After a month of looking for the girl who went missing on Christmas Eve after her family’s vehicle was swept into a Sherman drainage ditch, Texas EquuSearch has taken over as the lead agency in the search for Clara Robinson.
The 8-year-old girl was with her family as they were driving from their Oklahoma home to McKinney on U.S. 75 when their vehicle crashed on a rain-slickened roadway around 9:30 a.m., landing in a drainage ditch overflowing with rainwater.
Will Robinson, the girl’s father, was killed in the crash. Her mother and three of the missing girl’s siblings, however, survived the wreck, law enforcement authorities have said. Clara has not been seen since the Dec. 24 traffic accident.
The nonprofit organization joined the search efforts on Jan. 14, according to Sherman police.
“Texas EquuSearch would like to extend its deepest gratitude to everyone who worked tirelessly in the three weeks prior to our involvement,” the group said in an online statement on its website.
The wide-ranging effort to find Clara will include a comprehensive, multi-faceted approach, according to EquuSearch.
Officials have combed through debris piles while on foot, and brought in heavy machinery to look through larger debris piles, according to the organization.
Drones have captured high-resolution aerial imagery, and K9 units have been deployed along with kayaks equipped with side scan sonar to search local waterways, the organization said on its website. Helicopters and water vehicles have also been used, officials have said. .
This week, the organization will focus on obtaining permissions to access private properties located around a nearby creek. Equusearch plans to conduct an underwater search from Feb. 1-4 if they are unable to find her before then.
Sherman’s first responders and emergency management will continue to provide support as needed, according to an online statement.
