CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Elisa Roberson was a 13-year-old who mysteriously vanished over 30 years ago in Aransas Pass. This week, a new billboard has gone up to remind residents of her case.
3NEWS spoke with Roberson's sister, Ruby Hall, who after hearing about recent missing persons cases in the Coastal Bend, said she can't help but feel what her own family went through all those years ago over again.
A wound she said never heals.
You can't miss it as you come around the curve at the Highway 35 bypass going into Aransas Pass. A plea for help, a picture of a little girl and a reward just as big as the billboard itself.
"Our hope has always been is that someday someone will come forward and give the information so we can find Elisa and we can bring her home," Hall said.
She was only 12 years old when her big sister Elisa vanished on a Sunday afternoon.
"Texas summer day August 6, 1989, my sister was 13 and wanted to hang out with her friends," she said.
Roberson was supposed to meet a friend near Kieberger Elementary School but never made it.
Even with the passage of time Hall remembers it like it was yesterday. She's hoping the hundreds of travelers who will pass this sign every day will remember too.
"It's time we do something different we are going to put it out there and put it in everybody's faces, our best effort," Hall said. "We want to know where she is."
While the billboard has sparked a renewed interest, for her family the search for answers has been nonstop for 35 years.
The family increasing the reward for information to $20,000 that can lead to the arrest of the person or persons responsible for Elisa's disappearance.
"We want to speak to people's humanity, at this point it's been 35 years and I have a hard time believing that there's no one in Aransas Pass that knows absolutely nothing about my sister's disappearance."
Hall understandably frustrated and tired of waiting is reaching out every way they can to highlight her sister's case. She's started a social media group, has been appearing on podcasts.
"Every time I hear about someone going missing my heart just breaks for that family," she said.
Richard Norgard, a retired private investigator out of Ohio told 3NEWS by phone he's been helping the family in this case since the mid 2000s and believes there was valuable time lost.
"I think the case could have been resolved initially," he said. "You always hope that some lead will be found or someone will come forward. The push we are doing right now with the billboard, and the podcasting, the idea we're trying to jog memories, trying to get people motivated, I do believe there are people in the Aransas Pass community who have information but for various reasons may be afraid to come forward. Keeping it in the public eye, a constant reminder, she's out there, we are hoping that will motivate somebody to come forward."
The family has also hired attorney Steve Carrigan who has filed a legal procedure to get the Aransas Pass Police Department to turn over their files on the case.
"The CSI information and DNA technology is so far advanced from 35 years ago," Carrigan said. "We feel very strongly if we can get the file open there might be something sitting in some box somewhere that will break this mystery wide open."
More from 3News on KIIITV.com:
- Nueces County Commission candidate dies on eve of election
- WATCH: 3NEWS Women's History Month Panel 2024
- Teenager shot in Molina neighborhood dies from injuries
- Experts weigh in on warning signs to look out for when it comes to online predators
- Concerns mount over safety after hit-and-run on SPID frontage road
- Hundreds of stash houses discovered since 'Operation Lone Star' began in 2021
- Boat washes up south of Bob Hall Pier, after investigation, gets new home
- Rodeo Corpus Christi concert lineup looks like Nothin' But A Good Time
Subscribe to our YouTube channel for your daily news and exclusive extended interviews.
Do you have a news tip? Tell 3!
Email tell3@kiiitv.com so we can get in touch with you about your story should we have questions or need more information. We realize some stories are sensitive in nature. Let us know if you'd like to remain anonymous.