Buckeye Police Department
- The search for Gabby Petito renewed scrutiny around the case of missing Daniel Robinson.
- Robinson, a 24-year-old geologist, was last seen leaving a job site in Buckeye, Arizona in July 2021.
- Police recovered Robinson's vehicle in a ravine but have not found Robinson or remains belonging to him.
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The search for Gabby Petito, the 22-year-old who was reported missing and later found deceased after a cross-country van trip with her fiancé, has renewed the urgency to find other missing persons across the country.
One case is that of Daniel Robinson, a 24-year-old geologist who was last seen on June 23 in Buckeye, Arizona leaving a job site near Sun Valley Parkway and Cactus Road. Local police have recovered his vehicle but nothing else.
"Since his disappearance, the Buckeye Police Department has worked with outside agencies to search more than 70 square miles in an effort to locate Daniel. Investigators have utilized UTVs, cadaver dogs, and air support including a drone and a helicopter," Buckeye PD said in a statement on September 16.
Buckeye PD did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
-Buckeye Police Dept (@BuckeyeAZPD) September 17, 2021
Police recovered Robinson's Jeep, which sustained "significant damage," in a ravine on July 19. They later found a human skull on July 31 but confirmed it did not belong to Robinson.
"No additional human remains have been found, despite online reports claiming otherwise," the department said.
Robinson's family is offering a $10,000 reward for information that helps find him. They have also set up GoFundMe that has raised over $56,000 to assist in costs associated with the search.
Daniel's father, David Robinson II, is an organizer of the fundraiser and said he has been on "the frontline of all efforts to locate my son."
"Like any father, I attend on staying indefinitely until we have answers and bring Daniel home safely," Robinson II said on the GoFundMe.
The Robinson family did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
"It has been over two months with no leads or evidence towards Daniel's disappearance as well as failed tracking of his vehicle and phone GPS location that could determine exactly what happened that day," Robinson II said on a website dedicated to finding Daniel.
Robinson II added that the desert search for Daniel has led to the recovery of "close to five or six human remains in the areas we searched" that belonged to other missing persons.
Petito's case has also brought increased scrutiny to searches for missing people in the same area in Wyoming, where hundreds of Indigenous women and children have gone missing with little to no media attention.
Anyone with information relating to Robinson is urged to call Buckeye PD at 623-349-6400.