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4 days ago
- Yahoo
Army vet's search for missing geologist son revived as new forensics may reveal truth in desert disappearance
A retired U.S. Army veteran is still piecing together the disappearance of his geologist son years after he vanished from an Arizona work site, with new investigators looking to break open the four-year-long cold case using new forensic evidence. 24-year-old Daniel Robinson vanished after leaving work at around 9 a.m. on June 23, 2021, according to the Buckeye Police Department. Daniel's father, David Robinson, subsequently reported him missing later that day after his coworkers reached out to tell his family Daniel did not return to work. "When I first called in, [authorities] made me hang the phone up, wait two hours and call back," the elder Robinson told Fox News Digital. Army Vet Says New Evidence Suggests Foul Play In Unsolved Disappearance Of Scientist Son After local law enforcement reportedly denied Robinson's request to begin searching for his son due to his age, the father took matters into his own hands by driving from his home in Columbia, South Carolina, to where Daniel had been seen last, 2,000 miles away in Arizona. "I kind of lost it," Robinson said. "That prompted me to grab everything I could, throw it in my car and start driving to go find Daniel myself." Read On The Fox News App Upon arriving in Arizona, Robinson grew frustrated with the reported lack of urgency from officials, ultimately choosing to hire a private investigator to help search for Daniel. Less than one month later, Daniel's 2017 Jeep Renegade was found rolled on its side in a ravine by a local rancher. The vehicle was still in drive, and had front-end impact damage and a broken driver's side window and was missing a piece of its roof. Father's Pursuit For Missing Daughter Heats Up With New Evidence In Case That's No Longer Cold Despite the damage, authorities ruled out foul play in Daniel's disappearance. "Law enforcement gave me an idea of what they said happened at that scene," Robinson said. "It was unacceptable to me. It didn't make sense." Robinson's private investigator determined that the damage to Daniel's vehicle did not match the nearby terrain, while also pointing to black box data indicating the car had driven 11 miles after the airbags had been deployed, signifying that the car may have been planted at the location where it was found. "So all of the information – plus more – signified to my investigator that some type of foul play happened," Robinson said. American Tourist Vanishes In Tropical Paradise After Early Morning Walk From Vacation Rental As Robinson continued the frantic search for his son, local law enforcement tried to provide explanations for where he may have gone, further frustrating the father as Daniel remained missing. "When [police] said, 'Hey, your son joined the monastery and became a monk,' I had to go look for monasteries," Robinson told Fox News Digital. "Can you imagine that? I had to go and check that out. [It was] a waste of a lot of money, a lot of energy." The case remains open within the Buckeye Police Department as authorities continue to look at evidence regarding Daniel's disappearance. "Buckeye police are committed to locating Daniel Robinson and getting answers for his loved ones and the many people who have become deeply invested in his case," the department said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Detectives continue to investigate every tip and lead and urge anyone with information on Daniel's whereabouts to contact us." Detectives' True Crime Podcast Helps Dig Up Breakthrough In Case That Haunted Family: 'Drew Audible Gasp' Four years later, Robinson hopes the introduction of new Buckeye Police Department detectives and police chief will yield more promising results in finding out what happened to his son, after what had been a rocky relationship between the father and local law enforcement. "It's given me the opportunity to get new leads in Daniel's case," Robinson said. "Hopefully that's what we'll find. Because I know forensic work will bring on some new answers, and we can go forward in another direction to find out exactly what happened to my family." Robinson hopes new forensics data from the clothing and vehicle found at the scene will help piece together his son's final moments. But in the meantime he is still searching on foot for clues in the desert. Missing California Mom's Family Digs For Homicide 'Cover-up Or Cleanup' As Police Eye Persons Of Interest "Me and the volunteers that come out, they are my extended family," Robinson said. "We're actually looking for Daniel." Throughout their efforts, Robinson and his team of volunteers have recovered seven sets of human remains to ultimately bring closure to other families with missing loved ones within the area, but his primary mission remains finding Daniel. In April, Robinson teamed up with another father who understands the pain of losing a child all too well: Joseph Petito. Petito's daughter, Gabby Petito, went missing just a few weeks after Daniel while on a cross-country road trip with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie. Her body was subsequently discovered in Wyoming on September 19, 2021. Investigators ruled her death a homicide, determining she had been strangled to death. Gabby Petito Told Her Ex She Was Scared To Leave Brian Laundrie But Wanted To, Just Before Murder: New Doc When the story regarding Gabby's disappearance first made national headlines, it "pulled Daniel's case along with it," according to Robinson. "The first thing I'm thinking is that somebody's family is going through exactly what I am," Robinson said. "I know the pain." GET REAL-TIME UPDATES AT THE FOX NEWS True Crime Hub The two men forged a bond through the disappearances of their children, with Petito ultimately traveling to Arizona in April of this year to help search for clues surrounding Daniel's disappearance. "He called me in January and said, 'Dave, I want to be a part of the search," Robinson told Fox News Digital. "He said 'I don't want it to be about Gabby. I just want to come in as a friend to come out here to help you.'" Petito is celebrating the resurrection of evidence in Robinson's case, telling Fox News Digital the addition of new investigators is "fantastic." "I really pray for him and his family," Petito said. Robinson continues to advocate for missing Americans throughout the country, and he is pushing for new legislation to create federal standards regarding law enforcement's response to missing-persons reports while running for a seat in South Carolina's Second Congressional District. "The only thing that kept me straight is my love for my son and my military training," Robinson said. "I had to rely on military training to look at my son as a mission, and I put the mission first." Original article source: Army vet's search for missing geologist son revived as new forensics may reveal truth in desert disappearance Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
13-04-2025
- Yahoo
Fathers of Gabby Petito and Daniel Robinson join forces to search for Daniel in Arizona
The Brief The search for missing Valley Geologist Daniel Robinson resumed on Saturday, April 12. Joining the search party was Joseph Petito, the father of Gabby Petito who went missing in 2021 and was found dead in Wyoming after a nation-wide search. Joseph and Robinson's father David Robinson II, have formed a bond in the despair of having to search for their beloved missing children. BUCKEYE, Ariz. - Someone familiar with missing persons cases joined the search for Daniel Robinson, the Valley Geologist who went missing in 2021. The father of Gabby Petito was there on Saturday, April 12 as Robinson's family and friends resumed the search. Petito, the young girl killed by her boyfriend during a cross-country trip, also went missing in 2021. Her body was found in Wyoming. What they're saying Joseph Petito says he understands the pain David Robinson II, the father of Daniel, feels. But Petito says he got answers in Gabby's case within weeks, whereas David has been waiting for nearly four years. Nearly four years after Daniel Robinson went missing near a work site in Buckeye, Ariz. his father David holds out hope for answers in his case. "I'm his father, so I'm gonna be here always to make sure that I'm continuing to fight and advocating for him and find the justice that he deserves," said David. Roughly 50 volunteers showed up this morning near Sun Valley Parkway and Rosewood Avenue in Buckeye as part of a three-part search. "There's the line search that I just mentioned. We have the Buckeye Police Department on ground to search a specific location that's based on a tip, and we have the Arizona Rangers working out west to search," said David. Big picture view Among those volunteers, Joseph Petito whose daughter's case dominated national headlines after she went missing in August 2021, while traveling across the country with her fiancé Brian Laundrie. It's believed she was killed by Laundrie who then reportedly died by suicide in Florida. Joseph Petito says he's been wanting to join the search for Daniel for a while after seeing the strength and devotion David has. "It's inspirational, the amount of energy it takes to do what he does with the heartache and the unknowing that goes on every day," said Petito. "I've been telling him for years I really want to get out there and I saw this one coming up and I was like 'I don't care what the schedule is, I'm coming for ya buddy'." The two fathers are both part of a group no parent wants to be in. Joseph, hoping for a different ending for the Robinsons than the one his family got. Overall, both are just hoping they get answers. "There's never gonna be closure on the death of a child, but there is starting the grieving process properly, and David hasn't been able to do that yet. Hopefully Daniel is found safe, but if the worst does come true, that's when that grieving process will come true for David and his family," said Petito. Local perspective David, meanwhile, continues his relentless plans to bring Daniel home. "I look at this 50th search as possibly being one of the latter searches that I have out in the desert. What I'm trying to do is collect information with the Buckeye Police Department, who is now checking a lot of the forensic work and we can see if it's feasible for us to come back out to the desert and if so, what area we need to approach next," said Robinson. What you can do If you have any information related to the disappearance of Daniel Robinson, please contact Buckeye Police at 623-386-4421.
