News

Holiday Tragedy: Oklahoma Dad Dead, 8-Year-Old Daughter Missing

By Joe Saunders December 28, 2024 at 2:50pm

A season of celebration around the world has become a time of tragedy for an Oklahoma family.

A father of four is dead and an 8-year-old girl remains missing after a road accident early on Christmas Eve in Sherman, Texas, about 15 miles south of the Oklahoma-Texas border, according to USA Today.

And the search for the girl is continuing.

Sherman police identified the man killed in a Christmas Eve crash as Will Robinson, a beloved coach at Durant ISD. The search for his 8-year-old daughter, who was also involved in the crash, is said to continue Saturday at 7 a.m.

Latest updates: https://t.co/IS2nCoUH7Z pic.twitter.com/IFRFuKJKgg

— WFAA (@wfaa) December 28, 2024

Will Robinson, 36, a high school basketball coach in Durant, Oklahoma, was traveling with his family on Tuesday when their vehicle hydroplaned and went into a drainage ditch in Sherman, Texas, according to KOCO-TV in Oklahoma City.

The family was in an SUV at the time, Fox reported.

Four members of the family were rescued, Fox reported, but Robinson drowned. KTVT-TV in Fort Worth, Texas, reported that Robinson was trying to save 8-year-old Clara when he was overcome.

KTVT’s report Friday is below:

“Reports that we have are that the father did have the little girl in his arms at one time during the event and later they were seen they weren’t together, so it looked like he was trying to save her, definitely,” Bart Bowman, deputy chief of operations with Sherman Fire-Rescue, said during a Friday news conference with other law enforcement agencies, the station reported.

Robinson’s body was recovered. But young Clara’s whereabouts are unknown.

Please keep praying for the Robinsons.

Will was trying to save Clara when she was swept away by the waters.

Unfortunately Will didn’t survive and his 8 year old baby girl Clara is still missing.

Please keep praying for them. pic.twitter.com/fIwx62qCUX

— Casey (@caseylynnf10) December 27, 2024

According to USA Today, the crash occurred about 9:30 a.m.

The search for the girl has been hindered by weather.

Sherman Police Lt. Dan Boyle told Fox on Thursday that authorities were concentrating on a 15-mile area where water could have carried her.

“We are still unsuccessful in our efforts to locate the 8-year-old girl,” he said, according to Fox.

Have you ever been in a flood?

“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.”

But even amid the tragedy, there was a miracle for the Robinson family. Clara’s 5-year-old sister was unresponsive when she was pulled from the creek, according to KTVT.

Paramedics managed to resuscitate her.

“To be able to bring that child back to life is amazing,” Sherman Police Chief Jason Jeffcoat said at Friday’s news conference, KTVT reported.

“In a tragic time like this, it’s still a glimpse of hope that God’s good.”

Submit a Correction →

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.

Tags:

Christmas, Emergencies and accidents, Oklahoma, Texas, U.S. News, Weather

Joe Saunders

Story Editor

SummaryMore Biographical InformationRecent PostsContact

Joe has spent more than 30 years as a reporter, copy editor and metro desk editor in newsrooms in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Florida. He's been with Liftable Media since 2015.

Facebook

Joe has spent more than 30 years as a reporter, copy editor and metro editor in newsrooms in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Florida. He's been with Liftable Media since 2015. Largely a product of Catholic schools, who discovered Ayn Rand in college, Joe is a lifelong newspaperman who learned enough about the trade to be skeptical of every word ever written. He was also lucky enough to have a job that didn't need a printing press to do it.

Birthplace

Philadelphia

Nationality

American