Police in Texas are searching for an 8-year-old girl from Oklahoma who went missing on Christmas Eve after her family’s car was swept away by floods and her father died.
The Sherman Police Department said in a release that the car had been traveling on Texas State Highway 75 on Tuesday, Dec. 24, when it became “trapped in the drainage ditch” and “traveled down the creek towards Houston” due to strong currents.
Officers said they were able to rescue “some of the occupants” of the car, but an 8-year-old girl from the vehicle is still missing.
Police said they launched a search and rescue in coordination with state agencies, including Texas Task Force 2, in Sherman and extended the search area into the “lower branches of Post Oak and Choctaw creeks” in order to try to locate the girl.
They were still unable to find her and said they would “focus into the county” and target “some possible locations” they haven’t searched yet.
Lieutenant Samuel Boyle of the Sherman PD told Fox News, “We have identified a 15-mile stretch of creek downstream from where the vehicle stopped, and we have targeted that with the multi-jurisdictional task force.”
According to a report by The Oklahoman, four out of the six family members in the car have been rescued by police, and one of the occupants of the car — the girl’s father — did not survive the crash.
He was identified by friends and family members online as Will Robinson, a basketball coach at Durant High School in Oklahoma, per CBS News.
In an update on Thursday, Dec. 26, police said they’d renewed search efforts for the girl despite the forecasted rain, which may “cause a pause … for the safety of our Rescue Teams.”
They noted that the “active search” would continue when they were able to get to safety.
“We appreciate all the offers for assistance and are thankful for your concern and willingness to help,” the Sherman PD said. “There are dozens of search teams already deployed, who possess vast experience in these types of operations. We are not in any need of further personnel or equipment.”
In one X post, a loved one remembered the late Robinson as “an outstanding coach” and the “ultimate ‘family man’ to his players.”
“My thoughts to the Robinsons … ‘Coach Rob’ will be missed,” he wrote. (People)
