‘Unfortunately our best wasn't good enough,' S.C. volunteers finish up search for firefighters

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Boater Chad Walton spent Thursday on land organizing South Carolina's volunteer search for Brian McCluney and Justin Walker.

The firefighters haven't been seen since last Friday when they launched for what was supposed to be a day-long fishing trip in Port Canaveral.

Walton said, "If I was in that position, I would want somebody looking for me."

His work started Monday with a call to the Jacksonville Association of Firefighters.

"(They) found out we had a small group of people out here that we can reach out to and kind of muster together some volunteers," he described.

Between Wednesday and Thursday, they had at least 50 volunteers out on the Atlantic Ocean.

Thursday, they had nine boats offshore searching on either side of the Gulf Stream.

• Dozens of firefighters help search for two men who went missing while fishing
•  "This is a bread crumb they threw overboard": Missing firefighter's tackle bag found by boater
• Photos: Local firefighters to continue search for two missing boaters
•  'We're not giving up until these guys are found:' Search to continue for missing firefighters 
•  Missing boater's wife helps search by air as rescue efforts continue off Florida coast 
• Missing firefighters: 180 volunteers searching off Jacksonville's coast 
• Discovery of missing firefighter's tackle-bag helps steer search
• Wife of missing Jacksonville firefighter joins search for husband, friend
• Volunteers in Georgia join efforts to find firefighters lost at sea as search expands
• How to help in the search for missing firefighters lost at sea off Florida Coast
• Volunteer boater recounts covering hundreds of miles in search for missing firefighters
• Pilot searching for firefighters lost at sea says this is some of the hardest flying he's done
• Local doctors discuss what it takes to survive at sea as search continues for missing firefighters
• "People have lasted longer than 4 days at sea" Family, friends, neighbors don't give up on search
• Search for missing firefighters Brian McCluney, Justin Walker suspended at sunset
• Florida pilot won't give up looking for missing firefighters even after Coast Guard suspends search
• 'Unfortunately our best wasn't good enough,' S.C. volunteers finish up search for firefighters
• Family of missing firefighter raising donations to continue searches

"Anybody that's been around boating for a while knows it's been a pretty extensive search. Some might say more extensive than others," explained Walton.

Pictures posted to Facebook by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources showed the assets they deployed Wednesday – two boats and an aircraft.

Thursday, a spokesperson said they added three more boats and additional plane to scan from the air.

Even though official searches ended at sundown, Thursday, Walton said some efforts in North Carolina could continue.

"I believe they're going to continue to search into the weekend. There is some inclement weather that is predicted for the area, so I'm not sure how long they're going to be out," he said.

Boaters are reminded to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary they notice out on the water.

Walton said this isn't the way he wanted the search to end.

He described, "We went out and gave it our best and unfortunately our best wasn't good enough."

STAY UPDATED: Download the Action News Jax app for live updates on this breaking story

TRENDING: 

Cox Media Group