Daniel Robinson, 24, was last seen leaving a construction site in Buckeye, Arizona, on June 23, 2021. Three years later, his father, David, continues the search for him.
Daniel Robinson's family
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Daniel Robinson's family
Three years ago, on a June morning, geologist Daniel Robinson left a construction site in Buckeye, Arizona, in his blue-gray Jeep Renegade. It was assumed he was driving west from the Phoenix suburbs into the desert.
The 24-year-old was reported missing later that day.
His father, David Robinson, describes Daniel as having a bold personality who could make friends easily. Daniel was very confident and challenged everything.
“Daniel would chase whatever he wants. Very adventurous and loved being a part of everything,” David Robinson told NPR.
Robinson says it has been a difficult three years for him and his family after Daniel went missing on June 23, 2021.
He sums up the emotions surrounding Daniel's disappearance in one word: painful.
“For us as a family… every day we are constantly reminded, as you know, for birthdays, the holidays, Christmas, Thanksgiving, that Daniel is not here,” Robinson told NPR.
But since the day Daniel disappeared, Buckeye Police detectives say they have been investigating to find answers about what exactly happened to him.
And despite clues pouring in from the public, no answers have emerged.
David Robinson, who has worked tirelessly to ensure his son's case is not forgotten, says he is still fighting for answers three years after Daniel's disappearance.
“There's evidence. You just have to go look for it,” Robinson said. “I want to make sure I do everything I can to ensure that [the case] remains open.”
Foul play could be a possibility, his father says
Daniel Robinson, 24, was last seen leaving a construction site in Buckeye, Arizona, on June 23, 2021. Three years later, his father, David, continues to search for him. Here, an Arizona highway billboard advertises the website and phone number for tips on the investigation.
Daniel Robinson's family
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Daniel Robinson's family
Robinson says his son, who moved to Phoenix for a job as a field geologist after graduating from the College of Charleston in 2019, oversaw many sites in remote desert areas and often traveled long distances for work.
But regardless of the time or distance between Robinson, who lives in Columbia, South Carolina, and his son, the conversations between the two were consistent and rarely brief.
“Every time we spoke, the conversation lasted two hours,” Robinson said.
Daniel was last seen just after 9 a.m. on June 23, leaving his work station at a watering hole in Buckeye. According to the Buckeye Police Department, his Jeep was found by a landowner in a desert canyon on July 19, less than a month after he was last seen.
Police detectives reported that the Jeep had “significant damage” and had not been clearly visible to search crews due to the rugged terrain.
Daniel's clothes, his cellphone, wallet and keys were found at the crime scene, and no foul play was suspected given the condition of his car, authorities said. But three years later, Daniel is still missing.
The Buckeye Police Department declined NPR's request for an interview for this story.
But in a statement, the department said it is “committed to locating Daniel Robinson and getting answers for his loved ones,” adding that detectives continue to investigate “every tip and lead” reported to them.
The department said that while there is no evidence of foul play in Daniel's disappearance, it does not make his case “less important.”
Daniel's father says he believes foul play played a role in his son's disappearance. He says that even with the multiple searches he's helped coordinate and the family hiring a private investigator, there are still things that just don't add up.
New evidence found by the private investigator, Robinson said, included additional paint damage to Daniel's vehicle and the fact that the Jeep was cranked dozens of times after the crash — all of which indicates possible foul play.
“After the airbags were taken out, someone turned the ignition on at least 46 more times. That's not normal,” said Jeff McGrath, an accident reconstruction expert and private investigator hired by the Robinson family, told local TV channel KPNX in 2021.
“What we found at that crime scene gave my investigator evidence — physical evidence — of foul play,” Robinson said. “We have a lot of evidence of foul play. We just don't know… what exactly happened to Daniel. But we do know the [crime] “The scene is wrong.”
“The passion to help others, just as they helped me”
Robinson says he is raising awareness of his case in any way he can, including a virtual event called Bring America Home, which has increased attention to Daniel's case and other families with missing loved ones.
And with 2024 marking the third year since Daniel's disappearance, Robinson is taking his efforts to find his son one step further: he's running for Congress.
Robinson, an Army veteran, announced in March his plans to run for Congress in his home state of South Carolina. If elected, he says he plans to make the process easier for families to find their missing loved ones.
One idea, he says, would be to improve the way phone data is accessed. Robinson said he would propose legislation that would give the person paying the bill immediate access to the data in an emergency, such as a missing person.
“I spent 49 weeks searching the desert for my son and speaking to other family members who had lost loved ones of their own, yet were with me in the desert,” he said.
“That gave me the passion to help others, just as they helped me,” he added.
In addition to his candidacy for Congress, he says he will also return to Arizona more often to work with police there to search for his son.
“I want to make sure I do everything I can to make sure Daniel's case stays open and doesn't become a cold case,” he said.
