Daniel Robinson has been missing from the Arizona Desert since June 23, 2021.
The Missing in America podcast by Dateline investigates the disappearance of geologist Robinson in Buckeye, Arizona.
It’s been more than a year since a 24-year-old field geologist for an engineering firm went into the Arizona desert in his dusty blue Jeep.
Dateline Podcast: Who Is Daniel Robinson?
Daniel Robinson is a 24-year-old geologist who drove his 2017 blue Jeep Renegade away from his job site on June 23, 2021. He went to the desert region west of Sun Valley Parkway, just north of Cactus Road in Buckeye, Arizona, and never returned.
Since then, he has not been seen or heard from. Daniel’s father, David, chats with Dateline’s Josh Mankiewicz about his son’s disappearance.
He stands 5 feet 8 inches and weighs 165 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes, and a portion of his right arm below the elbow is missing.
David was in South Carolina at the time.
And he assumed his younger son, Daniel, was secure in Arizona. Daniel had gone there after finishing college to work as a field geologist for an engineering firm.
Daniel had planned to spend the morning of that June day conducting fieldwork at a development wellsite in the desert.
Ken Elliott, a pump mechanic at the site, told Buckeye Police that he met Daniel there that day to inspect a well, but it was pouring at the time, so the duo waited for the storm to pass.
Buckeye Authorities Chief Larry Hall reported, “Elliott informed police that Daniel was staring out into the desert and then offered that they leave work to go rest in Phoenix.”
But, Elliott opted to remain because he thought the storm would pass, but Daniel jumped into his Jeep and drove away without saying anything.
“When Daniel was leaving, the primary access road to the project was east of the area. And he claimed Daniel headed west, which is troubling because there’s nothing out there,” Hall said on “Dateline: Missing In America.”
David received a phone call from his daughter in Phoenix about his disappearance. “Hey Dad, well, one of Daniel’s employees stopped by the home stating they don’t know where Daniel is,’ his daughter said.
Daniel Robinson’s Missing Case Update
Daniel Robinson was last seen at roughly 9:00 a.m. before disappearing into the Arizona Desert. He was absent from work for about a day.
- After David’s daughter got news about his brother from one of his co-workers, she drove to Daniel’s apartment, and the anxiety rapidly turned to terror.
- Daniel wasn’t home, and his car, a dusty blue Jeep, was also gone.
- So David Robinson did what any father would do: he intervened. He dialed 911.
- Though some of the circumstances pointed to Daniel having a mental breakdown, his father stated that he never received a mental health diagnosis.
- In July, Daniel’s Jeep was discovered at the bottom of a ravine, just a few miles from where he had vanished. The airbags had been triggered, and the sunroof panel appeared to have been knocked out, but Daniel was nowhere to be seen.
- Daniel’s orange construction vest, boots, and blue jeans still carried his wallet were on the ground nearby.
- His backpack, laptop, and apartment keys, as well as his mobile phone, were located in the Jeep.
According to the crash report, Daniel’s airbags deployed 11 miles before his last odometer reading. Per experts, automobiles contain many sensors that continually give information to the car’s internal systems, and there can be a lag at times.”
However, Daniel’s father and a private investigator he hired, Jeff McGrath, who specializes in accident reconstruction, do not believe this is the case.
“Of all the years I’ve done any form of vehicular crime, this is the most mysterious case I’ve ever handled,” McGrath said on “Dateline: Missing In America.”
He added that he suspects the vehicle’s airbags discharged somewhere else before it was driven to the ravine.
There is still no trace of Daniel today. His father, who is still leading searches into the huge desert, is confident his son is still alive.
“There is debate over whether Daniel Robinson was the victim of foul play.” But, in the end, it doesn’t matter because the family still has no answers.
If you have any information, please contact Buckeye Police at (623) 349-6411.
Daniel Robinson’s Father David Still Believes His Son Is Alive
Daniel Robinson’s father, David, is still searching for his son and believes that he is alive somewhere. His father described him as joyful and very close to his family. Despite this, he did not phone or text anybody in the days after his disappearance.
David informed the police that his kid had been acting strangely lately and something was going on.
Something he didn’t quite grasp. Daniel had met a young woman through his side employment with Instacart in the weeks preceding his disappearance, according to police.
Police identified and interrogated the woman who said she met Daniel after he made a delivery at her residence as part of their missing person inquiry.
She’d gone out with a friend, and they’d invited Daniel to join them. Numbers were exchanged, followed by messages the next day.
There’s nothing wrong with any of it. The woman then told police that Daniel began coming up unannounced to her residence and that she had to ask him to leave.
Daniel contacted her the day before he went missing, saying, “I’ll either see you again, or I’ll never see you again.”