Vigil held for missing firefighters as volunteers continue search off coast

Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department firefighter Brian McCluney (left) and Fairfax firefighter Justin Walker (right). (Via ActionNewsJax.com)

Credit: ActionNewsJax.com

Credit: ActionNewsJax.com

Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department firefighter Brian McCluney (left) and Fairfax firefighter Justin Walker (right). (Via ActionNewsJax.com)

Friends and family held a vigil Monday in Jacksonville, Florida, in honor of two missing firefighters who were last seen on a boat leaving Port Canaveral Aug. 16.

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The U.S. Coast Guard and Jacksonville Fire Rescue suspended the search Friday for Brian McCluney and Justin Walker.

"It is an extremely tough decision because we have a brother out there that we haven't been able to find," Jacksonville Fire Rescue Chief Keith Powers said.

However, volunteer crews in nearly a dozen boats continue to search off the coast of the Carolinas.

McCluney works for the Jacksonville department while Walker is a master technician with the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department in Virginia, just outside the nation's capital.

Authorities said that while the official search was suspended, the Coast Guard will keep an eye out during its patrols, and if a new clue is found, the search will resume.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville Command Center at 904-714-7558.