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Search plane, volunteers called in to help find missing fishermen out of Brunswick

By Annette Gutierrez, Action News Jax
By Annette Gutierrez, Action News Jax

BRUNSWICK, Ga. — The families of three missing fishermen have hired a search plane and will call in volunteer help to extend the search.

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Caleb Wilkinson, Tyler Barlow, and Dalton Conway set out on their fishing boat Oct. 14. They were supposed to return on the 18th.

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The families hired a private pilot that flew from Savannah, Georgia on Saturday and searched the Gulf Stream north to Ocean City, Maryland, before returning to Savannah Sunday night. Two pilots, 2 photographers and 2 family members were part of the search effort.

Recent flares were thought to be seen in one of the northern buoy cameras out of Delaware. But after a brief search of that area nothing was found. The plan is to continue the search near Ocean City, Maryland and further north.

Stevie Conway, Dalton’s sister, said her brother knows when to release flares, whether it’s close to a buoy or close to a boat.

Related Story: ‘They have reasons to come home;’ Families of missing fishermen won’t give up the search

United Cajun Navy Vice President Brian Trascher said they’re working to get more assets to help in the search effort.

“And we’re now raising funds trying to help pay for that because it’s quite expensive to have pilots and planes up in the air for hours at a time searching the number of square miles that we have to search,” United Cajun Navy Vice President Brian Trascher said.

Two pilots, 2 photographers, and 2 family members are taking part in the extended search.

The crew Two pilots, 2 photographers, and 2 family members are taking part in the extended search. (Kevin Schwartz/Facebook)

On Sunday, the Coast Guard found a four-man raft with no one in it. But the vessel ‘Carol Ann’ that the three fishermen were in had a six-man rescue raft. The Coast Guard ruled out that this had anything to do with the ‘Carol Ann.’

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You can find the GoFundMe links from both families here: https://gofund.me/29c8f349 and https://gofund.me/cb32f46f.

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