Going West: True Crime - Daniel Robinson // 140

Starting point is 00:00:00 What is going on to crime fans, I'm your host Tee. And I'm your other host, Daphne. And you're listening to Going West. Thank you so much everybody for tuning in to Going West this week. Today we have a very important missing persons case to share with you guys that you may have seen circulating news outlets and social media. We've been sharing it a few times over the last week, and Daniel's family is desperate for answers. And the details of this case are deeply puzzling and concerning.

Starting point is 00:00:43 So please, please make sure to share his story, share his photo, and if you're in the Phoenix area and want to help, his family is still getting volunteers together weekly to continue the search for Daniel. Watching interviews with Daniel's dad, David, is just devastating because you see him gleam about his son, and David has been doing everything in his power to figure out what happened to Daniel. So we really need to share this story and spread the word, and hopes of helping this poor family figure out what happened to their incredible loved one. So although Daniel's family is fairly adamant that Daniel was met with foul play, based

Starting point is 00:01:17 on the details we'll go into in this episode, they still refer to him in the present tense, so we will be doing the same. Alright guys, this is episode 140 of Going West, so let's get into it. On the morning of June 23rd, 2021, a 24-year-old geologist living in Arizona headed out to a job site for work before suddenly leaving 15 minutes later and not being heard from again. One month later, his car was found in a desert ravine alongside the clothes he was wearing the day he disappeared. When the young man's family and a private investigator began looking into the car's internal accident reports, some incredibly suspicious details came to light.

Starting point is 00:02:35 This is the story of Daniel Robinson. Daniel Cornelius Robinson was born on January 14, 1997 in Columbia, South Carolina, to his mother Melissa and his father David. Before him came a brother, and then a set of twin sisters, and about 10 years after Daniel was born, another sister, making five Robinson kids total. Daniel grew up with a ton of potential and is an incredible musician, an excitable outdoorsman, and an avid traveler. He was born without a right hand and part of his forearm, but his dad explains that he didn't let that stop him from doing anything, that he was the kind of kid who continued to challenge himself

Starting point is 00:03:39 and accomplish his goals. And you'll really see that in this episode. Daniel's family is a huge part of his life, and he's always kept in contact with his parents and siblings, especially after graduating from AC Flora High School and leaving Colombia to begin attending the College of Charleston in South Carolina, which are just about two hours apart. They are Daniel's studied archaeology, but continuing to play music on the side with friends, like the French horn and the trombone, around Charleston. And speaking of friends, he has a ton of them, because he really is just a happy, go-lucky guy who

Starting point is 00:04:17 seemed to always be rocking a smile. He's 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 have Daniel began attending the College of Charleston in 2015 and during this time He was part of the geology club. He was a teaching assistant part of a group called leader shape and also the Lambda Theta Phi Latin fraternity also the Lambda Theta Phi Latin fraternity. In 2019, he graduated with his Bachelor of Applied Science focused in geology and earth science, and then went on to work as a docent for the Mace Brown Museum of Natural History in Charleston,

Starting point is 00:04:57 and also worked as a circulation assistant at the Adelstone Library in Charleston. And he did both of these jobs for three years before heading out to Tucson, Arizona assistant at the Adelstown Library in Charleston. And he did both of these jobs for three years before heading out to Tucson, Arizona to take one final course. And then he was hired by a company called Matrix New World Engineering in Phoenix, Arizona in June of 2019 as a staff hydrogeologist. So he was finally getting to work in his chosen field and he was

Starting point is 00:05:25 extremely happy about this. And by the way, hydrogeologists study the way that groundwater moves through soil and rock of the earth. So it's really, really interesting stuff. So fast forward to June of 2021. Daniel had been working at this job for over two years and everything had been going great. He loved hiking and exploring Arizona, he had a rock collection, he loved hanging out with his friends and co-workers there, and he absolutely loved his job. He was also working a side job for

Starting point is 00:05:55 a food delivery service, but his family noticed something strange around this time, that Daniel started to make some bizarre comments here and there. Also on June 12th, 2021, he was delivering food to a young woman's house when she had apparently invited him in to hang out. And things kinda went downhill from there, because after he left, he was texting her and he was really interested, but sadly she just didn't feel the same. He'd also allegedly shown up to her house randomly, and later told his family that he loved this woman.

Starting point is 00:06:30 He also started taking, like, quick trips without telling anyone in his family, and all this was incredibly out of the ordinary for him, because Daniel always told someone in his family what he was up to. But his family was feeling like he just wasn't acting like himself. Because whether he was telling things to just his siblings or just his parents, they were incredibly tight-knit, and Daniel was known to keep them in the loop of everything that was going on in his life. You know, they were just that kind of family.

Starting point is 00:06:59 But Daniel's sister was also living in Phoenix, so he did have someone in the family close by. But still, Daniel's family states that although in Phoenix, so he did have someone in the family close by. But still, Daniel's family states that although some of his behavior in these final couple weeks was a bit off, there was no indication that he was unhappy or unwell or that he wished to harm himself or leave the area. And when we say final weeks, we just mean the final weeks before he went missing. Yes. So, on Wednesday, June 23rd, 2021, 24-year-old Daniel Robinson had been set to work at a

Starting point is 00:07:33 well site at 9am in Buckeye, Arizona. And a well site is just a location where there's multiple wells that are drilled for the purpose of extracting naturally occurring oil and gas from the earth's crust. So this job was near Sun Valley Parkway in Cactus Road, which is just around 45 miles or 72 kilometers northwest of Phoenix. And it's definitely in the desert. I mean, when you see pictures of it, you'll be like, yep, that's the desert.

Starting point is 00:08:02 And disclaimer, we're going to give you guys a lot of information about this area because it's very relevant to this case very important so make sure you pay attention. So from this job site if you drive 12 miles south of this area you'll hit highway and then the city of Buckeye etc. The work site is directly surrounded by some regional parks, a golf club that's a seven minute drive north of this spot, and a monastery called our Lady of Solitude Monastery that's also in the desert about 15-ish miles west as the crow flies from this work site. And then there's a lot more desert if you go northwest.

Starting point is 00:08:41 So just to give you a visual and an idea of what's directly around this area because it really does matter. It does. I mean, it's really important to kind of figure out where Daniel was last seen. So we're going to be referencing a lot of different photos and maps and areas. So go follow us on social media or just go check if you want to kind of follow along visually because I think it will help with this episode for sure. Yeah, but I mean, just so you guys know, this area is remote. There's a lot of space in between things that are out there in that area.

Starting point is 00:09:13 So yeah, very, very deserty. And if you can't look at photos right now if you're driving or whatever, we're gonna do our best to describe it to you with words, which is why Heath just kind of broke it all down like that. So in Buck guy at 9 a.m. it was already almost 90 degrees and it got to be 104 degrees at its hottest that day at around 4 p.m. which as many of us know is extremely typical for Arizona weather, especially in the summer. So at around 915 a.m. Daniel Robinson met up with his coworker Ken Elliott to assess this well site, which was a typical job that they did.

Starting point is 00:09:50 That morning, Ken remembers that they talked about the weather, as well as the job they were set to do, and everything seemed normal with Daniel. But as the minutes passed on, Ken says Daniel started to get a bit distracted. Like maybe something was on his mind and he was looking around a lot. Ken originally wondered if Daniel was on drugs, but as he studied his eyes and his behavior, Ken noticed that his pupils were not dilated and he just seemed more so distracted versus high. And this was the first time that Ken and Daniel had met as well, so he wasn't aware of Daniel's typical personality.

Starting point is 00:10:29 And by the way, as far as we can tell in our research, Daniel did not do drugs. Right, so this is just Ken's assessment of what he saw going on with Daniel. After this, Daniel did something very strange that morning. He just turned around and walked over to his blue grey 2017 Jeep Renegade. Now Ken thought that he was just going to get something out of his car, but apparently Daniel actually got inside, put on his seatbelt, looked at Ken, waived, and backed out and drove away. So just randomly Daniel gets into his car and he just leaves. Now Daniel was a very hard worker and he also loved his job as we've mentioned.

Starting point is 00:11:12 So this seems extremely bizarre and also extremely out of character. Daniel's boss said that he's a valued member of this team so this is just very very strange. Yeah and I wanted to find out more about Ken Elliott, and according to my research, he is about 57 years old, which makes sense because articles that I read called Daniel a younger geologist compared to Ken. And he works as a pump technician and has done that since he got his bachelor's of science in geology back in 1989 at Arizona State University. And this is all according to his LinkedIn page.

Starting point is 00:11:47 Now, I'm not saying he's involved in any way. I just think it's really unfortunate that Ken was the only person, as far as we know, to witness Daniel leaving the site. Because we just kind of have to go off what Ken says. But Ken also mentioned how weird he thought it was that Daniel had just gotten there, you know, 15 minutes earlier, and then left. Because this area is at least a 45 minute drive away from his apartment in Phoenix. Well, specifically Tempe, which is just east of Phoenix.

Starting point is 00:12:16 So going all that way just to leave didn't make sense. But yeah, I don't know. I just wish we knew more about Ken and I don't know, just no more about his character, so we feel like we can trust what he's saying. Again, not saying that we can't trust him, but, you know, it's only natural to want this when this is the only person to have this information. Yeah, when you have limited information with this case, you kind of want to know every single person that's involved. And obviously, we're not saying Ken's involved, but he is involved in the scenario that happened that morning. Exactly. So after Daniel reportedly drove away from the job site, Ken Elliott called their other coworkers on the phone regarding this situation.

Starting point is 00:12:57 Apparently thinking that maybe Daniel was just not really feeling very well. But as the day progressed, none of his co-workers saw or heard anything from Daniel. And this is when Ken Elliott says that he went investigating a bit on his own and saw Daniel's tire tracks heading into the desert. And Ken stated at that point that his heart sank because this made him believe that Daniel wasn't headed home and that something wasn't right. I think it's really interesting that he says he saw his tire tracks heading into the desert because I don't know, again, it was just them too out there,

Starting point is 00:13:31 but how do you know those weren't tire tracks from a different car from a different day? It's just like a, I don't know. Right, and this is a very vast open area. So first of all, if Ken saw Daniel leave, he would know what direction Daniel was headed in. So I don't know if the tire tracks would matter all that much, but also on top of this, we have to remember that this whole area kind of is the desert.

Starting point is 00:13:58 So saying he was headed out into the desert, you know, maybe away from the job site into a more remote area, but all of this is the desert, you know, maybe away from the job site into a more remote area, but all of this is the desert. Or right, but that's what I mean. Like to kind of surely say that he, his tire tracks were headed out into the desert. I just, I guess I just wonder, I wish I knew more about that as well. Like how did you know those were Daniels tire tracks? True, and we obviously have no way to verify this.

Starting point is 00:14:23 So again, one of Daniel's sisters lives in Phoenix as well and the way that the Robinson's discover that Daniel was missing was when his co-workers actually went to his sister and explained that they were looking for him. She immediately of course called their parents and explained the situation, which made everybody called Daniel over and over again on his cell phone, 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 just always reachable. David, who again is Daniel's dad, tried to call into the local Arizona police to report Daniel missing, but he was told that he had to wait 12 hours,

Starting point is 00:15:08 which would be around 3 a.m.ish, so David actually waited and called them back in the middle of the night and they took his report, but it being the middle of the night, they reportedly refused to go out looking for him. So now this was June 24th, so the day after Daniel went missing, and his family requested a helicopter search, which was apparently denied. All they did was go to

Starting point is 00:15:32 his apartment where Daniel didn't answer the door, and they didn't go inside either. With that, the following morning, the 25th, David called again to ask if they would search for Daniel by helicopter. Because now it's been a couple days, he's not answering his phone, he's nowhere to be seen, you know, this is very concerning. And he says, David says that the officers checked with the higher ups and the search request was declined, because Daniel was 24, so he was a legal adult and was allowed to, you know, disappear or go off willingly, you know, if he wanted to. So Daniel's family was outraged, of course, because by this time,

Starting point is 00:16:13 a couple days had gone by, and as we know, the first 24 to 48 hours are extremely crucial in a case. So Daniel's aunt called the police, and based on what she said, police explained that they would go out and do a search for him. They supplied the police with photos of Daniel and gave the following information for the missing poster. Daniels birthday, his description, which is a 24-year-old black male who stands at five, eight,

Starting point is 00:16:42 weighs 165 pounds, and has black hair and brown eyes. His car again is a blue grey 2017 Jeep Renegade with Arizona license plate NLA-2CMA. But by this time, which was now June 26, 2021, by the way, so three whole days after Daniel's last scene at the work site, David was already in his car headed down to Arizona to search for his son himself. And when he got there, he and his daughter, Daniel's sister, conducted their own search right there in Buckeye and Phoenix. By this time, Daniel's phone was still going straight to voicemail, so they tried to reach out to his GPS company to see if his phone and or car could be tracked, but that didn't work either as his car was also off.

Starting point is 00:17:34 Also nothing in his bank records suggested that he had been spending money at all, so they didn't have a location for that either. They were just completely at a loss at this point. When the Phoenix police began searching for Daniel, which was on July 7, they conducted searches in the air as well as on land, and they did pull phone records, which have not been released, but they didn't lead to his location again because his phone was off. But according to the records, police say it didn't appear he made another call or text after leaving the job site.

Starting point is 00:18:08 They also checked hospitals for him, but again, nothing. So Daniel was placed in the national database for missing people, and that was kind of that. But by the way, the area they searched by land and air has been reported on a map that we posted if you want a visual, but they covered the area that we discussed earlier, like the golf club, the regional parks, and just a really, really large area. Daniel's family hired a private investigator named Jeff McGrath, who quickly began investigating

Starting point is 00:18:39 Daniel's disappearance because it seemed the investigation was lacking, like they did all this searching for Daniel Which was awesome, but then they just kind of halted that where as Daniel's family was like you need to be out there looking Constantly, yeah, consistently. Yeah, so they had to do that themselves Because you know despite the air and the land search Daniel's family felt that something was wrong Whereas police apparently felt that Daniel could have gone off willingly. So Daniel's family, as well as 75 to 200 volunteers, continued to search for Daniel every Saturday.

Starting point is 00:19:17 But nearly one month after Daniel went missing, something incredibly suspicious was found out in that desert. On Monday, July 19, 2021, a rancher spotted Daniel's 2017 Jeep Renegade in a ravine about 4 miles southwest of the job site. His Jeep was found on this man's vast property on its side in a ditch. And we definitely recommend that you go look at those photos, but there was significant damage to the vehicle. It's possible that this was missed in the air search, and I can understand there's bushes in the area that could have potentially, you know,

Starting point is 00:20:15 his Jeep could have potentially looked like that from the air, depending on how high they were in the helicopter, but I feel like if you did a really thorough search, you probably would have seen it. Yeah, I mean, there were you did a really thorough search, you probably would have seen it. Yeah, I mean, there were desert bushes and brush around it, and there is a photo of the Jeep more so from the air like just a much higher angle. Yeah, that aerial kind of view.

Starting point is 00:20:36 And I'm kind of like, I could see how you could have missed that because it's, it's a dark color. It just looks kind of like the same color as a bush. However, Buckeye Police 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." So with that said, the Jeep is a bluish gray color, so it definitely doesn't stand out like we just said. But it does seem a bit strange that the area where the Jeep was found is within the perimeter where police had actually searched, yet it wasn't found until a month later

Starting point is 00:21:11 by the owner of that land. So Daniel was not found inside the car and neither was any blood. 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 pretty significant. And unfortunately, the photos that have been released of the Jeep aren't the greatest

Starting point is 00:21:33 and it's hard to tell exactly where the car saw damage. But more on the crash site. Just a few feet from the Jeep were the clothes Daniel had been wearing that day and his boots, and his cell phone, wallet, and keys were inside the Jeep. And because these things were found at the scene, police speculated that Daniel may have suffered a head injury during the crash, which again is full speculation, stripped himself of his clothes and wandered off, and they did not suspect foul play. We did read somewhere that said police didn't process the inside of his car because they didn't think that foul play was involved,

Starting point is 00:22:15 but were unsure if they still have the car in their presence anyway, and maybe if they've been able to test anything since. But it just didn't seem like police really thought there was anything suspicious here. Yeah, I mean, they kind of took the crash at face value. Yeah, exactly. And before we get into more details regarding the car, I don't see how they could speculate that he suffered a head injury and just walked off because again, there was no blood found in the vehicle, which doesn't mean that he couldn't have hit his head and not blood externally, but the car wasn't demolished. It was just very banged up and on its side

Starting point is 00:22:52 and the airbags deployed. Also, there wasn't any trace or evidence of Daniel walking away from the scene at all. Investigator stated that evidence showed the airbags deployed in the vehicle and Daniel, or the driver, was wearing their seatbelt when the crash originally occurred. But there's a lot more to the crash than investigators discussed.

Starting point is 00:23:15 And also another thing, something I found in my research is that 2017 Jeep Renegades are equipped with EDR, also known as Event Data Recorder, or an Event Data Recorder, as well as an Enhanced Accident Response System. So the purpose of an EDR is to record data that will help vehicle companies, you know, kind of understand how said vehicle performed during a crash or a crash like situation. The EDR features do vary by car, but typically they capture 15 variables around 20 seconds before a crash and 5-10 seconds after. And here's a few variables on the list. Crash duration, application of brakes and anti-lock brake, change in speed after impact, activation of fault codes or warning signals, vehicle roll angle, number of ignition attempts after the accident, weight of front seat

Starting point is 00:24:18 occupants, position of front seats, number of impacts, and deployment of airbags. Now I wasn't able to find out if the 2017 Jeep Renegade has all of these features, and I did even check the owner's manual, but I think this is a very important thing to find out, because knowing every detail of the crash would really help determine whether it was purposeful or accidental. And I think the weight factor, you know, the weight of the front seat occupants would give us the information of whether or not Daniel was the one driving the car. So I do wonder if investigators are looking into this, this or if the PI Jeff McGrath

Starting point is 00:25:00 is looking into this particularly. But I mean, as we're about to discuss, it seems like PI Jeff McGrath really is looking into these kind of details which is awesome. Yeah so something that we do know is that David, Daniel's dad, hired an accident reconstructionist who worked with PI Jeff McGrath as we mentioned to help piece together how Daniel's car ended up that way it did in that ravine. And they both agreed that something just wasn't right. The damage on the Jeep did not match the terrain where it was laying. P.I. Jeff McGrath downloaded the Jeep's ACM, the Airbag Control Module,

Starting point is 00:25:38 and discovered that the Jeep was started 46 times after the airbags were deployed. Or at least the ignition was turned over 46 times, which just didn't seem normal at all. That means that after the car was crashed, the car, you know, somebody tried to start the car 46 times. Exactly. I mean, that's a lot. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:26:00 So somebody was really trying to get that car going. So Daphne had mentioned all the things that an EDR records. and luckily we know some of the variables were discovered by the PI, who also was able to determine through the ACM that 11 miles was put on the car after the airbags deployed, meaning that the car was driven around after it crashed. He also found that the Jeep recorded that the collision occurred at around 1pm. So almost 4 hours after Daniel was last seen.

Starting point is 00:26:36 And remember, the Jeep was found only 4 miles from where Daniel was set to work that day, so it's really interesting that, you know, four hours later, this crash occurs. It's so bizarre to me these details because we know, according to police who looked to his phone records, that he hadn't used his phone after, you know, around 9.15 or so a.m. after he left his job site. So what was he doing for four hours in that area? You know, if he wasn't on his phone, and why was the car driven 11 miles after it crashed when four hours has passed? Well, I think what I totally see what you're saying. So he was only four miles away from his job site.

Starting point is 00:27:20 That doesn't mean that he only drove four miles total, right? But if 11 miles was put on it after it crashed, where did the car crash originally? Because it wasn't in that ravine. Exactly, because, you know, as this indicates, there were two separate crash sites. And we mapped out the location of where Daniel's Jeep was found in relation to his work site,

Starting point is 00:27:41 and when we zoom into the area, it's right by something called Wagner Wash. And a desert wash is basically vegetation occurring in ravine areas that lack water, so lots of ravines over in Wagner Wash. And one of those ravines is where the Jeep was discovered. Right by the crash site is what looks like to us and we asked he's dad too because yeah we had to consult father Bob yes he thought it looks like a possible mining area I don't really know it looks empty from the Google Maps image from this year so go take a look and let us know if you have any idea what it

Starting point is 00:28:21 is it might not be relevant but I think it's interesting. His Jeep was found near this kind of like It's not a paved area. It's just like it looks like something used to be there. Yeah, it looks like it might have been an old work site for something Exactly. So, um, you know, we're just curious since his Jeep was found so close by if it could be relevant and by the way There are more remote desert roads back in this area, as well as the area where Daniel was working on June 23rd. So you don't just have to take the main paved road to get around back here. So it's possible that Daniel went driving down the dirt roads, and somehow came in contact with the wrong person, or was met with foul play somehow,

Starting point is 00:29:03 you know, total speculation. It's just incredibly hard to imagine what could have happened to him. And if it could possibly have anything to do with anyone that worked or lived back in that area. But it doesn't look like there's any houses out there, but there are some small buildings in such scattered around, and you know, or just little work sites. We just can't tell what they are from Google Maps. And pretty close to where his Jeep was found

Starting point is 00:29:28 is an electrical substation, where there is a high voltage electricity equipment. And in the maps, there are also some trucks and cars around because substation electricians work there. So there were probably a handful of people somewhat nearby when Daniel went missing. Right, so it's very possible that Ken Elliott might not have been the last person to see Daniel.

Starting point is 00:29:53 So with this information and just the look of the scene, many are speculating that the car was crashed and that someone moved it to a different location, i.e. the ravine. Because even if Daniel crashed the car himself the first time, why would he drive it to a different location to get it stuck in a ditch in the middle of the desert? And then take off his clothes and leave his phone and wallet? And then where would he even go?

Starting point is 00:30:19 Also there was a bottle of water found in his car, meaning if the theory that he did just walk off into the desert is true, why wouldn't he bring the water bottle? And in Buckeye and late June, the heat persisted in the early 100s every single day, getting to 113 degrees, four days after he went missing, so extremely hot. So yeah, I don't know why he would leave the bottle of water in his car. That just doesn't make any sense. Well, aunt is close and his phone and his shoes.

Starting point is 00:30:49 It, none of it makes sense. So again, even though police said that they potentially overlooked the vehicle, they did search via air and land in that area. And so did David and tons of other volunteers. So his father David really believes that the Jeep was dumped there at some point. And dumped to potentially throw off the investigation and get police and the family looking in an area that is completely irrelevant to wherever Daniel is or was. After Daniel's car was found, police, alongside outside agencies, got together with utility vehicles, helicopters, drones, cadaver dogs, and more, and searched more than 70 square miles looking for Daniel.

Starting point is 00:31:35 But they didn't find a thing. and volunteers banded together yet again to continue the search for Daniel, because it just didn't make any sense that Daniel's Jeep was found out there with all his belongings, yet there was absolutely no trace of him. And really quick, this is why I don't think that he simply got into an accident and wanders off. In this particular desert of Arizona,

Starting point is 00:32:02 the wildlife includes deer, desert fox, different birds, probably some snakes I didn't read what particular snakes I could find that in my research, a tortoise, and javelina, which is a medium-sized pig-like hoved mammal that rarely attacks humans. And actually, there were only five known javelina attacks from 2015 to 2020 in Arizona, and actually, there were only five known Javalina attacks from 2015 to 2020 in Arizona, and there were all attacks on dogs who approached them. Also, because a massive search was conducted both before and after the Jeep was found, and he was still nowhere to be seen, I mean, this is the desert, it's not the woods, there's far less places to hide out in these parts of Arizona. Except for mines, of course, which Daniel's family has been searching mines and been

Starting point is 00:32:51 checking different ones that they come across even up until just a few days ago. Yeah, I think that's really important because, you know, the landscape is so different in that area. Obviously, you don't have trees and caves and stuff like that, but you do have mines and mine shafts, so it's really important to look in those areas as well. Which they are, and now it's been three months, and I mean, really, the Robin Sins

Starting point is 00:33:16 and all their volunteers are working so hard on this, and they're really trying to push police to help use their resources to continue to search because although they have done a couple searches, Daniel still hasn't been found and the circumstances of his disappearance are really, really strange. Exactly, but after the Jeep was found, they kept looking anyway. And the Robinson Family Volunteer Search Team came across a human school just south of where Daniel's Jeep was, which kind of

Starting point is 00:33:46 begs the question how hard did police actually search here. After the skull was carefully taken and tested for a match, it was determined not to belong to Daniel, and it actually didn't match any other missing persons in their system, which is very concerning and questionable. Other bones were found during the search for Daniel, but they were all determined to be animal bones. And this all just really makes me think. I mean, the fact that the ignition was turned over 46 times, heath you mentioned earlier

Starting point is 00:34:15 to me that you wonder if, you know, Daniel was met with somebody dangerous and something happened to him that way. If you turn it over 46 times, if maybe somebody hot-wired his car, maybe the ignition wouldn't start. 46 times is a lot to try to turn over a car's ignition. Yeah, and I'm sure that more information is gonna come out about how well they looked over this Jeep.

Starting point is 00:34:41 But I am curious about that. If this person turned over the car 46 times after the first crash, is it possible that they had to fix the vehicle in order to get it to actually start on the 47th time, or did it just magically start on the 47th time, all of that is really interesting to me. Well, and the fact, again, that his Jeep drove 11 miles after the accident and then was found in a ravine on its side. Like where the hell did the first accident occur? And why?

Starting point is 00:35:12 And how is there no sign of Daniel after all this searching when his car was found in such a deserted area, yet that was still only four miles from the site that he worked that day? And I mean, did someone else dump his car to throw off the investigation? Yeah, these are all extremely valid questions, and I want you guys to think about this as well and kind of, you know, help peace together this puzzle. So PI McGrath stated, at 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 see if somebody just wanted to go be somewhere

Starting point is 00:35:54 else. In the latest statement released by police on September 16, 2021, it read, Buckeye Police continue to analyze evidence and explore leads. 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. Thank you so much everybody for listening to this episode of Going West. Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. Let's help David and the rest of the Robinson family get justice and find out where Daniel is at. Thank you so much for listening and share this episode.

Starting point is 00:36:47 There's a GoFundMe where Daniel's family is trying to raise money to help cover searching costs. They've already raised a ton of money, which is amazing, but every little bit counts. So either click the link in the episode description or Google Daniel Robinson GoFundMe if you'd like to donate. And if you guys are interested where that money goes to, it's a lot of these investigations actually require quite a bit of financial funding, especially the Robinson's being out in Arizona, having to take time off of work.

Starting point is 00:37:16 The PI. The PI. Just a lot of different resources, food, hotel, so. Also, David Robinson started a petition to get Daniel's case changed from a missing person's case to a criminal investigation. It's been just over three months since Daniel has been heard from, and he has none of his belongings with him and somehow has not been found, so it's heavily believed by many that something very bad happened to him.

Starting point is 00:37:42 So if you'd like to sign this petition, please click the link in the description of this episode or Google, Daniel Robinson, change.org petition. It's really awesome, everybody who's donating and setting the petition. Heath and I donated, we also signed the petition a few days ago and we just really want to help his family in any way we can. That's why we're doing this episode.

Starting point is 00:38:03 You know, Heath and I really never do current missing persons cases. And it's not because we don't want to. It's just because, you know, I feel like more so lately, these missing persons cases are really coming to light. And there's a lot of information. A lot of people are talking about them. So we want to help in any way that we can.

Starting point is 00:38:19 And we urge you guys to do the same by sharing Daniel's story and his photo and everything else. Yeah, and we've also seen the power that you guys to do the same by sharing Daniel's story and his photo and everything else. Yeah, and we've also seen the power that you guys have to help solve cases, you know, even if it's just through donating or sharing stories or just awareness. So please, please help if you can. And thank you guys so much. And of course, we have to give thanks this week to everybody who joined our Patreon. You guys are amazing.

Starting point is 00:38:44 Patreon is where you guys can get bonus episodes. Patreon.com slash going west podcast. Thank you to Brianna, Judith, Viola, Shaila, Mallory, Patrick, Taylor, and Diana. Thank you so much to Alicia, Angie, Stephanie, Joseph, Taylor, Michaela, Cheryl, and Lindsay. Big thanks going out to Fah or F.A. I'm not really sure. Allie, Amber, Ivana, Taylor, Matasha, Jenny, and Stephanie. And last but not least, thank you so much to Mikaela, Wes, Alissa, Elaine, Jessica, Jade, Jay, Lauren, Chase, and Jodie. You guys are amazing. You really help keep going, Wes going. Yes, we appreciate every single one of you guys.

Starting point is 00:39:48 So for everybody out there in the world, cheerio and don't be a stranger. Thank you. you

Going West: True Crime - Daniel Robinson // 140

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