Disappearance of Daniel Robinson

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Daniel Robinson
Born(1997-01-14)January 14, 1997
DisappearedJune 23, 2021 (aged 24)
Buckeye, Arizona
StatusMissing for 8 months and 20 days
Height5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Parent(s)David Robinson II

Daniel Robinson was last seen leaving a job site in Buckeye, Arizona near Sun Valley Parkway and Cactus Road on June 23, 2021 around 9:15 am, in his 2017 blue-grey Jeep Renegade headed west towards the desert, and reported missing later that day.[1][2]

Background[]

Robinson is described by investigators and family as a 5'8" African-American man who weighed 165 pounds at the time of his disappearance. He has black hair, brown eyes and is missing part of his right forearm, including his hand.[3]

Disappearance[]

Robinson was last seen leaving his job site in Buckeye, Arizona on June 23, 2021, where he was working as a geologist. A federal law enforcement official relayed to Daniel's father that he had seen him later that morning, cleaning his Jeep. He stated that Daniel seemed clear headed and they spoke briefly about target practice. The official confirmed that there was no damage to the Jeep at this time. He had moved into the Phoenix area after graduating as a field geologist in 2019.[1] On July 19, 2021, a rancher found the Jeep rolled over on its side in a ravine on his property with the airbags deployed and evidence in the vehicle indicating that the driver was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.[4] Several personal items of Robinson’s were found with the vehicle such as his cell phone, wallet, keys and clothes.[5]

Investigation[]

In late July, a human skull was found in the area south of where Robinson’s vehicle was recovered. Testing later indicated that the skull was not that of Robinson, and no additional human remains were recovered at that time.[6]

In a statement made on September 16, the Buckeye Police Department stated that they had worked with outside agencies to search over 70 square miles with the assistance of UTVs, cadaver dogs, drones and helicopters.[7] After the discovery of the Jeep, Robinson’s family hired an accident reconstructionist and private investigator who claimed that the accident scene had been staged, stating that after the airbags deployed the ignition was turned over 46 more times and that there was an additional 11 miles on the car that registered after the car crashed.[4]

Investigators in October 2021 announced that Robinson had been texting a woman he met while delivering for Instacart, and reportedly was invited inside and exchanged numbers with her. Later text messages showed that he visited her home several times unannounced and the woman indicated that she was extremely uncomfortable with his actions. Police initially interviewed friends, family and coworkers about Robinson being suicidal over the relationship but all told investigators that he was not.[8]

On November 9 it was announced that more human remains had been discovered while searching for Robinson, and had been sent out for DNA testing and identification.[9] This is the second set of human remains that have been found in the search for Robinson. The preliminary investigation based on anthropology's indication of race and the amount of time outside have led officials to believe neither set of remains to be Robinson.[10]

Response[]

Robinson’s father has been critical of the effort put into locating his son by local law enforcement, claiming that he has done more in attempting to locate his son from Phoenix than law enforcement has. The family has also put together a GoFundMe page to help gather donations and a petition to keep interest in the case.[11] Robinson's parents participated in the Facebook Watch series Red Table Talk to discuss Robinson's disappearance and the difficulties they faced working with investigators to search for their son.[12]

Social media has also pointed out the lack of national attention that was being given to Robinson’s case compared to that of the disappearance of Gabrielle Petito.[4]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Treisman, Rachel (2021-09-22). "With A Spotlight On Gabby Petito, The Parents Of 2 Missing Black Men Call For Action". NPR. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  2. ^ Lisitza, Alexa. "Here Is Everything We Know About Lauren Cho And Daniel Robinson – Two Missing Person Cases Brought To Light By The Disappearance Of Gabby Petito". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  3. ^ Adams, Lauren (July 14, 2021). "SC father raising money to search Arizona desert for his missing 24-year-old son". WIS 10 News ABC. Archived from the original on 2021-07-14. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  4. ^ a b c Sanders, Josh (September 22, 2021). "Where is Daniel Robinson? Three months after the 24-year-old geologist disappeared in Buckeye, the case is now gaining national attention". 12 News ABC. Archived from the original on 2021-09-23. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  5. ^ Beresford, Jack (2021-09-20). "Gabby Petito case sparks appeal over unsolved disappearance of Arizona man". Newsweek. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  6. ^ Galka, Matt (2021-09-22). "3 months later, search continues for geologist who went missing in Buckeye area". FOX 10 Phoenix. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  7. ^ Balevic, Katie (September 22, 2021). "The search for Gabby Petito has renewed the urgency to find missing 24-year-old geologist Daniel Robinson". Insider. Retrieved 2021-09-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ Noone, Sean (2021-10-08). "Missing 24-year-old was rebuffed by woman shortly before his disappearance". NewsNation Now. Archived from the original on 2021-10-19. Retrieved 2021-11-12.
  9. ^ Meara, Paul (November 9, 2021). "Human Remains Discovered In Search For Missing Daniel Robinson". BET. Archived from the original on 2021-11-09. Retrieved 2021-11-12.
  10. ^ Sanders, Josh (November 9, 2021). "Human remains found in Buckeye desert not Daniel Robinson". 12news.com. Archived from the original on 2021-11-10. Retrieved 2021-11-12.
  11. ^ "Gabby Petito case: The missing Americans you don't know about". BBC News. 2021-09-24. Retrieved 2021-09-24.
  12. ^ Rice, Nicholas (October 14, 2021). "Missing Man Daniel Robinson's Parents Plead for His Safe Return on Red Table Talk". PEOPLE.com. Archived from the original on 2021-10-14. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
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