isn’t going to be easy. It’ll be a long journey, and it may not look like my journey…just try to continue to move forward in life and sometimes it’s very painful, and I’m sure it’s very painful for them right now."