Officials entered their 11th day searching for Clara Robinson, the 8-year-old Oklahoma girl who went missing after a Christmas Eve crash near U.S. 75.
SHERMAN, Texas — Sherman police on Friday again echoed the sentiment they’ve shared all week: “We’re still here, Clara.”
Officials entered their 11th day searching for Clara Robinson, the 8-year-old Oklahoma girl who went missing after a Christmas Eve crash near U.S. 75.
Her father, Will Robinson, died in the crash, while Clara went missing after their family’s vehicle got trapped in high water in a drainage ditch.
Clara Robinson’s mother and three siblings were rescued and survived the incident.
Crews have been searching for Clara ever since the crash, which happened around 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 24, as the Oklahoma family was heading to McKinney for Christmas. Police said their vehicle likely hydroplaned off the highway near Taylor Street in Sherman and got trapped in the drainage ditch, before it was taken down Post Oak Creek toward Houston Street.
Will Robinson was a coach in the Durant school district in Oklahoma, about an hour and a half north of Dallas.
As crews continued their search for Clara Robinson, they were joined Friday by the South-East Branch of the Oklahoma Disaster Task Force. The team specializes in missing persons cases and disaster response, police said. The task force was bringing mounted teams to help cover wide stretches between Grayson County roadways, according to a police statement.
The search crews also included Sherman police and firefighters, the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office, the Texas Department of Corrections, Texas Parks and Wildlife, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Collin County Dive Team, and a local diver, Brady Baskins.
“#werestillhereclara” is what Sherman police have ended each of their daily updates with.
While the Robinsons’ crash rocked the communities of Durant and Sherman, it also led to backlash over the lack of guardrails along the stretch of U.S. 75 where the crash happened.
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) this week announced it will accelerate guardrail installations on that stretch of 75. The work will be part of a $151 million corridor improvement project that was awarded in fall 2024 to improve 75 between Texas 91/Texoma Parkway and Loy Lake Road in Sherman.
“As with any fatal crash, TxDOT will review the law enforcement report once it’s finalized and also check the existing roadway safety measures for opportunities for any additional safety enhancements,” TxDOT officials said in a statement.