2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. He said he sympathizes with the Petito family, while also feeling that the onslaught of media attention paid to her case has been hurtful.. And he thought Daniel, his youngest son, was safe in Arizona. Its been nearly 16 months since Daniel Robinson, then a 24-year-old geologist in Arizona, went missing. On at least two separate occasions, volunteers found human remains which turned out not to be Daniel Robinsons. Although they didnt find his son, David Robinson said it does bring him a little relief that they were able to bring some other families some type of closure. Police also said that evidence found near the remains suggested that the bones may not be Mr Robinsons. Jeff couldn't say if Daniel was driving or if it was someone else. So far, they have not gotten involved. I feel like it was dumped. Market data provided by Factset. All of that makes this part of the desert a place you don't want to get lost in. Their efforts include collecting and analyzing digital and physical evidence, locating and interviewing witnesses and searching for other leads, the department added. Carissa Planalp, Buckeye PDs public information officer, said the case remains a "conversation every day" and a "priority". Dust-covered trucks and ATVs arrive using unpaved roads carved into the sand and stone. And listen closely, because you or someone you know might have information that can help find Daniel. His Jeep was later found in July in a ravine about three miles from the worksite. His father has said that his son always liked to check in with his family in South Carolina, and it was unusual not to hear from him for even half a day. His father is not arguing that. We spoke with this man and he told us the same story. You wish you lived in a world where everything was equal, but its really not equal, Robinsons father, David Robinson, told CNN this week. Search group volunteer: You guys are gonna be on the north side. Jeff McGrath: He advised his son is missing, he needs help to find his son. Authorities have asked anyone with information about Robinsons disappearance to call the Buckeye Police tip line at(623) 349-6411. When they arrived it was raining. A month later, Daniel's Jeep was found on its side in a ravine about 3 miles away from his job site with personal items inside. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. On September 23, Robinson II told CNN that he has sympathy for the family of Petito, a 22-year-old who was missing for several days before she was found dead near Grand Teton National Park on September 19, but wishes his son, who is Black, had as much national attention. Legal Statement. Human remains were found in the Arizona desert near where 24-year-old Daniel Robinson went missing in June, police said. While investigators believe the remains may not belong to Robinson due to evidence at the scene, they are still awaiting DNA testing for official confirmation, FOX 10 reported. After about 15 minutes of this, he waved goodbye and abruptly left the worksite where the pair was located. HUMAN bones have been found in the search for missing Daniel Robinson, but his family have insisted it's not him. The families of two Black men who went missing in recent weeks and months Jelani Day and Daniel Robinson are drawing attention to this disparity and pleading for the public's help in finding answers. Now that the milestone is sadly reached, they're continuing on, saying the desert is large and more of it needs to be searched. It was July 20th when David received a call from the lead detective on his son's case. It was Mr Robinsons second job of the day and Mr Elliott said he had asked him if he wanted to go to Phoenix to rest. David Robinson read through that report and could not accept the scenario it suggested. Daniel's case is somewhat harder to understand. if you would like to attend the meet up place is in the coordinates WebBuckeye Police Department. Not at all. Authorities say no foul play is suspected in the missing case of Daniel Robinson, a 24-year-old geologist who was last seen in the Arizona desert, but Daniel Robinson is 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighs 165 pounds, has black hair and brown eyes, and is missing part of one arm. However, they hope that once the remains are identified, it will bring "closure to another grieving family. Numbers were exchanged and the next day, texts. I'm Josh Mankiewicz and this is Missing in America -- a new podcast from Dateline and NBC News. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. That same day at 5:45 a.m., David and volunteers will conduct a search in Buckeye. On the same day, he had texted his sister that he had an emergency but neglected to answer any of her calls in response, according to the police report. So police contracted a company to prepare a collision report. She said state police collected DNA samples from her family members on Sept. 6 but was told that the police lab does not have the chemical needed to process the samples. To Chief Hall, Daniel Robinson's case did not appear to be either one. Josh Mankiewicz: This is a real mystery, isn't it?, Jeff McGrath: Yes, it is. You guys will be on the south side.. Where else could we have searched? Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. The job kept him moving around between sites in the desert heat, his father wrote on GoFundMe. After months of pushing by David, Buckeye police reached out to the FBI. There are 13 species of rattlesnakes in Arizona, more than in any other state. (Buckeye Police Department). Arizona police officials say human remains were found Saturday during a search for Daniel Robinson, a geologist who disappeared after driving away from a desert worksite more than four months ago. Robinson's car was found abandoned in a desert ravine Of course, Daniel's family never wanted to reach the one-year mark, June 23, still not having enough answers to piece together what happened to him. Pump technician Ken Elliott told police that Mr Robinson was saying things that did not make sense as they prepared to work on a well. Is it Daniel, or some other poor creature who ended up lost in this unforgiving place? And she just simply, Hey Dad, um, one of Daniel's coworkers came by the house saying that they don't know where Daniel is.. So mile after mile, across Georgia and Alabama and Texas, David drove and thought about his son. After that point, it goes straight to the voicemail," he toldThe Independent. Those turned out to belong to an animal. "We didnt know what was going on; we know Dan does not ignore his phone calls.". I feel like something happened there that we just dont know yet. Buckeye Police Department continue to search for the young man who went missing in late June. "Just seeing all of a sudden movement, its a good feeling.". Then, the woman told police, Daniel started showing up to her house uninvited and she had to ask him to stay away. And Daniel's father, David, couldn't stay away. Less than that, if it's very hot. One month later, the Jeep was Amidst the discovery of Petito's body, a tweet reminding users of Daniel's disappearance went viral. BUCKEYE, AZ Apparent human remains were found Saturday in the desert near Buckeye, where volunteer-led searches have been conducted for months in hopes of finding Daniel Robinson, a 24-year-old geologist who has been missing since June. He and volunteers have scoured thousands of acres of the Sonoran Desert, and he's hired a private investigator to learn anything about his son's whereabouts. David Robinson: I called him immediately to try to get him on the phone to find out what's going on. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. It's -- of all my years of doing any type of, uh, vehicular crimes, this is the most mysterious case I've ever worked.. Play Episode 1 of the Dateline: Missing in America Podcast below and click here to follow. "After the airbags came out, somebody turned that ignition over at least 46 more times. By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. David Robinson: He pulled out a picture of the vehicle and, uh, he gave me two maps. And I said, We don't do missing persons. "More than 40 ignition cycles were recorded after the crash. No shell casings found amongst the sand and stone. But there's still no trace of Daniel. Again, that phone number is (623) 349-6411. Chief Hall: When Daniel was leaving, you know, the main access road to get into the job site is east of the location. I was hoping that the Buckeye Police Department, at times, was going to tell me something like that.. A GoFundMe page set up for Robinson, was born without a right hand, has raised more than three times its initial goal, funding private investigation services and supplies for volunteers willing to search the desert. MSNBC host Joy Reid controversially slammed the coverage of Petito's case as "missing white woman syndrome" - insinuating there is an imbalance in resources, depending on the color of a missing person's skin. The human remains is not Daniel. Daniel had bagged a job with Matrix New World Engineering and was last seen by a co-worker leaving a well site behind the wheel of his Jeep Renegade. Others are trying to help, but they're simply wrong. A spokesman for the police department told us they conduct thorough, unbiased investigations and that fair and impartial policing is at the heart of their service. Human remains were found by a volunteer searching for missing Buckeye man, Daniel Robinson, on Nov. 6. HUMAN bones have been found in the search for missing Daniel Robinson, but his family have insisted it's not him. Buckeye Police Department instructed Robinson II to check his son's social media pages on June 24. Authorities conducted searches shortly after Robinson went missing, but since then, most of the ongoing searches have been led by volunteers, groups, and Robinson's family, according to social media updates. The new arrivals are dressed for work: baseball caps to block out the sun, walking sticks, digital compasses on their cell phones. It was definitely Daniel's Jeep and there was, just as definitely, no sign of Daniel. He also claimed local law enforcement initially took too long with the case. Larry Hall is Chief of the Buckeye Police Department. Robinson's vehicle was found in a ravine with significant damage on July 19, police said. The man said he remembered seeing Daniel in his undamaged Jeep. David Robinson: It seems like its simple, but when you're actually on the ground actually looking, it takes time. BUCKEYE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) -- The father of Daniel Robinson, who went missing after leaving a Buckeye job site over a year ago, says the human remains found in the desert over the weekend dont belong to his son. David Robinson tweeted that the remains werent Daniels, citing Buckeye police and the Maricopa County Medical Examiners Office. How big is that search area?, David Robinson: Oh, wow. So until something breaks in this case, David Robinson plans to keep on searching, in the desert, under that sun. His family could not reach him after they spoke on the evening of Aug. 23, and he was last seen on surveillance video entering a retail store in Bloomington the morning of Aug. 24. As he studied the picture, the dents and damage did not seem to match the topography of the ravine. Police said the state of the mangled vehicle leads them to believe foul play is not suspected, which is why the case is not a criminal investigation. The poignant plea has sparked debate regarding the handling of both cases, in both media and law enforcement. The department told local outlets that it does not suspect foul play, despite the bizarre condition in which Robinsons Jeep Renegade was found in the desert. Sign up for notifications from Insider! We won't stop fighting for our children," he said. We got work to do here.. The human remains is not Daniel. ", I'm shaking reading about the discovery of Gabby Petito's body in Wyoming. It could be anything. Robinson was her Instacart delivery person, and she invited him into her home when he arrived with her delivery because he seemed friendly, she told police. It's also clear the department worked hard to provide answers to Daniel's family but, as with a lot of departments, new cases of all kinds are called in each day. Robinson had made contact with a woman prior to his disappearance, according to a police report. The only real lead was the desert. And it was ultimately driven up onto this ravine out in the desert, which is about 3.5 miles from his work site.. At the time of Petitos disappearance, many news outlets were once again criticized for ignoring missing persons cases involving people of color. So David Robinson did what any parent would do: He called police. This is one of the things the families of the missing have to endure: people who inject themselves into the case. The Jeep was involved in a rollover crash, police said, citing an independent crash report the department commissioned from San Tan Recon, a collision investigation company based in Chandler. Police learned in the weeks before his disappearance, Daniel had met a young woman through his side gig with Instacart. In an online petition, the elder Robinson writes that Buckeye police are "unwilling to move beyond their theory which leads to non-action on their part," and he urges signatories to hold the department accountable for continuing to pursue answers. He was driving his 2017 blue-gray Jeep Renegade and is believed to have been heading west into desert terrain, his father wrote on an online fundraising page. Most recently was this past Saturday. Source: Vimbuzz.com Related Posts The 24-year-old's clothes, phone and wallet were in his crashed car, which was found abandoned on its side in rough desert terrain. But Mr Robinson has been left "upset" with the handling of the case and believes authorities could have began an extensive search much earlier.