Almost a year after an Aransas Pass resident who went missing in 1989 was legally declared deceased, her family continues to raise awareness of her case in hopes of putting her to rest.
This year marks the 37th anniversary of Elisa Roberson’s disappearance. She was 13 years old when she was on the way to meet a friend near Keiberger Elementary School in Aransas Pass on Aug. 6, 1989.
On the request of Elisa’s family members, who live in Idaho, an Idaho district court ruled in August 2025 that Elisa is presumed to be deceased because she had not been seen or heard from in more than 35 years.
The Roberson family travels to Aransas Pass from Idaho every year the week of Aug. 6 to encourage public discourse about Elisa’s case and for any information to be shared about her disappearance.
This year they reached out to several coffee shops in the area to share awareness materials provided by Light the Way Missing Persons Advocacy Project and the Gabby Petito Foundation.
This week, Sip Happens a coffee shop in Aransas Pass, will be using coffee cup sleeves featuring Elisa’s picture, a listed reward amount of $20,000, the Aransas Pass Police Department contact information and a QR code to learn more about her case.
Heather Cornet, the owner of Sip Happens, is from Aransas Pass and said she remembers learning more about Elisa’s disappearance when she listened to a podcast a few years ago.
“I think that a lot of people, even those of us who grew up here, maybe don’t know about the case as much as we should,” she said.
Cornet said she was glad to partner with the Roberson family to continue momentum about Elisa’s case and hopes that people visiting the area can shine more light on it.
“We get a lot of people from San Antonio, a lot of people from Houston, so I think it’s good to spread awareness because you never know who might know something,” Cornet said.
Ruby Hall, Elisa’s sister, said the community’s support is meaningful to her family and the goal of their yearly visit is to bring Elisa home.
“It speaks volumes when you have community support, like Sip Happens giving out these little posters … because for a long time we didn’t have the support,” she said. “So now that we do have the support, it’s like we have the strength and the courage and the help to fight [to bring her home].”
Aransas Pass Mayor Jason Knight recently gave an apology to the Roberson family during a June City Council meeting. The apology stemmed from past police administration not providing updates on Elisa’s case and casting suspicion onto the Roberson family.
Hall said the apology was long overdue.
At the request of the Roberson family, state officials with the Texas Attorney General’s Office conducted a geoforensic survey in February this year of the home where Elisa lived at the time of the disappearance, which did not reveal any new evidence.
Marina Roberson, Elisa’s mother, said she misses everything about her daughter and that Elisa helped raise her siblings before she disappeared.
“She was like the soul of the family because she was like a young little mother to her siblings,” she said. “We would like to bring her home and put her to rest with dignity in a place that we can visit and bring her flowers.”
The Roberson family will be hosting community events on Aug. 5 and Aug. 6 to continue raising awareness and keep Elisa’s memory alive.
Felicity Guajardo covers breaking news and public safety. Contact her at felicity.guajardo@caller.com.
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Family of Elisa Roberson hopes to put her to rest 37 years after disappearance
Reporting by Felicity Guajardo, Corpus Christi Caller Times / Corpus Christi Caller Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Felicity Guajardo, Corpus Christi Caller Times | USA TODAY Network
