JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The U.S. Coast Guard is now reporting that no boat has been found and the floating items that were found in the water is not related to two men who went missing Friday.
Crews are searching for JFRD's Brian McCluney and Justin Walker of Fairfax,Va. who were last seen Friday leaving the 200 Christopher Columbus boat ramp in a 24-foot center console boat, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
The Coast Guard tweeted early Sunday evening that a cooler and life jackets were found after a vessel matching the ID of the boat used by two missing firefighters was spotted 50 miles east of Jacksonville. Hours later, officials said no boat was found and the items are not connected to the missing men.
McCluney is an engineer at District 31 on the Westside, according to Randy Wyse with the Jacksonville Association of Firefighters. Wyse said McCluney and Walker were in McCluney's father's boat. McCluney's father had died just a few weeks prior.
Family notified the coast guard station in Port Canaveral that the boaters had not returned Friday evening as expected.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the missing boaters is asked to contact the Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville Command Center at 904-714-7558.