Authorities in Texas are expanding their search for an 8-year-old girl who went missing in a crash on Christmas Eve morning, and are now considering other “areas of interest.”
An SUV carrying six people from Durant, Oklahoma, was swept away by floodwaters and crashed into a drainage ditch on Highway 75 around 9:30 a.m., officials in Sherman, Texas, said.
Four days later, Sherman Police Chief Jason Jeffcoat said the 8-year-old girl, Clara Robinson, was still missing.
Beloved high school coach and father Will Robinson and his family are pictured before his tragic accident on Christmas Eve.
High school basketball coach dies, 8-year-old daughter missing in Christmas Eve tragedy
“Search teams continue to search Post Oak Creek, near the site of the initial rescue effort,” Jeffcoat said. “We also have teams searching a 16-mile area of Post Oak Creek and Choctaw Creek.”
On Friday, police continued to search for Robinson using K9 teams, dive teams, drone teams and helicopters.
The team includes Sherman Fire Department, Sherman Police Department, Sherman Fire and Rescue, Grayson County Sheriff's Office, Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas Task Force II, and Texas Emergency Management. bureau, Grayson County Emergency Management Agency personnel. , public works, and local rescue diver Brady Baskin.
Texas Task Force 2 split up teams to search, focusing on both the creek and other “areas of interest,” which had not been identified.
Sherman officials said they will continue searching until Clara is found.
Photos of the overturned car were shared by KXII. (KXII)
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Will Robinson, a father of four children, including Clara, died in the crash while trying to rescue a 5-year-old girl who was unresponsive when rescuers arrived.
The girl was later reunited with her family, which fire officials said was “a huge blessing in the midst of this tragedy.”
“My father is [had] “He had her in his arms at one point during the event, but he was not with her after that, so it looked like he was trying to save her — definitely,” said Bart Bowman of Sherman Fire Rescue. spoke.
Police are crediting Will Robinson with saving a 5-year-old girl who was also involved in the accident. (Owen Foundation)
“One of our members found the girl in the water, pulled her out and handed her over to one of the paramedics who was with her,” Bowman said. “The paramedics took her to the ambulance and performed CPR on the way to the hospital. …It was amazing that despite coming so close to drowning, she was released the next day without incident. It's amazing. It's a huge blessing in this tragedy.”
Community members told Fox 4 that Will Robinson was the girls basketball coach at Durant High School in Oklahoma.
“He always brought CJ with him.” [his daughter, Clara] to practice and she was always there to play with us,” Kinley Hill said.
Players noted that Robinson was an understanding coach who worked hard to keep his players in a positive mindset.
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“He was very patient with us girls,” Emery Morse said. “Honestly, I don't think I can remember a time when he yelled in anger at us… [He and C.J] There were indeed two peas in the pod. They were always together during practice and CJ would just run up to him and beg for snacks. ”
Fox Texas Digital, Fox 4's Dan Godwin and David Sentendry Contributed to this story.
