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Missing Virginia firefighter is also talented dancer

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – For almost a week we've known of Justin Walker as a Fairfax, Virginia, firefighter who went out fishing last Friday with his friend and Jacksonville Fire and Rescue  Department paramedic Brian McCluney. For the last six days, authorities and volunteers have scoured coastal waters from Central Florida to North Carolina looking for them.

News4Jax has learned that Walker was also a professional contemporary dancer with the Demetrius Klein Dance Company and obtained video of one of his performances in 2016. In it, he dances to a song titled "Grace" by Jonathan Elias with lyrics we now know were prophetic.

WATCH: Video of Justin Walker's performance, courtesy Demetrius Klein Dance Company

In case you couldn't make them out in the video above, the words say:

 Father won't you carry me
 For the ocean is wide
 Father won't you carry me
 For my boat is so small.

 Father on a moonless night
 Help me cross the stormy sea.
 Out here in the darkness
 Help me find my way back home.

 Father won't you carry me
 For the oceans wide
 Father won't you carry me
 For my boat is so small.

 Father in this season of dying
 Let me sleep in your arms
 And come watch over me
 Someone watching over me, over me

 Father won't you carry me
 Father won't you carry me
 Father won't you carry me ... home 

“To watch him is just breathtaking, but the words of the song, 'Father carry us home, the ocean is wide ... My boat is small,' I mean, it's just, it's hard to find the words to express how special it is that we have that video," said Kristen Vencel, a friend of Justin Walker. "It’s a way to also connect.”

McCluney’s wife, Stephanie, previously danced for the same company in West Palm Beach. 


About the Author
Corley Peel headshot

Corley Peel is a Texas native and Texas Tech graduate who covered big stories in Joplin, Missouri, Tulsa, Oklahoma and Jacksonville, Florida before returning to the Lone Star State. When not reporting, Corley enjoys hot yoga, Tech Football, and finding the best tacos in town.

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