Equusearch divers search for girl swept up by floodwaters in Christmas Eve crash

A volunteer search team in Grayson County is holding out hope they will find a little girl who was swept away by floodwaters in late December.

Clara Robsinson, 8, has been missing since a crash Christmas Eve sent her family's car careening into floodwaters near Highway 75 in Sherman.

The family from Oklahoma was heading to McKinney when they got caught in torrential rain.

First responders managed to toss out a rope, but Clara, her 5-year-old sister, and their father were unable to get to it and were carried downstream, according to Sherman Police Lt. Samuel Boyle.

It has been 41 days since the crash that also claimed the life of the girl’s father, and there is still no sign of her.

For 25 days, police searched across an area exceeding 15 miles along and near the creek. They also searched properties adjacent to the creek and about 15 miles downstream from where the incident occurred.

Boyle told NBC 5 there is no evidence to suggest Clara was abducted.

Houston-based search and recovery non-profit Texas Equusearch is leading the effort to locate the child.

“The hazards on this river are immense,” said field operations manager Mark Edwards. “Steep banks, lots of brush pile, beavers trying to dam it up every step of the way.”

The mission is as daunting as their determination to bring Clara home.

Despite exhaustive searches in challenging conditions by air, land, and water over the past 41 days, there’s still no sign of the little girl.

Edwards struggles to confirm: This is now a recovery mission.

“Because I know momma’s probably watching,” he said. “We are so often caught up in the search with the families, it takes a toll. But they keep coming back. Not everybody can do this. I remind them that all the time.”
On Monday, specialized divers from Oklahoma and Houston spent time scouring Post Oak Creek, about 4.5 miles from the crash site.

Wading through the creek side by side, they encountered wood piles, craters, and all kinds of wildlife.

At one point, the men all froze. The warmer weather is bringing out snakes, said Edwards.

One snake was inches away from rescuers, who quickly determined, fortunately, that it was not a moccasin.

Edwards is asking for the community’s help in the search for Clara.

“We need eyes on this river,” he said. “Anyone with aircraft and you can buzz the river, and you find a target of interest. Call Texas Equusearch, and we’ll put boots on the ground and identify it positively.”

Those familiar with the environment fear Clara may have been swept out to the Red River or even the Mississippi River or that feral hogs may have gotten ahold of the child.

Edwards tells NBC 5 it is not unusual for it to take this long to find a child in a body of water like the narrow creek that was inundated and fast-moving on Christmas Eve.

Still, they’re not giving up.

“I’m always hopeful,” said Edwards. “I’ve seen miracles I’ve seen a lot of miracles.”

From the Sherman Police Department: to anyone who has any noteworthy information about this case, please call the Sherman Police Department’s non-emergency phone number at 903-892-7290.