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Colleagues, family gather to honor Fla. firefighter-paramedic lost at sea

Firefighters Brian McCluney and Justin Walker went missing in August while fishing out of Port Canaveral

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Missing Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department engineer/paramedic Brian McCluney (left) and Fairfax County, Va., firefighter Justin Walker.

Photo/Jacksonville Association of Firefighters

By Dan Scanlan
The Florida Times-Union

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A public celebration honoring missing Jacksonville firefighter Brian McCluney’s life and career will be at 11 a.m. Friday at North Jacksonville Baptist Church at 8531 N. Main St.

McCluney and Virginia firefighter friend Justin Walker went missing Aug. 16 while fishing out of Port Canaveral. McCluney, 37, is an engineer/paramedic at Jacksonville’s Station 31, while Walker is a 33-year-old master technician in Franconia, Va. Both were on a 24-foot Robalo center-console boat when they were last seen.

The U.S. Coast Guard searched 105,000 square miles of ocean for 10 days joined by local, state and federal agencies as well as hundreds of volunteers in boats and aircraft. The only sign of them was the early discovery of a floating tackle bag, and the search was halted.

McCluney’s family welcomes the public to the event.

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©2019 The Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville, Fla.)

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