Wife of missing Jacksonville firefighter Brian McCluney: 'Thank you from the bottom of my heart'

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — With heavy hearts, the family of missing Jacksonville firefighter Brian McCluney thanked the endless volunteers, agencies and strangers who made it their mission to find McCluney and Justin Walker, two firefighters lost at sea.

“I will never have the appropriate words to say thank you to the thousands of people who searched for my son and the millions of prayers for my son,” said Carla McCluney, mother of missing firefighter Brian McCluney.

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McCluney, a Jacksonville firefighter, and his friend Justin Walker, a Virginia firefighter, have been missing at sea since Aug. 16 after they did not return from a fishing trip out of Port Canaveral.

“No effort was spared, no stone was left unturned during the search,” said Kevin McCluney, Brian’s brother.

“All of you guys out there on boats and airplanes, everything you did, you did everything that you needed to do,” said Brian McCluney’s wife Stephanie.

Natasha Walker, the wife of missing firefighter Justin Walker, is no longer in Florida, but she is also showing her gratitude on Facebook saying, "I know I haven’t been able to Thank all of our new and old family members but I am humbled every time I meet someone that I hadn’t known was out there searching or when I hear that so many are praying and not giving up hope.

RELATED: Visit JFRD.com to learn how you can help the McCluney and Walker families

“This experience although tragic and heartbreaking is a perfect representation of the power of people coming together for a common cause.”

In seven days, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department and hundreds of other volunteers searched for 281 hours covering nearly 150,000 square miles of the Atlantic Ocean.

It’s a search that never wavered and volunteers who gave the families a glimmer of hope when they needed it most.

“I have no words and I will never know all of you, but I am in debt to all of you forever,” Carla McCluney said.

The family tells Action News Jax they still have hope. The search efforts, although smaller in size, are still searching for the missing firefighters.

The active search was suspended Thursday, Aug. 22.

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Cox Media Group