Family of fishermen missing off Brunswick coast say they’ll keep searching if Coast Guard stops

Robert Grant
·2 min read

The U.S. Coast Guard is continuing to search for three missing fishermen who disappeared off the coast of Brunswick.

Dalton Conway, Caleb Wilkinson, and Tyler Barlow went on a week-long commercial fishing trip on a boat called the Carol Ann and were expected back last Wednesday.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

USCG told Action News Jax’s Robert Grant that crews are searching as far north as Cape Fear, North Carolina, and as far south as St. Augustine. That’s nearly 500 miles apart. That’s because the Coast Guard said the boat may be on the Gulf Stream.

Barlow’s parents believe he could be even farther north, closer to Virginia.

RELATED: Family holds onto hope as search continues for three missing Georgia fishermen

The plan is to search through the end of the day on Wednesday and then make a decision about the search after that.

USCG said it is getting help from crews in Elizabeth City, Clearwater, Miami, and Savannah, as well as assistance from Customs & Border Patrol, a Navy aircraft, and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

Family members of three fishermen met with USCG at noon on Wednesday. They told Grant that they’re holding onto hope and if USCG calls off the search after Wednesday with no update, they plan to continue to search themselves.

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

“We need something. We can’t go with nothing and not knowing ever. Heart can’t take that,” Barlow’s mother Kim Jones said.

Action News Jax told you earlier this week crews have been searching since Friday and the family expected the search would be called off Tuesday.

Barlow and Conway grew up together and both love the outdoors. On Monday, Barlow’s parents said he had only been on five commercial fishing trips before this one.

[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]

“He has a huge heart. Just incredibly easygoing, loving kid. He would do anything to help anybody,” Barlow’s dad Chris Barlow said.

Chris Barlow is hoping his son gets some help in return.

“I can only hope and pray that my son’s still alive and that he’s holding on and all three of those boys have the strength,” Chris Barlow said.

Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.