Disappearance of Daniel Robinson
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. 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. 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. 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. Several personal items of Robinson’s were found with the vehicle such as his cell phone, wallet, keys and clothes. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.