Daniel Robinson: Arizona's Missing Geologist // 619

Summary

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Going West: True Crime – Daniel Robinson: Arizona's Missing Geologist // 619

Release Date: June 23, 2026
Hosts: Daphne Woolsoncroft & Heath Merryman

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Episode Overview

On the five-year anniversary of Daniel Robinson’s disappearance, Daphne and Heath revisit the haunting case of the 24-year-old geologist who vanished in the Arizona desert. Building on their 2021 coverage, the hosts share a wealth of new information—including text messages, police reports, forensic discoveries, and persistent efforts of Daniel’s father—to provide listeners with the most up-to-date understanding of this puzzling and distressing case. The episode also explores family involvement, unsolved evidence, law enforcement criticism, and the unresolved questions that haunt Daniel's loved ones.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Daniel Robinson: Background and Character

• Personal life:
  Daniel was born in Columbia, SC, into a close-knit family and overcame being born without a right hand and part of his forearm. He was described as a happy, go-lucky, “deeply loved” person with a wide social network (03:42–06:42).
• Education & Career:
  Graduated from College of Charleston with a BAS in geology in 2019, active in university groups, and relocated to Phoenix for a job as a hydrogeologist at Matrix New World Engineering (06:42–07:34).

2. Timeline Leading Up to Disappearance

• Strange behavior & Caitlin:
  Daniel struck up a brief friendship with Caitlin, a woman he met during an Instacart delivery. Multiple texts suggest he may have misread her interest and acted in ways that made her uncomfortable (07:34–09:47).
  • Quote (Caitlin’s text):
    “Honestly, you showing up at my house unannounced made me extremely uncomfortable…” (08:42)
• Unusual gas stop:
  On the morning of June 23, Daniel left for his work site, but only bought $3.83 of gas—a bafflingly small amount given his route (12:22–13:10).

3. Disappearance (June 23, 2021)

• Last known movements:
  • At the second well site near Sun Valley Parkway, Daniel arrives and briefly interacts with coworker Ken Elliott, who claims Daniel appeared “distracted” and promptly left after 15 minutes, driving west into the desert (15:30–21:17).
  • Ken provided inconsistent accounts regarding arrival times and Daniel’s behavior.
    • Memorable moment:
      “He did not appear to be on drugs, as Ken apparently even checked to see if his pupils were dilated. Which is really interesting, which is weird to me.” — Daphne (19:15)
• Ken’s actions afterward:
  Ken did not call Daniel back, immediately alerted coworkers, and then searched the desert, painting rocks with red paint to mark his efforts—a detail hosts find odd (26:26–28:15; 29:42–30:31).

4. Law Enforcement Response and Search Efforts

• Slow start and criticisms:
  • Daniel’s father, David, faced resistance from Buckeye PD:
    • Reporting was delayed (required 12-hour wait), initial helicopter search requests were denied (31:27–32:46).
    • Local searches seemed limited; family felt forced to hire their own PI (33:36–34:28).
  • “They kind of just stopped searching for him because there was no sign of foul play, and they just felt like there was no reason to be worried about him, and they just kind of gave up.” — Daphne (34:28)

5. Discovery of Daniel’s Vehicle and Evidence

• Vehicle location/condition:
  On July 19, 2021, a rancher discovered Daniel’s Jeep Renegade overturned in a ravine, four miles from the worksite. This was after aerial searches “missed” it—raising questions (43:34–44:38).
  • Notable observation:
    “On screen now is an aerial view of the car, which isn’t the most obvious sighting… but if you’re looking for it, you should be able to see it.” — Daphne (44:31–44:38)
• Suspicious details:
  • Red paint transfer on the Jeep (possibly connected to Ken’s rock-marking).
  • Jeep was in drive, driver’s side window shattered, sunroof kicked out (45:39–46:20).
  • Daniel’s clothes found in a pile three feet from the car; phone, wallet, and keys left behind (46:20–46:54).
  • Police theory: Daniel had a head injury, stripped, and wandered off—hosts are highly skeptical (47:30–48:19).
    • Quote:
      “So many people suffer head injuries and don’t just strip themselves of their clothes and walk off into... the desert.” — Daphne (48:19)
• Event Data Recorder (EDR) findings:
  • Airbags deployed at 1:39 pm—FOUR HOURS after Daniel supposedly left the site (55:39–56:04).
  • 44 ignition restarts after airbags deployed; 11 miles added post airbags (49:28–53:54).
    • Memorable analysis:
      “...the ACM helped determine that 11 miles was put on the car after the airbags deployed, meaning that Daniel’s vehicle had gotten into an accident and it was then driven into that ravine…” (49:28–51:47)
  • Police released minimal EDR info, while the family’s PI and accident reconstructionist suspect the car’s final location was staged.

6. Suspicions of Foul Play and Missing Evidence

• Mysteries and alternative theories:
  • The “walked-off” hypothesis doesn’t fit: despite massive searches (drones, dogs, over 70 square miles), not a trace of Daniel was ever found (59:57–62:29).
  • Memory card missing from Daniel’s phone; someone accessed his computer after his disappearance (64:10–65:41).
    • Quote:
      “If you were responsible for that initial crash into Daniel’s vehicle ... these other little things lead us to believe that some sort of cover up was happening here.” — Heath (64:56)
  • Lack of animal predation in local wildlife further weakens the “he wandered off and died” idea.
• Police reluctance:
  Despite mounting oddities, police maintain non-suspicion of foul play and have mostly closed the case (65:41–68:07).

7. Family & Community Response / Ongoing Advocacy

• David Robinson’s relentless search:
  • David relocated to Arizona, organized weekly volunteer searches, and maintains an active online advocacy presence (“Please Help Find Daniel” on Instagram & website).
  • David entered politics in 2024, running for office to advocate for families of missing persons and holding law enforcement accountable (69:17–69:37).
  • Hosts emphasize following David and sharing missing person flyers: “...to David, the story will never be done until he finds Daniel.” (71:53)
  • Quote:
    “...after five years to watch David on Instagram constantly out there looking for his son, doing literally everything that he can.” — Daphne (71:23)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Daniel’s Background & College Years: 03:42–07:34
• Caitlin and Text Message Incident: 07:34–09:47
• Gas Purchase & Day of Disappearance: 12:22–13:10
• Arrival at Worksite/Interaction with Ken Elliott: 15:30–21:17, 26:26–28:15
• Lost Car/Red Paint/Jeep Discovery: 43:34–46:54
• Event Data Recorder findings: 49:28–53:54, 55:39–56:04
• PI & Family Search/Memory Card: 64:10–65:41
• David Robinson’s Political Campaign: 69:17–69:37
• Call to Action for Listeners: 70:18–71:53

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Memorable Quotes

• On Daniel’s unlikely behavior:
  “Him disappearing is so uncharacteristic. Because as we unravel these strange details... it just doesn’t click that he would walk away from his life...” — Daphne (05:56)

• On Ken’s story:
  “He did not appear to be on drugs, as Ken apparently even checked to see if his pupils were dilated. Which is really interesting, which is weird to me.” — Daphne (19:15)

• On the “head injury” theory:
  “So many people suffer head injuries and don’t just strip themselves of their clothes and walk off into... the desert.” — Daphne (48:19)

• On EDR findings:
  “...the ACM helped determine that 11 miles was put on the car after the airbags deployed...” — Daphne (49:28)

• On family advocacy:
  “...after five years to watch David on Instagram constantly out there looking for his son, doing literally everything that he can.” — Daphne (71:23)

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Conclusion / Call to Action

• Daniel Robinson is still missing, and his case remains unsolved, with bizarre clues but no clear answers.
• Anyone with information is urged to contact:
  • Buckeye Police Department: 623-349-6400
  • Daniel’s family tip line (anonymous submissions allowed): pleasehelpfinddaniel.com
• The hosts urge listeners to share missing posters, advocate for renewed police attention, and follow/support Daniel’s family’s ongoing search.

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For photos, maps, and more resources:

• Instagram: @goingwestpodcast
• PleaseHelpFindDaniel.com

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Next episode drops Friday.

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Transcript

[A]

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[B]

What is going on? True crime fans? I'm your host, Heath.

[A]

And I'm your host, Daphne, and you're

[B]

listening to Going West.

[A]

Five years ago from today, Daniel Robinson mysteriously vanished in Arizona. We actually covered this case back In September of 2021, a few months after it happened. But so much more information has come out. Like we have text messages, we have some police reports. We have so much more evidence. It feels like, yeah, and I think this is a case that you and I have both really been looking at over the last few years. Watching his dad literally put boots on the ground looking for him constantly in Arizona. Like, as you guys will see, if you don't already know, his dad left South Carolina and went to Arizona and moved there for a long time specifically to look for his son. And just watching him go out there constantly, we're like, the least we could do is recover this story with the new information and, you know, try to help push the story. So please share this one.

[B]

Absolutely share this one. Also, this case has a ton of photos, so we recommend watching us tell the story over on YouTube where you can see his car, you can see a map as we unravel today's case. But if you're listening on podcast apps, make sure that you check out our socials for photos. We are on Instagram @goingwest podcast. We're also on TikTok. Well as Facebook.

[A]

Yeah, there are so many, like I made so many maps for this. It's kind of, it's kind of insane.

[B]

You did a little overboard. So you can even follow along on David's journey to find his son on Instagram. He's Please help find Daniel and please again share today's episode without further ado. This is episode 620 of Going West. So let's get into it.

[A]

On the morning of June 23, 2021, a 24 year old geologist living in Arizona headed out to a job site before suddenly leaving and then vanishing. One month later, his car was found in a desert ravine nearby. And when his family and a PI began looking into the car's internal accident reports, some suspicious details came to light. This is the tragic and still unfolding story of Daniel Robinson. Daniel Robinson was born on January 14, 1997 in Columbia, South Carolina to parents Melissa and David. Alongside his older brother, older twin sisters, and a younger sister, Daniel grew up to be an incredible musician, an outdoorsman, and an avid traveler. And his family was always a huge part of his life. Like really up until he vanished, they were so, so close. He's always kept in very close contact with his parents and siblings, especially after graduating from A.C. flora High School and leaving Columbia to begin attending the College of Charleston in South Carolina. So even after he fled and, you know, went to college, he was still very close. Yeah, super close with his family, by the way. This college is just about two hours away from his home and it's such a charming school as you can see if you're watching on YouTube. Daniel was actually born without a right hand and part of his forearm, but his dad explains that this did not stop him from doing anything, that he was the kind of kid who continued to challenge himself and accomplish all of his goals. And a big goal of his was to become a geologist, which is why at the College of Charleston, Daniel studied archeology while continuing to play music on the side with his friends. Like he played the French horn and the trombone just around the city of Charleston. And speaking of friends, he had so many of them because he was always just a really happy go lucky guy who seem to always be wearing a smile. He is so deeply loved by his friends and family. And many have stated how glad they are to have known him for as long as they did. And that's why they are so incredibly desperate to figure out what happened to him. Because him disappearing is so uncharacteristic. Because as we unravel these strange details surrounding his disappearance, like you guys will see, it just doesn't click that he would walk away from his life knowing how many people were in his corner and how many passions he had, how many goals he had, how happy he was. Yeah, you know, all that. And especially with the circumstances surrounding his final known day, as we will very much get into. So after Daniel started attending the College of Charleston in 2015, he was also in the geology club. He was a teaching assistant. He was part of a group called LeaderShape and was also in the Lamba Theta Phi Latin fraternity. So he was, like, very involved in extracurriculars.

[B]

Very smart.

[A]

Smart kid. Yes, super smart. He loved doing a ton of different activities. Like, he was just very active in everything. In 2019, he graduated with his bachelor of applied science focus in geology and earth science, and then went on to work as a docent for the Mace Brown Museum of Natural History in Charleston, which is just the cutest thing ever. And also worked as a circulation assistant at the Adelstone Library in Charleston. And he did both of these jobs for three years before leaving South Carolina and heading out to Arizona to take one final course there. He was hired by a company called Matrix New World Engineering in Phoenix, Arizona, in June of 2019 as a staff hydrogeologist, where he would evaluate groundwater flow and just oversee environmental remediation. So he was finally getting to work in his chosen field and was reportedly extremely excited about it.

[B]

And he actually worked there for two years and everything seemed to be going great. He loved hiking and exploring Arizona. Obviously, there's a lot of rocks in Arizona, so this is perfect for him

[A]

and so different from South Carolina as well. He's like, this is. This is my land.

[B]

Exactly. And he also, you know, of course, had a rock collection. He loved hanging out with his friends and co workers there. He loved gaming, and he really loved doing his job. And by this point, his sister Davisha was also living in Phoenix. So he had someone in his family that was close by, which was also very nice. So two years in, in June of 2021, he was also working a side job for a grocery delivery service or, you know, obviously most of, you know, instacart in Phoenix. And actually on June 12, 2021, he was delivering liquor to a young woman's house named Caitlin. When she invited him in to hang out, he spent the night there, and they continue to talk afterwards. She had texted him about a podcast that he watched on YouTube, which was a spiritual podcast about the ego. And he even sent this podcast to his dad that night because he found it really interesting. The next day, he texted Caitlin saying that he enjoyed the podcast and then explained that he had left his outdoor canopy in her backyard and that he wanted to just come by and get it. So he actually did this when she wasn't home and came back later, even in hopes of just kind of like, maybe, you know, hanging out with her. And she was very unhappy about this. So she said to him, quote, honestly, you showing up at my house and unannounced made me extremely uncomfortable. I will not be home today. I don't see us hanging out anytime soon. But the next day, Caitlin later explained that he texted her that he was outside. And she said, basically said, like, a bunch of question marks, please stop doing that. I'm not even home. That this is not okay. So she's saying, okay, hey, pump the brakes a minute here.

[A]

And she's the one who's sharing these text messages, which I know his dad. I think his dad is questioning every single thing that comes forward, but he's even questioning these. As we're going to get into, we have some issues with his phone, with Daniel's phone, so he's wondering, is this even true? I guess there's no real reason to question it, but just want to put that out there.

[B]

Yeah. So as. As you're mentioning, you know, this was really strange to his dad when he found this out, because he always knew Daniel to be very confident, you know, a loving person, but not somebody who would, like, push the boundaries and make anybody feel uncomfortable.

[A]

Of course.

[B]

But he really liked this girl, Caitlyn, it seems so much so that he told some family that he loved her, but in a way that David really couldn't tell if he was just, like, being silly or if he was actually very seriously in love with her.

[A]

Yeah, if he's like, I love this woman. I was like, yeah, I love her.

[B]

She's to going, yeah, exactly. There's a big difference there. The last time that they spoke was on June 22, so the day before he vanished with Daniel saying, quote, I'll either see you again or never see you again. And then they didn't speak again after that. Now, that Same day, around 6pm Daniel took a bus to a local waffle House with reports stating that he dined alone, though his dad claims that he was with somebody, but he just hasn't stated who that person is. And then he texted his sister, quote, it's an emergency, but she didn't respond. When she tried him back, he didn't answer. He eventually took an Uber home, apparently because his Jeep was low on gas, though some wonder if he had smoked weed and gone to the Waffle House and just didn't want to drive.

[A]

God forbid he has a nice meal.

[B]

Yeah, right. But either way, later, according to his dad, David, he explained to his sister that he was just testing how fast she would respond and that nothing was actually wrong. So he's just like, hey, there's an emergency. But he just kind of wanted to feel it out and see if she would like quickly respond to it.

[A]

Or did he just not want to explain what was wrong and he was over it? Possibly, you know, it's hard to know, but yeah.

[B]

So this is what was going on around the time that he vanished, with some close to him saying that he seemed a bit down and a little bit distracted or distant during these few days, which many believe was just him dealing with possibly the rejection from this girl Caitlyn.

[A]

Understandable. He obviously has emotions surrounding the situation.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

On Wednesday, June 23, 2021, 24 year old Daniel Robinson had been set to work at two different well sites that morning in Buckeye, Arizona, which is basically a site, a well site that resources are extracted from, whether oil or natural gas or groundwater. So he left his Tempe apartment at around 6:20am to make the hour drive west to Buckeye, taking the freeway most of the way.

[B]

Yes, Buckeye is going to be one of the places that we're going to be talking about a lot today.

[A]

Yeah, this is where everything happens. Well, before hitting the first well site, he got gas at the Shell station around the corner on North Verado way, only getting $3.83 worth of gas. Like just one gallon of gas.

[B]

Which feels very strange.

[A]

Yeah, it so obviously many and people are speculating on why he would buy such a small amount, but his family and police have no answer for this small gas purchase. So it's not like police were like, oh yeah, we checked his account and that's all he had.

[B]

And yeah, they just couldn't figure it out.

[A]

No. And even his dad is like, is that just how it showed up on the bill? And then it would charge more later like he. Because you had just been talking about at the Waffle House how he may have been low on gas and that's why he didn't take his car.

[B]

Right.

[A]

But then he would have needed to get gas before driving an hour to Buckeye if he was so low on gas that he couldn't make it four miles away to the Waffle House. Yeah. And then, you know, so it's like, and then he has the other job site. He would need more than 1 gallon of gas to get there and get home. So it just, it doesn't make any sense. And even David has said that he wouldn't have topped off his gallon with just that amount anyway. It doesn't, there's no clear answer. It's really bizarre. So next, he then arrived at his first job site by the Jackrabbit Trail wash around the corner. Shortly after 7am that day at the second well site, Daniel was working with a 57 year old man named Ken Elliott, a man that he apparently had not worked with before. And he didn't know, as it seemed, that Ken actually worked for a different company. And this happened quite often for Daniel. He'd work with all kinds of people.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

At 7:31 that morning, Ken left Daniel voicemail. And thanks to Daniel's father, you know David's YouTube page. Please help find Daniel. We have that voicemail. Here it is.

[B]

Hey Daniel, this is Ken with Web of Water Resources. I'm out here at Trillium off of Sun Valley Parkway. I'm waiting on fuel. I think it's going to be a while.

[A]

He was all the way over at

[B]

Fort McDowell here at 6:00 clock this morning. So I just wanted to give you a heads up. It's, you know, I don't want you

[A]

to come all the way out here and just sit and wait, but I

[B]

was going to give you a heads up when you're about an hour away

[A]

from being ready to go and stuff. But if you can just give me

[B]

a call and get a chance.

[A]

So Daniel probably didn't answer because he was working at the first site by then. And I think the voicemail will make more sense as we get into the second job site. But on the voicemail obviously Ken discusses the site at Sun Valley Parkway. This is the second site. This is where Ken is when he's leaving the voicemail. So he's essentially saying that he doesn't want Daniel to come out if it isn't necessary because he's waiting on fuel. But according to his father, David, Daniel called Ken back three minutes later at 7:34am Ken called Daniel again at 8:O, 8am and then at 8:10am, Daniel texted Ken for directions. So they're communicating back and forth that morning.

[B]

Yeah. And basically at this point, Daniel's trying to find the second site, trying to figure out how to get there.

[A]

Exactly. Then at 8:13am So a few minutes later, Daniel called Ken again. Now, the second job site was near Sun Valley Parkway, like I said, and Cactus Road. This is about 45 miles, or 72 kilometers northwest of Phoenix. It's about 28 minutes from the first job site. It is very much in the desert just north of the city of Buckeye. The work site is directly surrounded by some regional national parks, a hiking trail, and just a lot more desert. Though there is one property only about a quarter of a mile away from the well site, and that belongs to a rancher. But otherwise it's just desert, desert, mountains, flat. And remember, guys, if you want a real visual of this, you know, we hope some of you are watching on YouTube, but you can check out some of the maps on our socials as well. But we're going to put all of them on YouTube, actually, since our original episode on this case, the street right by the work site, which used to be just flat desert, is being developed into a large neighborhood of homes, which I think is really interesting. This is right next to where he went missing, right next to that well site. This is like a giant neighborhood being built. And it's also really weird. And I think it helps paint how deserted this little spot is. I mean, I guess I say that because I live in LA, but it's, it's a 15 minute drive up a rural desert street. So it's 15 minutes from a main highway and then it's 28 minutes from the city of Buckeye, so like almost a half hour to the nearest restaurant and shop, which I know a lot of people live out far away. I mean, your sister lives like 30, 40 minutes from the nearest grocery store. So I know people live like that, of course, but it is interesting to me that they are developing this large neighborhood there. I just kind of wonder what that is. And the fact that it's right next to where Daniel went missing is interesting to me too.

[B]

So In Buckeye at 9am it was already almost 90 degrees and it reached temperatures of 104 degrees at its hottest, which was around 4 4pm, which of course is very typical for the Arizona desert. It gets very, very fucking hot out there, right? Especially in the summer. And although it was hot, June is the beginning of Arizona's monsoon season, which can cause rainstorms and thunderstorms, even in the great heat of 100 degrees.

[A]

Miserable.

[B]

Yeah, it's very, very common for climates like this. You know, as many of you guys know. So that morning it was raining. What we know about Daniel's movements on the job site that morning come directly from the man that he worked with on that particular, on that particular day, which again is 57 year old Ken Elliott. So when first interviewed by police, by Officer Cruz, which occurred later that evening, Ken claimed that he was already at the job site to access the well when 24 year old Daniel arrived at 9am and that again, it was raining that morning. Ken remembers that they talked about the weather and the job that they were set to do. But then suddenly at 9.15am, only 15 minutes into Daniel arriving, he got into his Jeep Renegade and he just left. Now, the next day Ken was interviewed yet again and he told a different officer, Officer Haley, that they both arrived to the job site at 9:30am and that it appeared that it was going to rain, not that it was raining, but that it was probably going to rain. Now, Ken apparently claimed that Daniel, who again he did not know, was acting strange, but that he didn't appear to be on drugs, as Ken apparently even checked to see if his pupils were dilated. Which is really interesting, which is weird to me. Yeah, I don't know.

[A]

I don't know.

[B]

That's kind of weird why you're checking pupils out there. But okay. And he basically said that overall he was. Daniel was basically just acting distracted.

[A]

So he's like clocking his behavior and.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And just being like, oh, I wonder if something's up, I wonder if he's okay. But he also doesn't know him. So.

[B]

Yeah, and I will say it is worth noting that, you know, besides recreational weed in his own time, Daniel was not known to do drugs. He was not known to use any drugs. Ken allegedly also told police that Daniel said that he wanted to go back home to Phoenix and rest. So we don't really, of course, all of this is coming from Ken. We don't have any accounts from anybody else because the only other person that was out there was Ken.

[A]

Ken is literally the only reason we know anything. Even the fact that Daniel made it to the job site at all.

[B]

Yes, exactly.

[A]

If he did.

[B]

Well, while this conversation turned back to the weather, Ken says that he told Daniel that he would check the weather apps on his phone. And while he did so, at around 9:45am that Daniel walked to his car again, his Jeep Renegade, he waved Goodbye. And then he just drove off. He even claimed to have seen Daniel drive down and eventually head west deeper into the desert, instead of east, back towards Buckeye in Phoenix. So why he would be going west deeper into that desert is still a mystery to this day.

[A]

Which, to be fair, if you know, it's a flat desert. How many times are we going to say desert?

[B]

A lot. Probably a lot.

[A]

But. So he could see and watch as Daniel made a certain turn west versus. But.

[B]

Right.

[A]

I guess it's just. Again, that's what he is saying. So he is painting this picture that Daniel arrived to this site. He was acting weird. He left without explanation after only 15 minutes. He gives a different timeline, which is fair. It's not a huge discrepancy. But then he says, I watched him drive away and head west.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Down the road and then go west, which is possible, but.

[B]

Go west.

[A]

Go. Wow.

[B]

I didn't block that. No, but I actually had that thought as well, because, like, you're explaining this is, like, pretty much flat desert, so you would be able to see in which direction a car was probably traveling. It's not like you're out in the middle of the woods and there's a bunch of trees obscuring you. And, you know, as soon as he made the right turn, I lost view of him. I couldn't see where his car was headed.

[A]

But it is interesting that he is apparently watching what moves he's making. Watching him as he's driving away instead of just being like, okay, what the hell? Back to my job. He's, like, just standing there, like, well, and maybe.

[B]

And maybe this had to do with the fact that it was so strange. Like the. Just the Daniel abruptly leaving. You know, like he felt like it was so strange. He needs to pay attention to. Sure. But. And also, one thing that we also talked about before is that he may. He could have been heading west. But does the road take you west for a second, then cuts you back east? Like, you have to swing around or something like that.

[A]

Right. Which is very possible. The thing is, again, look at a map, if you can. There is. There's one main road, and that's Sun Valley Parkway. And then every. That's the main road. That is, I'm assuming, how Daniel got onto the site by taking that main road. There are other desert roads, as we're going to talk about and show you guys on the maps, that they're smaller dirt roads, of course. So he could have gone a different way. Why he wouldn't just take the main highway I wouldn't understand. But there's. I don't believe that 15 minutes down the road he could. And he's watching him and he drives down for 15 minutes and then goes west. So anyway, it's just, it's all worth, you know, paying attention to. But again, Ken has two different timelines. And then we have another little wrench to throw in with a call at 9:28am from Daniel to Ken. So this call, of course, is heavily debated because no one can be sure why Daniel called Ken. We don't have a voicemail or anything like that. Like, if Daniel did leave at 9:15 like Ken originally said, why would he call Ken? If he arrived at 9:30 like Ken said the second time around, it would make more sense that right before finding the job site, he was looking for the spot, maybe needed clearer directions, want to make sure he's going the right way.

[B]

I think that probably makes the most sense.

[A]

Right. So the time that Daniel actually arrived to the job site is then really important because also Ken never called Daniel back. So this could be because Daniel then pulled up to the job site.

[B]

Yeah, maybe found it on his own.

[A]

This is why it matters so much though, because. Or it could be looked at as suspiciously if Daniel left and was never seen again and Ken just never returned his call, even though he knows after that that he went missing. Because by 10:05am, Daniel began receiving calls from, you know, his co workers at the company that he worked for, wondering where he was. He received calls from a man named Steve that he worked with and then a young man named Roger, both of whom were very worried about him. You know, I, I think it would be quite easy for police to figure out exactly what time Daniel left his first job site. You know, if they're paying attention to phone pings and they're looking at cameras and they're actually doing their due diligence, I think they'd be able to really quite easily figure this out.

[B]

Yeah. But as we're going to talk about in this episode, it does not appear that the Buckeye PD really did do their full due diligence here. They did do some searches, we'll get into that, but.

[A]

But they are being heavily criticized. Yes, absolutely. And I think for good reason. Well, after Daniel apparently got into his blue gray 2017 Jeep Renegade, he has never been seen or heard from again. Daniel was a very hard worker, of course, he loved his job. So this really seems very bizarre and out of character for him just to leave like this. And again, we can't stress it enough, we can only go off of what Ken is saying, which is why this is so frustrating. I mean, even Daniel's boss said that he is a valued member of the team, which is why he was receiving so many worried phone calls from so many people that day. Actually, Here is an 11:35am voicemail from Steve. It's very short, but here's what Steve said. Hey, Daniel. Steve. Hey, give me a call, please. Thank you. And here's another voicemail to Daniel at 105pm From Roger, who, by the way, is around the same age as him. They were actually kind of longtime friends for at least a couple years, and they used to live together. So here is what Roger left him. Hey, Daniel, this is Roger. I know that work is trying to hold you, but I'm less concerned about them than I am about you. You need to call back, let me know what's going on. I need to pick you up somewhere.

[B]

Whatever.

[A]

Just give me a holler.

[B]

I'll make sure you're okay. So I'll talk to you later. Thanks. Well, let's talk a little bit more about Ken Elliot.

[A]

Emphasis on the little, because we don't really know anything.

[B]

Yeah, there's not a lot known. We do know that he worked as a pump technician for Weber Water Resources after getting his Bachelor's of science in geology back in 1989 at Arizona State University. This is according to his LinkedIn.

[A]

You know, it's. It's very possible that Ken is not involved, that he didn't know anything. But it's just. It's also hard not to kind of look at him sideways because he hasn't done very many interviews. He's only done, like, a couple. He's never been on Dateline or, you know, been on the local news or anything like that, or helped David in any of his searches. And David, again, Daniel's dad, has been very vocal about the fact that Ken hasn't really given him very much either, and that he's really questioning what Ken says and that he has spoken to Ken. Yeah, but it's hard to know. And here's another thing. So, of course, after Daniel left the job site, Ken was like, what the hell? Like, my guy just left. So he actually called the company that Daniel works for and said, hey, he just left. I don't really know what to do about this. Just so you know, that is why everybody started calling Daniel, because they knew that he was mia.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Well, here's what Ken does. He starts looking for him immediately in that area, in that Desert area. Even though he says that he watched Daniel drive off and drive west. But for some reason, he tells us later that he started looking for him in the desert there and even painting rocks with red paint to mark where he had already searched so that police would know later where he searched.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

What?

[B]

So interesting.

[A]

And again, this is why that 9:28 phone call is pretty important too, because Ken never tried to call Daniel back after that. So if you're worried about Daniel being missing so much so that you're painting rocks to track your. Where you're looking, to track your search, wouldn't you at least call and be like, hey, buddy, are you coming back?

[B]

Yeah. That is a very interesting thing, the fact that there was no phone call made after that. But, but yet the. The rock painting situation occurred. It feels like maybe a phone call would be a little more urgent and

[A]

a lot easier as well than getting, where'd you get this paint? Also.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And just the fact that he's already treating him like a suspicious missing person after he drove away in his car and you watched him head west, if you watched him Dr. Of the area, why are you painting rocks in the desert?

[B]

Yeah, it's, it's, it's, it's interesting. It's, it's hard because I don't want to immediately call it suspicious on its head, but, you know, your mind does kind of go there.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Well, it basically gets weirder from here as well. So let's get into the rest of Daniel's disappearance, because after Daniel reportedly drove away from the job site, Ken Elliot called their other co workers on the phone regarding the situation, didn't call Daniel, but called the other co workers, apparently thinking that, you know, Daniel just wasn't feeling well because he said, oh, you know, I want to go back to Phoenix and rest.

[A]

Yeah. So he's just letting them know that he's gone.

[B]

Yes. But as the day progressed, none of his co workers saw or heard from him. This is when Ken Elliot says that he went investigating a bit on his own and saw Daniel's tire tracks and heading into the desert, which is also

[A]

interesting that he's saying, I saw his tire tracks. Didn't you see him? Anyway, isn't that better that your. Your eyes watched him drive off?

[B]

Yeah. You are a visual witness to the car driving west.

[A]

Yeah. Instead of being like, here's, here's his tire tracks. It's just weird. Sorry.

[B]

Well, he also stated that at that point his heart sank because, you know, this basically made him believe that Daniel wasn't Actually headed home and that something really wasn't right. And then that's.

[A]

I know Daniel, I know.

[B]

But no, no, no.

[A]

You don't know where. Maybe he has family out west. You don't know where he's going.

[B]

That's very true.

[A]

Why is that so suspicious to you?

[B]

Yeah, I don't know. And then that's when he did the things that, you know, you mentioned before, Daphne, you know, the searching around that, that dirt road, painting the rocks and such. That's when all of that occurred. Now remember, one of Daniel's sisters did live in Phoenix as well. And the way that the Robinsons discovered that Daniel was missing was when his co workers went to his sister and explained that they were looking for him. She immediately called their parents and explained the situation to which everybody began calling Daniel over and over, but to no avail. Just six hours had passed since Daniel was last seen and heard from. But even that was extremely unusual because he was always reachable. Daniel's father, David, tried to call into the local Arizona police to report Daniel missing, but he was told that he needed to wait 12 hours. We see this very often in cases. Oh yeah, they're probably not missing. You need to wait and then let us know if you can't find him.

[A]

He's an adult.

[B]

Yeah, within 12 hours. So David waited and they did take his report, but they didn't begin searching yet. The following day, on June 24, 2021, David requested the police search the desert area by helicopter, terrified that something had happened to him. But his request was denied. Now the Tempe PD instead headed to Daniel's apartment. But of course, nobody answered the door and they didn't go inside. And there was no sign that he was home anyway. Obviously his jeep was not there. So with that, the following morning, his father David called again to ask if they would search for Daniel by helicopter. But the request was once again denied. And this is something, it feels like after this period of time, the urgency, the ante would be upped. But it didn't feel like that for police. Why not? Like, why couldn't you.

[A]

In a small way I understand it that it's like he's a 24 year old, he might just be at his girlfriend's house. You having to get pale this money to get a helicopter out. I get it and I think hindsight's 20 20. Now that we know where this has gone, we're like, get in the helicopter. Yeah, but so I do understand their hesitation for doing that, but just do something else. Do anything else.

[B]

You know, well, that same day, they actually did do something. The Buckeye PD reportedly did conduct a ground search near that job site, and they accessed Daniel's vehicle via his uconnect system. But no GPS data was available at that time, which indicated that Daniel's car was actually off there. Were also unsuccessful or they were also unsuccessful in pinging Daniel's cell phone. So they really couldn't figure out his exact movements after he left that day,

[A]

which should be suspicious that you're like, we can't ping his phone. We can't get GPS on his car. He's missing. He was last seen in the desert. You know, he left the job site randomly, apparently.

[B]

You know, it was good that they checked his uconnect to, you know, at the very least. At the very least, you know, do something.

[A]

The next day, on June 25, a Phoenix Firebird helicopter allegedly conducted an aerial search for Daniel, and the Buckeye PD conducted another ground search near the job sites that he was last seen at. Now, by then, Daniel's father, David, was headed to Arizona to search for his son alongside his daughter, who, like we said, lived in Phoenix. But after police were unsuccessful in locating Daniel at his home or near the job sites, and they were unable to find his location that week, they kind of just stopped searching for him because there was no sign of foul play, and they just felt like there was no reason to be worried about him, and they just kind of gave up. So Daniel's family were forced to hire a private investigator, fully believing that something had happened to him. They're like, what do you mean, he's gone? We can't find him.

[B]

At this point, this is kind of their last resort. They don't want to have to go down this route. But. But now if the police are calling it off, what are you going to do?

[A]

And now they have to pay out of pocket just to find their son because the police are not doing their job. So the private investigator, a man named Jeff McGrath, was able to gain access to Daniel's apartment and reported to David that his apartment looked relatively clean, but that his bedroom was, quote, really messy, even going so far as to say that it looked as if somebody was, quote, digging or looking for something.

[B]

That is a very suspicious part of the story today.

[A]

Right. So David, then, with that information, pressed investigators even going to the mayor to help him convince them to forensically search Daniel's apartment, and they eventually did. PI Jeff McGrath claims that there was evidence that someone had accessed Daniel's computer after he vanished and had gone through his files and viewed his search history.

[B]

Okay, that's very, very weird.

[A]

Yeah. Well, we don't know when exactly this happened or you know, what, what the proof is of the timeline that I know somebody was sifting through his search history and looking through this at this

[B]

particular time that he had vanished.

[A]

We don't know when. Of course, they're still keeping some things to themselves. Understandably so. And as far as what police found for forensics, most of that is also being kept close to the investigation. Though we do know that some recent Google searches on his computer included shooting Tempe. I assume that means like a shooting looking up a shooting in Tempe. I don't know. Yeah, Explosion Love changed me. And delete Instagram account, which he did not actually delete. Maybe he just wanted to. On July 15, law enforcement poured over financial data from Daniel's accounts with his family, proving that he wasn't using his card and noting that the last time he did was at the Shell station for apparently one single gallon of gas. Then, as Daniel's family and nearly 200 volunteers continued to search for Daniel every Saturday, something major was finally found out in that desert. Because on Monday, July 19, 2021, just under a month after Daniel was last seen, a rancher, a man who lived on the ranch right next to that well site, spotted Daniel's 2017 Jeep Renegade in a ravine about four miles southwest of his second job site on its side in a ditch.

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[B]

Now. On Monday, July 19, 2021, a rancher came across Daniel's 2017 Jeep Renegade and a dried up ravine on his own property just about four miles southwest of the job site that Daniel had vanished from nearly four weeks earlier. So it's interesting to know that, you know, prior to this discovery, there had been two air searches conducted of this area and his car had not been found. So they're like, why didn't you find the car? You did aerial searches.

[A]

Did you, though?

[B]

So, regarding this, Buckeye PD later described in a statement that, quote, due to the rough terrain, the vehicle was not clearly visible to crews searching by air and on foot. Now, we already did mention his car was blue, gray. But on screen, but on screen now is an aerial view of the car, which isn't the most obvious sighting. It's not like his car was red or something.

[A]

It's not. But also, if you're looking for it, you should be able to see it. Like, you guys can see. You can see it.

[B]

You can see it amongst the desert flats. There was significant damage to the vehicle as it had rolled over into this dry ravine. And suspiciously, though, there were no other vehicles in sight for miles, the front side of his Jeep has a long red paint transfer next to numerous dents. Now, we can't be sure if this was, you know, already on his car prior to him vanishing. Like maybe he had hit something at some point prior to him going missing or what. Exactly. This paint transfer came from, like maybe a gate, etc, but it's red. But it is red.

[A]

Talked about red paint today.

[B]

Just saying, you know, it has made many people wonder, including the PI and Daniel's family, if Daniel had been involved in an accident and his car was staged in that spot. This is something we're going to be talking about a lot today because I do have my own thoughts on this,

[A]

and it feels like there is more than just a theory to go along with that idea.

[B]

Yes, but let's, let's put a pin in that for now.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Now, regarding the rest of the damage. The car had come to rest on its passenger side with significant damage to the front right portion of the vehicle. The airbags had deployed. The Jeep was reportedly still in drive and Daniel was not found inside that car. The driver's side window was actually shattered and the car's sunroof had been kicked out, which led police to believe that this is how Daniel actually exited the car. But I do want to add that there was no blood found in or around the car. So although the crash appeared to be somewhat significant, we really can't be sure if Daniel was actually injured in this crash.

[A]

And considering the Jeep Renegade has side airbags as well as front airbags, maybe it's not too strange that there wasn't any blood, despite the damage to the vehicle being significant. But let's talk about what was found around the car, because about three feet away were the very clothes that Daniel had been wearing that day alongside his boots. So his work boots, his, you know, high vis work vest, his whole freaking outfit is on the floor, on the ground outside the car.

[B]

Weird.

[A]

In a pile. And then his cell phone, wallet, and keys were inside the Jeep, meaning all of his belongings were left behind, even, literally, the shirt off his own back. So police began to speculate that Daniel may have suffered a head injury during the crash, stripped himself of his clothes, and wandered off, meaning they did not originally suspect foul play. Here's the thing. I get why you might come to that conclusion or theorize that that might have happened, but I'm so sick of hearing that in cases. We talked about this with Bryce Lespisa.

[B]

Yes, we did. Same sort of scenario. A crash happened. Bryce Les Pisa is missing. He must have hit his head.

[A]

Must have hit his head and, like, lost all of his memory. And not saying wandered off and vanished, of course.

[B]

Course. And not saying that. That's not possible. It just seems to be the. Go to theory. When things like this happen.

[A]

I want to know what needs to happen to your head exactly for that to happen. How often does that actually happen? So many people suffer head injuries and don't just strip themselves of their clothes and walk off into the. The. And walk off into the desert. That also doesn't explain where he went anyway, as we're going to get into. But I just. I detest that theory because it just feels way too easy. Oh, well, why didn't he bring his phone? Well, because he hit his head and he didn't know what was going on. Like, everything could be answered from that. And it just feels way too easy.

[B]

Yeah, it does. It feels like the easiest explanation he had. He hit his head, he took his clothes off, he didn't take his phone or his wallet, and then he just wandered off? Yeah, you know? Yeah, exactly. And it's like. I don't know. Like, yes, it was very, very hot that day in the desert of Arizona. So is it possible that, you know, he was in the car for a moment and he got too hot? I don't know why you would take off all your clothes, though.

[A]

You know, I don't know. You know, what I'm about to get into really is going to change everything, though. So. 2017 Jeep Renegades are equipped with EDRs, also known as Event data recorders, as well as an enhanced accident response system. Now, the purpose of an EDR is to record data that can help car companies understand how their vehicles performed during a crash or crash like situation. Specifically with a 2017 Jeep Renegade with the ears. So the ears, the accident response system. The vehicle unlocks its doors, turns on the interior lights, and disables the fuel pump.

[B]

This is probably in an attempt to make sure that the car doesn't catch fire and explode. Exactly.

[A]

For the edr, the recorder, the Jeep's black box, collects all kinds of vehicle dynamics, like vehicle speed, steering angle, driver seat belt status, driver seat track position, brake pedal application, accelerator application, etc. So the police would get a ton of information about the crash just from this black box alone? Yes, and here is what police have released. The airbags deployed during initial impact, and Daniel was wearing his seatbelt, obviously assuming he himself was driving the car and that the vehicle experienced impact to the front of the car first before rolling over. Which you can tell from the photos. That's it. That's all they said. Which, again, you could tell from the photos. And again, I understand as well, they don't want to release too much. But Daniel's father, David, hired an accident reconstructionist who worked with PI Jeff McGrath to help piece together how Daniel's car ended up the way it did in the ravine. And they both agreed that something just wasn't right here because the damage on the Jeep did not match the terrain where it was laying. PI Jeff McGrath downloaded the Jeep's ACM, the airbag, airbag control module, and discovered that the Jeep was started 44 times after the airbags were deployed, or at least the ignition was turned over 44 times, which just didn't seem normal. Also, this is way weirder. This is like. This is like one of the craziest, if not the craziest, detail in this case, to me. The ACM helped determine that 11 miles was put on the car after the airbags deployed, meaning that Daniel's vehicle had gotten into an accident and it was then driven into that ravine, driven 11 miles, then into the ravine, where it was ultimately trapped on its side. On top of this, the vehicle reached speeds up to 30 miles per hour around the time of one of the crashes. We don't know which one. And the EDR reportedly did not show substantial braking before the impact.

[B]

That is one of the most suspicious things to me because. Okay, so let's. Let's talk about this. Let's get into the meat of this. So the car was Found laying on its side. At that point, there's no need to try and turn over the ignition 44 times, because what are you gonna do? Yeah, the car's on its fucking side.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

So you're not gonna drive it. Okay, so that after that initial crash, we know that during the second crash. Right. That his car didn't break before it impacted. So that leads.

[A]

We don't know which one.

[B]

Oh, okay. So we don't know which one.

[A]

You make a good point, though, that the 44 turnover would not be when it was on its side, because. Yeah, what are you gonna do? It's on its side. You're not moving, buddy. So that would have happened after the first crash.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

So there's some things we gotta figure out, but I don't know about the rest.

[B]

And also, I. I wonder. This is one thing, maybe somebody out there can tell me, but I know with my Jeep Wrangler, it's a 2018, and you have a push start ignition. So I don't know if. I mean, obviously there was, you know, he had a set of keys, but was it a push start? That would. Not that that really matters. I'm just. I'm just curious, but I guess what I'm saying is that during that. If it was during that second crash, is it possible that Daniel initially got into a crash with another vehicle, hence why there would be that red paint on the front of his car? Right after that, either Daniel was injured or he was, you know, threatening to sue this other person. Maybe they were responsible for the crash. They decided to, you know, silence Daniel, basically abduct him, and then possibly, like, essentially, like, forcefully drive that car into that ditch and onto its side, because we know that the car didn't break. And again, we don't know if this was during the first crash or the second one. I wish we knew. But if it was during the second one, why would he not break before that. That impact the second time?

[A]

I completely agree with you.

[B]

You know what I mean? It just feels very. And then also on top of that, the fact that his clothes were laying outside of the vehicle leads me to believe that if something did. If somebody did do something nefarious to Daniel, they may have wanted to take his clothes off so that if a body was found later on in the desert, he would be less identifiable. It would be a lot harder to identify him because you wouldn't be able to go, oh, that's Daniel Robinson. We pulled his wallet out of his. Out of his clothes. Well, also, now we know exactly who

[A]

it is, I think. Thank you for saying that because that reminded me of something we were talking about earlier, before. This is how. It's just if he was a naked man running through the desert and if he had somehow gotten to the highway, like you would notice a naked man, you know, this I think would have garnered a lot more witness statements and a lot more tips. Assuming, of course, course, he wandered off into the desert and somehow they didn't find him, even though they did do so many searches.

[B]

Well, that's the other part of it is if he did wander off, if he had, you know, a head injury and he wandered off himself into the desert, you would imagine that in 100 degrees like weather and you have a head injury, you're probably not going to make it that far.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And I know that they did, they did do extensive searches. His father, David, did a lot of searches out there and found no sign of his son. We do know that there are mine shafts out there. Of course we're going to get into all this.

[A]

We have.

[B]

We can talk about that.

[A]

Yeah, we're going to. When we talk a little bit more about David as well and his, what he has done, we'll get even more into all that.

[B]

Yeah. Let's get back to the edr. So the EDR also recorded the time of initial impact when the airbags were actually deployed. Deployed, which was at 1:39pm on June 23, 2021. So four whole hours after Daniel said that, after Ken explained that Daniel had left the well site. So what was he doing for four hours?

[A]

I mean, yeah, considering that four hours had passed and he was only four miles away from the well site, it really makes you wonder, like it really makes you wonder. Unless he had pulled over. But again, Ken says he's watched him drive out west, yet somehow he ends up, I mean, if you can look at the map, you can see where his car was found is in that same middle of the desert area where the job site is.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So if he had gone down and headed west away from Buckeye, why would he come back into the middle of the desert? I don't think he left the middle of the desert.

[B]

Yeah, definitely.

[A]

So then that would mean that Ken isn't telling the truth.

[B]

Yeah, it would appear so.

[A]

You know, or at least it would appear so.

[B]

Yeah. Well, near where his jeep was found, there's an electrical substation where there is high voltage electricity equipment. And in Google Maps you can see that there are trucks and cars around because obviously the substation does have electricians that work there. So there were probably a handful of people somewhat nearby. Some, including Daniel's family, has questioned whether the facility, its access roads, or possible surveillance footage could provide clues. But authorities have never publicly identified the substation as like, a significant part of this investigation. But we did want to mention this because, you know, that black box data from Daniel's car brought up so many more questions. Like if he crashed his car elsewhere, why did he drive it, you know, 11 miles to a different location, get it stuck in a ditch in the middle of the desert, then take off his clothes and leave his phone and wallet and his personal belongings behind, and then where would he go? And instead, did he potentially get into a crash with a different vehicle? As I mentioned, something happened to him, and his car was staged to look like it had simply crashed in that ravine and that he walked off from the scene because there's also absolutely nowhere to walk in this location. You know, it is. It is very vast desert. There's the substation, of course, but did he stumble on it? You know, did he even walk off into the desert at all at this point? Also, there was a bottle of water that was found in his car. And this is something that. This is just one. Another mysterious piece to this puzzle that he did not take with him. So you would imagine it's very, very hot outside. You do have a bottle of water in your car, you know, that you crashed. I mean, aside from the explanation of having a head injury, if you know that you crashed and you were fine and you had to get somewhere again, why would you take off your clothes? But why would you not bring a bottle of water with you or your phone or potentially. Yeah, that's why it's all to potentially save your life.

[A]

It doesn't make sense. That's why their blankets statement makes more sense than him just walking off willingly with a full, full capabilities and capacity. Because he wouldn't have done that. But I also don't think that that happened either. I think this is so suspicious. Eleven miles on, the car after the initial crash ends up here, closed, next to the car, all the belongings inside, including the phone, and he's just absolutely nowhere. No one saw naked man on the side of the highway? Yeah, nobody. They didn't find him in any of the aerial searches. Of course, they also didn't find his phone. But so many more searches have been conducted in this area and he's nowhere.

[B]

You know, I just. My mind, it's. It's screaming foul play. I don't know. Obviously, I don't Know if that's the case, but that's just where my mind goes to. But I do want to mention that in, in Buckeye in late June, the heat persisted in the early one hundreds and every single day getting to 113 degrees four days after he went missing. So again, so hot.

[A]

Yeah. Well, as I said, the searches continued because after Daniel's car was found, law enforcement allegedly utilized helicopters, utility vehicles, drones, cadaver dogs, and searched more than 70 square miles looking for Daniel. But they didn't find a thing. And that's another reason why it's hard for me to believe that he walked off. And why would somebody pick up a naked man in the desert?

[B]

Yeah. And then where did he go from there if that did happen?

[A]

That's why I don't think he walked off. That's just me. And David Robinson believes it's because they didn't conduct a search nearly as big as they claimed. He also agrees that he doesn't think that his son just walked off, but he also thinks that they didn't find him because they didn't really look. So David and other family members and volunteers banded together yet again to continue to search for Daniel. Because it just didn't make sense that Daniel's Jeep was found out there with all of his things and there's no trace of him. And this particular desert of Arizona, the wildlife includes deer, desert fox, different birds, tortoises and javelina, which are like a medium sized pig like hooved animal that rarely attack humans. There's actually only been about five known Javelina attacks since or between 2015 and 2020. But they were all attacked. They all attacked dogs who approached them.

[B]

Yeah. So it wasn't even humans.

[A]

Yeah. So it doesn't really feel like he would have been met with any animal activity while he was still alive. Like there's no really predatory animal that would have killed him. It doesn't seem like. So yeah. There's also far less places to hide out in these parts of Arizona. I feel like it's not like he's in the forest or something like that where it's easy to conceal yourself. But like you brought up Heath, there are some mines in this area which Daniel's family search teams have checked as well. And they continue to check them. Yeah, but it seems like Daniel's family in many ways were searching so much harder for Daniel than the police were. If it wasn't obvious by the fact that police somehow missed his car during two freaking aerial searches during the Robinsons family volunteer search efforts Actually, during the summer of 2021, they came across a human skull just south of where Daniel's Jeep was. And after the skull was carefully taken in and tested for a match to see if it belonged to Daniel, it ultimately didn't. And. And it actually reportedly didn't match any other missing persons in their system, which is kind of concerning.

[B]

I mean, yeah, that's very concerning.

[A]

And then they did. They have come across other missing people throughout their search over the years, but it has never been Daniel. They've also found a lot of animal bones, but, yeah, this, this skull wasn't very far away. And it was a human skull, was not very far away from where Daniel went missing.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And from where his Jeep was found and police didn't find it.

[B]

A lot of you guys probably remember when this news was breaking because everybody thought that that was going to be a huge development in the case. They were kind of somewhat hoping that maybe it was Daniel so that they could have some closure, but then it didn't end up being Daniel. It's one of the most frustrating things in this case because it literally took David's search teams to find a skull out in the desert.

[A]

David's money, David's PI, David's boots on the ground, volunteers.

[B]

So this goes to show you just how much time and effort and resources David is putting into searching for his son.

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

Well, PI McGrath stated, quote, minimum, we have an endangered missing persons case. There's no evidence that he built an account somewhere to have money. He didn't have much money to begin with. He didn't have his phone, his id. We didn't see any of that pre planning that you would typically see if somebody just wanted to be gone somewhere else. Now, that said, many posit that Daniel was potentially met with foul play. I think a lot of us believe that, as well as both law enforcement and the family's PI had acknowledged, it appears that someone went into his home computer and when his phone was found in his car, it was wiped clean and its memory card was missing.

[A]

That's weird.

[B]

Yeah. So was someone really involved with whatever happened to him? Did it have to do with his work? You know, some posit, the man who found him, this rancher, could be responsible with Daniel having found himself on his property. Or was Daniel having a hard time, left the job site to be alone and assess his life, only to get into a car accident that injured him, causing him to walk off into the desert and meet a natural death?

[A]

I think the memory card being missing is really bizarre because that can't be explained. Explained.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Did he. Like he left everything behind except he is walking naked through the desert with his memory card in his hand. Where is it? And obviously he had his memory card in his phone before he went missing. Because he was using his phone.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So what's that about?

[B]

If you were responsible for that initial crash into Daniel's vehicle, and like, if you were responsible for it, you're the one that caused that crash. You know, it's possible that you would go to jail for something like that. Depending. Just really depending on the situation. But if that's the case, all these other little things lead us to believe that some sort of COVID up was. Was happening here. Whether it was a random person that had just randomly got into a car accident with Daniel or it was somebody that he knew, as we mentioned, somebody that he worked with. We don't know. But I just. I find that so suspicious. Taking out the memory card, going on his home computer. Yeah. If they're all connected.

[A]

Yeah. And I. I mean, I just. I totally agree with you. I think it's really real. We have so many bizarre pieces to this story and that can't be explained. I think the memory card is the weirdest thing because the computer thing I think is really weird too. I just wish we had a little more information about it. Like what time the computer was accessed. Was it like the next day, which we saw in shoot Joshua? Yes, we saw that. Some weird computer activity in his case as well. That's a crazy story too. But the memory card being missing from his phone. This is why we can't access his phone. So was there something on his phone? What did. Did he communicate with somebody? Did he write something down? Like, it's just impossible to say. But why is that memory card missing? It's really freaking weird. But of course, again, this entire time police have brushed off the idea of foul play and believe that he crashed the car and walked away from the scene. But they have no answers as to where he went or what happened from there and don't seem to have any interest in finding out. And David often points out that he himself tried to drive the area where his son's Jeep was found in a similar vehicle in like a big SUV that's meant for off roading, going 30 miles per hour. And because of all the little hills, he couldn't even get up to 30 miles per hour because, you know, the car is like bouncing like crazy.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

Which is why he believes the original crash where he was traveling 30 miles per hour, he thinks the 30 miles per hour is actually for the original crash and that something happens somewhere else where you can drive 30 miles per hour, not in the middle of the desert, which, again, would lead us, give us more reason to believe that this crash, this first crash, happened somewhere else while he was going about 30 miles per hour. He did or didn't break. Maybe he didn't break that first time. Maybe he did and he didn't break the second time.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then his car was put into that ravine in the desert.

[B]

One other thing that we should probably mention real quickly before we move on is we are not privy to whether or not they looked for DNA evidence within the car that maybe wouldn't match.

[A]

Of course.

[B]

Wouldn't match.

[A]

Like on the airbags. They're like saliva on the airbag.

[B]

Yeah. Or was there, you know, fingerprints? Or was there some sort of DNA on his clothes that were left outside? This is something that I think would clear up some answers for us, maybe not give us the whole picture, which

[A]

is why it's so disappointing that the police have continued to drop the ball, because they have the magic wand in their hand, and they're able to do a lot of things that David is not, and they're not doing it. So it just leaves all of us to wonder what happened? Who, where, why?

[B]

Yeah. And this is why David is so. Not only the fact that this is his son and he loves him very much, but this is why David is so on top of this investigation.

[A]

Absolutely. Well, right now, there is not enough evidence to point to one conclusion, but

[B]

just a lot of speculation at this point.

[A]

Yeah. But what we do know is that five years later, Daniel Robinson has still not been found. And his father and his family are out there looking for him, advocating for him and other missing persons every single day. And they deserve the answers, actually. David Robinson ii, Daniel's father, in addition to leading the search for his son, entered politics in 2024 and ran as a candidate for Arizona's 8th congressional district. And he said his campaign was driven by a desire to advocate for missing persons and bring greater accountability and transparency to investigations.

[B]

I love that.

[A]

I know. I love it, too. He's. He's so amazing, like, an incredible man. And although he did not win the seat, he has continued using his public platform to keep Daniel's case in the spotlight and push for answers. And he is even running for. For Congress again this year in 2026. Love it in South Carolina.

[B]

Let's go.

[A]

When he vanished, Daniel Robinson was 24 years old. Meaning today, he would be 29. He's a 58 black male who is around 165 pounds with short black hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information that can help solve this case and bring closure to the Robinson family is urged to call the Buckeye Police Department's non emergency number at 623-349-6400. But of course, you can also submit a tip to David Robinson himself on the website. Please help find daniel.com that there's a contact area there you can email.

[B]

You might have better luck actually doing that.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

To be honest.

[A]

Yes. And you can actually submit an anonymous tip even. So David reads all of those. Thank you so much everybody for listening to this episode of Going West.

[B]

Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. Please make sure that you share today's case. Please make sure that you share the missing poster. We will also post that on our socials. Also, you know, anything that is involved with David's search for his son Daniel, we will post that on our socials. Again, we're on Instagram @goingwest podcast. We're on Facebook. We do have a TikTok as well. So please, please, please share and make

[A]

sure that you follow us a lot or follow along with us on YouTube and watch our videos on YouTube where you can see photos obviously, like you may have today for this episode. And yeah, please share this story. It is so devastating again, just after five years to watch David on Instagram constantly out there looking for his son, doing literally everything that he can.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Every single day to get answers.

[B]

Isn't he urging people to send the missing poster to the Buckeye pd?

[A]

Oh, yeah. So he has actually on the website, please help find daniel.com. you can print out these different flyers and they're like PDFs and you can print them out. And he's encouraging people to mail them to the Buckeye Police Department essentially to reopen the case. Because they, they are, to them, they're like, they're done. We're done.

[B]

Yeah, they're like, we didn't find anything. This is closed.

[A]

We don't think he was met with foul play.

[B]

But of course, to David, the story will never be done until he finds Daniel.

[A]

And let's be honest, there are way too many weird pieces to the story to just let it go at. Well, he must have walked away and died somewhere.

[B]

You can't ignore it.

[A]

You cannot ignore it. This is such a truly perplexing story. So thank you guys for tuning in. Share, share, share. And we'll see you guys on Friday.

[B]

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