Morbid
Morbid

The Disappearance of Daniel Robinson

3d ago55:4410,245 words
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Anyone with any knowledge of his disappearance is encouraged to reach out to the family through their 24/7 tip line at 844-602-0660, or to the Buckeye Police Department at 623-349-6411.When twenty-fou...

Transcript

EN

Hey weirdos I'm Ash.

Oh, it is to make you the petter patter. Oh my god today is the most beautiful day ever

It's feeling full. I woke up and I looked up the weather and it said feels like 65 And I And then I put on a new sweatshirt that I didn't know had some holes. Oh That there's nothing better nothing better than a thumb hole nothing better and a new sweatshirt It's what a weather, but it's also sweatshirt weather

I am into it. We put on how the weintown this morning. Oh, yeah, we eat our breakfast

β€œIt's real. I'm gonna bake today. I'm gonna bake today. What are you making?”

I know make some apple crisp. I'm making apple crisp. Oh, yeah, Bruce specifically wanted apple crisp

I got to make some pumpkin loaves. What app do you use honey crisp?

Honey crisp apples. Yes, you're apple crisp. I do. I usually work really well. Yeah. Yeah, what else are you gonna make? I'm gonna make some pumpkin loaves and I'm gonna make some crock pot I'm gonna do a hot meal today too. Yeah, I'm gonna try to meal plan for the week. Yeah, I'm gonna make I bite and I'm gonna make extra for you. I love that. I won't go right by it's how do you make a mean Fucking egg. She makes a mean egg, but I just put cottage cheese in it and I am version blended and then just spices and cheese

It's really good where it's out. Yeah, truly and I get one of those silicone things to cook them in I think that helps, but you gotta put it in a water bath much like a cheesecake. You got a bite. You got a baby Yeah, you know, you know, I buy them that was one of the things that my youngest son last night I was just thinking about that because we were like, it's bath time and she was like, oh my god We have to bathe every day

Like she was just like you're the worst parents. You're like nice and you won't smell like kids are gross, man Like yeah, yeah, also they were like, they were outside a lot Like you were running around barefoot outside. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, sorry We'll allow you to track dirt into your bed by bad. She was like, oh God. She's like fuck y'all Like damn sorry about it. She's crazy. She is crazy. Oh, yeah, I don't know if we have

Any business really

β€œI don't think so because I think we're getting into”

Spooky pieces. So of course that, you know, that'll start bringing the spooky spooky somebody pointed out We haven't said proctober. Oh my god. Yeah, we are a misunderstanding. Yeah, thank you We were saying this for you. We were saying you saw that October still, but at one point We realized we could say proctober. Yeah, it's John proctober. Yeah, and right now. It's proctober I also I need to have a Salem trip. I just need I need a we should go to Salem soon

No, I literally need it like my I don't heal and again as always if you're going to Salem

Monsieur, I don't live there, but Be nice because people live there. Yeah, and I think this is the time of year when the poor people who live there And it happens this is there. I was like siege to purge your loins and like most people are off like honestly great Yeah, in Salem, but most people are awesome when they go to Salem, you know like No, how to be humans, but there's always a group that comes from like somewhere else. Mm-hmm

And they they run a much destroy the place and they make it really hard for people who live there And I just feel bad for the people who live Sarah Sanders and everybody just keep that in mind when you go to Salem just treat it like you would you home, you know, hell yeah, yeah, that's the thing just be respectful It's my PSI. Yeah, I like it for the people who live in Salem. Yeah, good the good

β€œThe good incidents of Salem what have they called? What do you call to feel of in Salem?”

I don't know. Let me ask Siri. Yeah. What are people who live in Salem, Massachusetts called? Here are some results so stupid It just sent me like a fucking thing to Salem. You know I know what it is I probably shouldn't say that because I was going to kill us all soon. It is I weighed I turned it off before I said that Yeah, it's still hurt you

No, that's actually you can't turn it off but but we're doing more besties. It was a joke What are people who live in Salem called? Salemites. Oh my god. I almost said that but it sounded weird or sometimes they're playfully called Salemanders Salemanders this is so weird when you said it I was like When nip in my head I was like it would be funny if they were Salemanders

I literally thought of that night and say it a lot that is funny at room for a moment Damn, you're like that's your own moments. I like Salemanders and apparently Locals also prefer that. I like that. Yeah, that's fun. So be kind to the Salemanders. Yeah, be kind to their place of Residence of origin and working. Yes, but it'll be yeah. It's spooky season y'all So we're gonna have some spooky stuff happen and

We don't know what yet, but it'll come

All right, Herman Munster mark down here time

Yeah, it's the show starting to like that's the new way. I feel like he would never know

β€œHe wouldn't but I think he would win when she says you walk in with your Herman Munster shoes”

And then Alex McCourt says they were losing the Tom. You know, you say all right, brock Broke start it. It makes sense. Yeah, just makes me think I'm a real market down. I have to read this all read this on So today we're gonna be talking about And this one drives me crazy because I just want answers for this family We're gonna talk about the disappearance of Daniel Robinson. Yeah

I remember when this was like just breaking and as I was on a side right away We are gonna mention Gabby Petito in the case of Gabby Petito We will cover that Gabby's case eventually. Yeah, we just didn't cover it while it was happening because one it was We don't cover things that I think that should be said now because we get a lot of Suggestions for cases that are

In the middle of happening and we don't do that. No, so we'll never do that

β€œI think we did it once during the Laurie Valo case. Yeah, and I think it was sick. Yeah, I know we'll never do that”

What was a mistake? I guess just but it was just hard. Yeah, I'd like to get all the facts before yeah cover case But also, you know that one was just that one like really It's just like hit hard. I feel like yeah Gabby was on the center. Yeah, I don't know. It just felt it's felt strange to cover it then so we'll cover it eventually for sure because Her family's like amazing and yeah, I want to make sure we honor her. Absolutely. But in this case where I'm talking about Daniel

I'm going to mention her case. I'm not going to go into depth about it So I just didn't want anyone to be like you're just like gonna give over it. Oh, yeah I'm just for in this context. I'm just giving you like a really quick overview We will go into depth eventually. Yeah today. We're focusing on Daniel. Yeah, I wanted to focus on Daniel in this So let's begin by talking about Daniel. Let's because right now

Daniel has not been found and this was back in 2021. So I Want Daniel found that's been a long time like five years So Daniel had always Wanted to show the world that he could could it's he could succeed no matter what his circumstances were like he was driven He was motivated. He was confident when he was born

Actually, he was missing the lower portion of his right arm just below the elbow. Oh, wow, and so it left him with only one hand

Despite this he never let that challenge get the best of him. He just took it as like you know

And I'm just special and I can do even more things. Hell yeah, and it never dictated anything He could or couldn't do you know playing sports like football and basketball He still did it or playing trumpet and it's really yeah, and he still went for it all He met each challenge with you know enthusiasm he had such a big bright enthusiastic smile at all times His mother Melissa Edmonds recalled he was used to people saying why were you born like that and he'd just say that's the way God made me

I'll imagine asking somebody while you were born like that. Yeah, I don't fucking know that's and that's wild

β€œThat's wild word. She's this Christ. She said that's what made him so special”

He would not let anyone tell him what he couldn't do. Yeah, now Superbed by the growing concerns for climate change, which we should all be spurred by Honey the herd of the El NiΓ±o come in. Yeah, Daniel decided to pursue a degree in geology at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina It was there that he really started to flourish. He built a very strong Support group. He had a lot of friends and he was really really developing like a sense of independence

And after graduating with this degree in 2019, he was quickly offered a job as a hydrogeologist with a matrix new worlds Which required him to relocate to Phoenix, Arizona. Okay. Now moving across the country was difficult He had a really close relationship with his family and friends But he was also really really eager to start his professional life. He had worked very hard for this. He'd earned it You know and he and again. He was always searching for like his kind of independence

Right, unfortunately within a few months, he learned that an independent life was more expensive than he Inticipated than any of us really Inticipate and his entry level job didn't quite pay enough to cover the bills So as a result, he was forced to get a second job in the evenings. He was driving for a delivery app Instacard. Okay, the additional yeah, the additional work was occasionally exhausting, which I'm sure after a long day Yeah, so many of like people delivering for Instacard or anything like that have already worked a full day

Well, you think about it as a user of Instacard? Yeah, doing it because you've had a long day and you don't want to go somewhere But then that's so many people second job and they're doing the same thing. Yeah, and so that's tough

Yeah, and so many of them do it with like so much enthusiasm

Yeah, it's really done in shoppers. Yeah, like come on

β€œBut again, it was occasionally exhausting, but he knew it was going to be temporary, so it kind of made it easier for you”

Now in the morning of June 23rd, 2021 Daniel drove out to a work site in the middle of the Arizona desert just outside Buckeye in Maricopa County He arrived there around a 930 a.m. It was raining hard when he got to the site So Daniel and his coworker can Elliot took shelter and just kind of chatted for a while waiting for the weather to clear up Later Elliot recalled, I had asked him whether or not he wanted to just hang tight and let the storm sell

Pass overhead before we started, so we wouldn't get all our paperwork with But he said he didn't respond so when he looked up at him He noticed that Daniel was staring off into the desert like kind of in the zone. Oh, you know, like I don't know He said Elliot later said he had a very very distant look in his eyes. That's when he got in his Jeep and left Oh, yeah, okay

β€œI don't remember all the details about this piece. So it seemed strange that Daniel would just get into his car and leave without saying anything”

But Ken didn't know him very well, so he was like, oh, oh, maybe that's just how he is Yeah, I didn't feel like it was like a warming like I wasn't like some big production he just kind of got up and left But when the principle of new matrix called check in that morning, Elliot did mention that Daniel had just taken off without saying where he was going or why And to those who knew Daniel well, this behavior was definitely unusual right again like Ken Ellie, it was like I just didn't know him that way. Yeah, but everybody who knew him was like no, that's

Extremely out of character for him like he just wouldn't do that his brother David said

Daniel's never been the person to give up or quit anything or to just walk away

So for him to go to work for a few hours and just leave out of nowhere and not say anything to anybody The red flags were going up for sure. Yeah, because remember this is Daniel

β€œWho never let anything even like the disadvantage that he was born with”

Stop him from doing any right giving up on any right now around 230 p.m Ken Ellie got a call from his supervisor and new matrix and the supervisor Let him know that they still hadn't heard from Daniel and they asked Elliot to drive around the area and near the site to see if they could find him Ken got into his truck and drove in the direction Daniel had left that morning and he said the hard rain that morning had kind of washed away Any tracks that could have been left in the dirt. So Elliot was able to track Daniel by like just kind of

Following what tracks he could through the desert, but eventually he reached an intersection where he made a concerning discovery Oh, a right turn would have taken the driver back to the main road that led into the city But Daniel took a left which would have taken him deeper into the desert. Yeah, that's not where you want to That would throw me off as well because you're like where were you going? Yeah, and why did you just suddenly go there? Right So obviously concerned for Daniel's safety his supervisor called his parents Melissa and David senior

Back in South Carolina, but neither them had spoken to their son that day and they had no idea what could have caused him to just Walk off the job the way yeah, the news of Daniel's disappearance was immediately alarming for his mother Causing her to think back to the last time she'd heard from him the day before he went missing Daniel called his mother and left like a kind of vague Message saying that he loved her and asking that she called him back. Okay. It wasn't the content of the message that she found unusual because Daniel was very close to his mother

Yeah, this wasn't strange, but she it was the way he sounded. Okay. He had always been really positive

Really optimistic really enthusiastic when he called but this time there was something in his tone that just struck that's not right and a mom can tell you always can tell After learning of his disappearance, she immediately called Daniel cell phone which she would continue to do for the rest of the day But never got a response. Oh, that's awful now that night when they still hadn't heard from Daniel his parents called the buck eye police to report him missing Although it had only been 12 hours since he was last seen the circumstances were so strange and obviously the potential hazards where he could be

I was just going to say dire or numerous days when he's in the fucking desert. Yeah, like local reporter Nicole Greg said I don't think people realize that here in Arizona We're actually one of the top five states for missing persons. Yeah, there's just so much desert they're getting lost or getting stranded stranded in the desert You're out on your own so it doesn't take long for dehydration a sudden the elements out there are really severe and unservivable really Yeah, now it wasn't just the elements and high temperatures that were really posing a risk to someone who is alone in those remote parts of the Arizona desert

There were also the animals Mm-hmm contend with among the biggest threats in that part of the country are the snakes

There's a lot of enemies and extremely territorial snakes like the diamond-ba...

The sidewinder tend to and they literally sidewines. Oh, yeah

And they tend to blend into the desert as well. Oh, shit. It might not be noticed until it's way too late. You're too close As Daniel's mother put it in a 2023 interview the desert is just a place where bad things happen. Yeah, because there's also like there's bad stuff that happens Mm-hmm. Even the desert like with people. Yeah, it is poor parents. Yeah, to be left wondering Oh my god, because the amount of things that you're thinking of are just in their awful all of them are awful. Yeah Now given the potential dangers a buck-eye police officer told Daniel's father that he would go out that evening to drive around the job site

and look for Daniel suggesting he might have simply broken down by the side of the road and attempted to walk together But after driving around the area for some time the officer found no sign of Daniel anywhere It was like he left the job site that morning and just poof finished

β€œNow when it comes to searching for missing person the first few days we've said that some of these things are important critical”

Yep to the investigation, but in the case of Daniel's disappearance There was so little to go on that buck-eye police didn't really know where to look The morning after he was reported missing a massive search campaign was mounted Primarily focused on the region around the work site. Mm-hmm. Unfortunately after conducting a thorough search of the area They found no search the sign of Daniel or any evidence that he'd even been there at any time in the last few days

That's strange. During the height of the afternoon temperatures in the desert can reach between 110 to 115 Without water or proper clothing to cover your skin dehydration and other very serious health problems can Set in in a matter of hours. Yeah that morning when he arrived at the job site He addressed appropriately for a day of working in the hot sun But no one knew whether he had packed any food or water in his car or how much right

Further concerning was the fact that by the second day of the search caused his cell phone We're going straight to voicemail indicating that he had either turned it off or the battery had died. Yeah Now, and I would assume or he was out of service. Yep. Yeah, three different avenues here. Yeah, none of them are great Now unable to find any sign of where Daniel might have gone detectives took a step back and began looking at his behavior in the days and weeks Before he went missing

According to his family Daniel had always been a happy guy which made it easy to recognize when something was bothering him

And that summer something definitely seemed off. Okay a few weeks before he went missing Daniel's brother David Notice that Daniel had deleted all the pictures from his Instagram account but kept the account active David told detectives about that the claims they didn't think it was a factor in the case

β€œWhich I think is wild that is wild. Yeah, I mean, there's a myriad of reasons you can do that”

I do that so frequently and people got so concerned. Yeah, yeah about it But like hand in hand with the fact that he then disappeared. That's the thing if you disappeared and that had had just happened I would it at the very least. I wouldn't say that's obviously what's going on, but it's like I would at the very least be like Yeah, that's something we have to consider right David said at least for me. It was very upsetting that the police department That the police department no one took us seriously enough to say something's not right here

We know it may look like he just walked away, but some things not right with this no, which I fully agree no When people go missing it's common for friends and family to think back, you know over the recent weeks before they went missing and pick apart Any interaction looking for clues because what also you're going to tell sir you going to do right also The answer might be there in those clues. Yeah, you know, and of course it's easy to like overanalyze comments that they made or something Yeah, but sometimes that's where the answer lies. Well, just family knows you best. Yeah, let's listen to the family. Yeah, there is a instance that

Daniel did spend the weekend with a friend from college like in recent weeks before he went missing This man's he's name was Luke Grigo He said he didn't recall anything unusual about Daniel in the days before he disappeared from what he had experienced According to Grigo Daniel was enthusiastic very eager to show his friend around the city

β€œHe said I hadn't seen him in at least a year. I remember he was super excited to be able to hang out together”

So they spent several days together and he was with him the day before he went missing But he doesn't remember anything odd about his behavior. Okay. In fact, he said he seemed excited about his job and even more excited about having met a girl recently That he really liked. Okay. This duck out and Luke's mind because as far as he knew

Daniel had never had a girlfriend before or even really dated that much. So he was like this was like a big deal. Yeah, like sighting

Luke didn't get much information about the girl Daniel was interested in but ...

Maybe it could help according to David Jr

His brother, Daniel had met the young woman while he was working his second job driving for instacart

He was immediately like smitten with her home after exchanging numbers the two texts To back and forth for a few weeks and eventually went on a date But when Daniel stopped talking about her his family members just thought things hadn't really worked out and they didn't want to bring her

β€œYeah, like upset him. That's what I think. You know detectives managed to track the woman down”

Hoping she might have heard from Daniel recently, but she hadn't heard from him in several weeks In fact, despite what he had told Luke and his siblings things between Daniel and the woman had ended a little bit unpleasant. Oh the details of this relationship have not been made public you know and the identity of the woman has not made been made public either. Okay, um and she did like share text with the textives that she had had and it was really like Heart like him being like do you not like me like what's going on and her just being like you got a back off like I don't hate you like please

Just like not it's like I'm not into it And it seemed like he was trying to hold on to it. Okay, so for investigators This at least made them think okay was there something going on with Daniel's mental health around the time He went missing and everything you've said so far does almost make me feel that yeah And based on what I know from like today. Yeah, and it gave credence to the family's ideas that something just wasn't right

Yeah around this time right

β€œWell, and even like the voicemail like his mom said his home was all like something just seems a little”

The loft his brother said within the last month or so prior to him going missing There's a big shift in his personality just because he's been so shut off and reserved Despite noticing the change in Daniel's demeanor. They didn't want to like push too hard on him because like Sometimes you can push them to shut down more yeah, or like not open up to you at all. Yeah, so they just kind of like Treaded lightly waited for him to share his feelings when he was ready just like trying to be supportive. Yeah

Now the text messages, you know, and then the relationship and other revelations open up a new avenue of inquiry that It could it could be helpful to the investigation again like the mental health aspect Throughout his high school years in college years Daniel was friendly outgoing and had a tendency to attract people He was just like a really cool guy. Yeah, which which led to him building a large friend group and having a very active social life People just liked being around him

β€œBut since he'd been to Arizona he'd struggled to meet new people and”

A multiple occasions he told his mother he was lonely. I feel like that transitioned post college And then especially starting out in a new state in a very different new state. Yeah, you know, it's just really tough Yeah, and when you're I mean like you're working during the day and then he's working at night It's like you don't have a ton of time to meet new people and the fun circumstances and like match a schedule with anybody that you really can Form a long relationship right now when he began expressing excitement about having met a girl

They thought things were finally starting to turn around for him But now that they knew that it didn't turn out great everyone started to wonder whether the rejection had hit him a lot harder Then it probably would have before the circumstances. Yeah, hoping to gain more insight into his mental state at the time Investigators convinced Daniel's Landlord to let them into his apartment so they could perform a well-being check

What they found inside was kind of shocking

Now David his brother said I lived with him since he was born Daniel's never been an organized person

But this was beyond even for him. Oh, it was dirty. It was bad Daniel's never been the kind of person to live like that. Okay, so that will tell you like something is off here In a mental state yeah, among other things there were dirty dishes piled up in the sink on the counter even on the floor There was old food garbage and his bedroom his clothes were strewn around the room Like he had taken them off and just kind of left them where they fell like for weeks

Okay, the bathroom was dirty then anyone had ever seen him live But they were like this just as in him. Yeah, like he's not this way right His brother said you can just see that he was clearly going through something and he stopped caring about his living space Oh, that would be so awful to see as his family to know that like it you assumed he was going through But it's even worse than you even knew now based on the evidence investigators were starting to seriously

Consider whether Daniel had gone out into the desert possibly intending to not come back. Yeah, but the family felt that there was no way Daniel would have done such a thing and I can understand like this is just not Not even feels like it's adding up although they admitted that he was quote not like himself in the days before he went missing They couldn't see any Indication that he wanted to

Leave and never come back, you know like that just wasn't coming out to them. Yeah, according to his family

Despite the noticeable change in his personality

He was still future oriented around you know as and even close to his disappe...

He was future oriented which of course Things can change in an instant. Yeah, especially when you're going through it like with your mental health But it's hard when like families like that he's making plans to visit friends and family

Like he's never mentioned any kind of like indication that he would hurt himself right

They just from what they knew of him and they were a close family. Yeah, it just wasn't seeming that way right and I Yeah, like it can be tough, you know like it can be tough because obviously We don't know what's going on in anyone's head. No, even if we're close to them But it's really hard to be the family that's so close to him and be like we didn't see any of this yeah like So as the investigation started nearing it's one month

Time frame The buck eyed police were struggling to make progress and it looked as though the case was going cold And that's when they were kind of received a tip from a woman who said Daniel She saw Daniel in a grocery store near Phoenix. Oh according to the caller She saw a young man who matched Daniel's description and he appeared slightly to shoveled okay when she spoke to him

She he mentioned something about being on a journey So she gave him food and water But when she asked if they could take a picture together the young man refused okay Unfortunately when investigators went to the store and spoke to the staff They were informed that the young man that woman described was actually a local in Watson Daniel Robinson

Which must have been really hard for his family. Yes, you finally get like a little inkletful like that now reaching a dead end

Investigators arranged for another area for an aerial search of the area because I'm wondering about his car They thought his car at this point. Not yet, but it turned out nothing and the case she was shifted back to like you know In back of more active cases

β€œWhich I can't imagine being a family member and hearing like you need to be shifted back here because there's another case that's taking priority”

I understand that like that's just the way how it goes. That's can't ever be Something that a family member ever can even conceive of healing now Now with the buck I police slowing their investigation Daniel's father took up the search on his own I remember him being like so yeah his father has been relentless and he's like That's a dad if Daniel is gonna be found his family's gonna find him. I feel yeah now

So he took up the search on his own. He set up a website where people could report tips and read information like he's really gone the extra mile

To surprise the public responded in incredible numbers turning out and drove staff search the desert

Reported Nicole Greg recalled David and these volunteers were out there first thing in the morning before the heat and Sadly all these efforts and they still weren't finding any trace of Daniel Now the first big break in the case finally came on July 19th When a rancher checking on his cattle discovered Daniel's Jeep okay, it was overturned and a ravine about three miles from the work site Which I was like why was this not found yeah three miles away? Yeah, and they did like aerial searches of this

β€œYeah, they didn't find a Jeep overturned and that's what is shocking to me. I was like what that's strange”

Yeah, that's strange and the Jeep had Daniel's clothing and personal item strewn around the outside of the vehicle That's weird. Yeah, to everyone involved the scene looked incredibly strange Daniel's clothing personal belongings including his phone wallet and keys were again in and around the Jeep or all there Perhaps even more bizarre was the fact that investigators and search teams Like we just said had managed to miss this car when it was just three miles from one he went missing. That's very strange

Yeah, I don't he's rather had it been there the whole time his brother David said a blueish Jeep out in the brownish red desert Even with it being in a ravine. I just don't believe that they would have possibly missed that from the air right like that's that I Right, I would feel the exact same way in fact the rancher who discovered the Jeep made a habit of checking the ravines regularly for missing cattle and He believes if the Jeep had been there since Daniel and missing he would have seen it earlier

β€œYeah, that's what I'm sitting your thing is that it had and it couldn't have possibly been there that whole because in fact according to the rancher”

He had been in that spot just days earlier and there was no Jeep. Okay, that makes more sense. Yeah, which is even weirder Well, I was just gonna say that makes more sense, but also for the month what the fuck yeah Upon examination the car appeared to have gone through a serious accident with both front air bags having been deployed glass shattered and Serious like you know like a structure damage like body damage to the car In the trunk they discovered two cases of water looking like they were untouched

Given what they found at the scene investigators started putting together a new theory

They believed that after leaving the works like that morning Daniel was in an...

That caused the car to roll over no because it wasn't there, but it wasn't there. It doesn't make sense

There was no sign of injury at the scene, but it seems impossible someone would not have sustained some injury So they suspect he may have suffered a head injury I don't understand after getting himself out of the wreckage They believed that Daniel was disoriented and confused causing him to remove his clothing and Wander off into the desert, but then you would think that you would likely and I hate to say this find his body

You're likely and the Jeep wasn't there the Jeep wasn't there the rancher said it wasn't there when I checked He's also not going to make it very far in the desert without no clothes with a head injury and a head injury

Like you're not gonna make it that far. I feel I'm like, I don't know about that. This is weird

β€œI did not know how weird. It's a very that's why his like family is like not letting that because it's like no”

Something weird is here now again it would This is on that was just speculation really because like Can I just it's like that's like that's stupid speculation. Yeah. It makes no fucking sense. I just don't get it I don't get it like I really don't

The only thing that they were saying when people would bring up the idea that like well

You know you would likely find his body pretty close to the same they said well there's a lot of scavengers in the desert

Which yeah for sure, but you're not even finding like evidence of scavengers or a body Like any being there. Yeah, or any you know remnants of a body and again The car wasn't there previously so that's the thing that's sticking to me Like why are we just pretending it was it was three miles away from where he left why are we pretty what about Louis? Jeep was there in the desert while you were flying planes over looking but in the farmer himself to be like no that wasn't there

But that because they were putting to get they could answer for most of the things by being like scavengers You know whatever. This is what happened to the scavengers move the fact hard exactly So while the case remained open Investigators felt pretty justified and pulling back their search. That's not justified in my opinion

β€œI agree. Okay, that's how they felt yeah like that. Oh, no, I know I know what you're saying”

Now regardless of how investigators felt or what they believed the family was obviously unsatisfied I would be ripped shit. I would be on the chest. I'd nothing about the scene of the crash made sense to them Especially the fact that hundreds of people searching on land and from the air had managed to miss the car during multiple searches and the rancher said that she wasn't there It's a goat to Jeep like you're not gonna miss a Jeep. Yeah, according to any car well and the car according to the car's computer system

The crash occurred a short time after Daniel left the job site. So if it only showed up after the initial searches Where had it been before that? Why also there was no sign of an accident anywhere in the area around the car If an accident had happened between two people Surely one of the drivers would have reported it. Yeah, because also what did he crash into? Well, that's yeah

And if Daniel had hit something on the road that caused him to roll over and sustain considerable damage

β€œThere would have been evidence of that in the landscape, but there was nothing right so where how did he end up there?”

A short time after the discovery Daniel's parents hired private investigator, which is smart. Yeah Jeff McGrath. I would have a criminal private investigator and former police detective with the reputation for working cases where police And this is just his right. I'm not saying it happened here. Yep. He has a reputation for working cases where police may have There may have been some abuse or neglect of the case. Okay, but that is suspected. Okay. That's just his right decision. I'm not saying that happened not saying it happened here

McGrath looked at the report generated by the airbag deployments system and liked Daniel's parents immediately suspected something was not right here Yeah, according to the report the Jeep was traveling around 30 miles per hour when the crash happened But given the rough terrain around the ravine that didn't seem possible. No. And for your airbags to deploy I would have to hit something. Yeah, and in fact when McGrath took his own Jeep out to the area to retrace the possible Supposed path of the incident accident the environment in obstacles made it impossible for him to get to that speed

In terms he's like a literally couldn't this most path was equally suspicious the tracks left at the scene indicated that the car made a straight shot into the ravine But according to the report produced by the computer the steering wheel had been turned at a 45 degree angle for five seconds just before the crash happened

Okay

Now after looking over everything carefully and recreating as much of the accident as he could Jeff McGrath came to the conclusion that the Jeep was crashed intentionally but not at or near the site where it was found

β€œHe told a reporter in my opinion. I think this was staged”

He's opinion was backed up. I have an evidence according to the report the car seemed to have driven an additional 11 miles after the accident occurred What indicating that someone had intentionally left it where it was found so let's go look 11 miles in each direction

Yeah, first and fucking glue's now the discoveries made my McGrath were promising step towards potentially finding Daniel

But they soon found themselves face with a new obstacle the book I believe According to Daniel's parents quote the buck eye police have publicly taken credit for what has been found Making it appear that police had done exhausted research conducted forensics and did helicopter search Just looking for Daniel when most of the work according to Daniel's family had in fact been done by McGrath and the family okay

According to David Sr. the buck eye police had routinely dismissed his concerns and the tips he received Telling him that quote Daniel just didn't want to be found and wandered off in the desert to become a monk

β€œWait, what that's a least said that that's what his dad David Sr. says that that's basically what they were telling him one”

What then what where where's the head tree in the car? Yeah, then and where does that line up with him?

He can't just wander into the desert no that you don't survive that so where is he and again like we've been saying this whole time If like now I don't really believe personally that the car crashed there, but if that is the supposed story Then he wouldn't be far from that site. He's naked also like evidently how are we explaining the 11 miles? How are we explaining the 45 degree angle of that we're just taking a track about a crash. How are we Explaining that there's literally nothing that says he crashed at that site

What like what is happening here and the ranchers just out here being like hi it wasn't there so like This is so bizarre. I didn't realize how bizarre this guy yeah now for the residents of the area The growing reports that the buck eye police were suspected of mistakes sounded a little familiar Oh just a few years earlier a 10-year-old boy went missing and was eventually found dead just seven miles from his house At the time buck eye police claimed they had quote done a five to ten miles search around the boy's house

But if that were true they would have found the body which was in a location in conspicuous enough That it was found by a passing street sweeper a while When it came to the case of Daniel Robinson it seemed that similar mistakes were being made All the evidence had been overlooked and suspicious circumstances had been ignored But when they were asked about the evidence discovered by my graph buck eye investigators simply said quote none of those observations are proof of a crime

And what it's not also not proof of not a crime. Yeah and whatever whatever it might have been evidence of they didn't seem to Interested in it

According to McGrath all the evidence he collected had remained in his possession and investigators never asked him to hand it over

Interesting. Yeah, so now Feeling that they are no longer able to rely on the buck eye police for assistance David Robinson senior increased his own search efforts relying on a big group of volunteers for help At the end of July during one of the group's routine searches they discovered a human skull And a shoulder bone in the desert. Okay, the discovery offered the

Harble possibility that the mystery might be solved that the medical examiner reported that the remains were not Daniel Robinson Which is even more hard for the family the conclusion was as you know as much a relief as it was a frustration They didn't want to find Daniel dead, but they were desperate for any answers His mother said at least Daniel helped bring someone home. Yeah, so that makes me proud Which like oh, I just got chills from that for three months the family and their group of volunteers desperately

Search for any sign of Daniel without any really any attention from the press or police because like people weren't hearing about this

β€œThen in the because I I think everybody remembers this case blowing up suddenly yeah”

That was in the fall of 2021 Another disappearance shifted the national spotlight towards the Robinson case for frustrating reasons In late August 2021 22-year-old Gabby Petito went missing while on a cross country trip with her boyfriend Brian Laundry piece of shit. Yep at the time the case attracted Tons of media attention from regional and national news outlets a few weeks after her disappearance

Unfortunately Gabby's remains were discovered after that piece of shit Brian ...

Investigators were and again, we're gonna cover this. Yeah, I'm just going to be very quick

They recovered a notebook where he claimed responsibility for killing Gabby Petito somewhat Nevertheless critics accused the press of disproportionate coverage of the Petito case. Yeah, because she is a young white woman us have had this does happen frequently and they really provided virtually no coverage of cases of people of color who are missing like Daniel One woman had written on social media and this was kind of the feeling I'm shaking reading about the discovery of poor Gabby Petito's body in Wyoming

So people are like this is horrific of course While we're watching the Petito case unfolds please take five seconds to read about Daniel Robinson his father is still looking for him Yeah, two things can be true, which is exactly what this person on social media did correctly. They said this is fucking awful

And my heart is breaking and I'm shaking for Gabby Petito and this family disappeared while you're still off while you're feeling this way

Just take five seconds to look at this other missing person's case because their family is in the same position right now Despite the increased coverage of the case no one received any new leads that would move the case forward Hoping to spur the police in action David Robinson senior circulated a petition And this was quote with the intention of holding accountable the buck eye police department His petition managed to collect 8,000 signatures and in a statement to the press he said this position gives my family the ability to have their voices heard

Daniel's family will feel empowered knowing that they have the community support and a and agreed upon desire to see that everything is being done to find Daniel which is the most

β€œYou don't have to make a petition to so reasonable like so reasonable and you should never have to make a petition to ensure that everything is being done”

Yeah, but that's all they're saying they just want literally This is just saying we have the community support and an agreed upon desire just me Our family the community and the police can we all share the same desire to find my child and why would you not share that desire? Yeah, now in an effort to defend their investigation the buck eye police release the findings of their reports to the press Buck eye police chief Bob Sanders said we've tracked down every lead possible the forensics exam and the phone

We retrace Daniel's whereabouts to a couple of days prior to his disappearance at this time We have no proof of evidence anything criminal took place inside or outside the vehicle But you do because of well in the luck and miles that the car drove after it crashed Well luckily Daniel's father refused to back down and was very unsatisfied he said I don't feel like they're doing enough When I got here it took them three days to do the initial search for my son. That's one day too late

a person should be looked for within that 24 to 48 hour period anything after that is problematic It absolutely and that is what his father said in June 2022 the family released a statement To update the public on the case. They said today marks one year that my son went went missing to the world It's one year to us the family. It's every day one after the other

Continuous moments passing by where hope is always shattered by dismay

Somehow day after day the will to keep searching is triumphant over losing hope

β€œWe can't imagine being in that position. I think that is such an important statement that he said to he said to the world”

It's one year and it's so true Just because we work it as we say wow, that was a year ago right to them. They're like oh no That was this many minutes this many seconds we're cheating this many days. Yeah, I've just wondering where the person I love is like and your child makes mine That's inexplicable. Yeah

Now despite they're enduring hope that they will find Daniel after a few years even you know Even his father is beginning to accept the fact that there is a likelihood that Daniel might not be alive The best they want right now and like one of the things they want is just answers. Yeah, of course They do and unfortunately all they keep getting his questions more questions. No in 2023 Years after Daniel went missing new details about the investigation were made public the none move the case in one direction or the other

According to the Buckeye police location data from Daniel cell phone proved that Daniel or at least his phone Was active in the location where the car was found on the day he went missing okay

β€œBut remember his phone on us certainly him”

As far as they saw it the supported their theory that Daniel had crashed the car and wandered off But the case was still referred to the FBI prefer their investigation. Okay, so a few months later in October 2023 David Robinson senior in Jeff McGrath revealed that an analysis of Daniel's computer and his home Strongly suggested that someone had been in his apartment after he went missing and had gone through his computer and his personal belongings

What Robinson told reporters quote?

I was able to get the Tempe police department to do forensics on all of my son's electronics from his personal computer to his gaming system

β€œAnd in that information that I did receive back”

Someone was in his apartment looking through his computer searching Google history just fooling around on his computer What yeah and he lived on his own That's bizarre looking through his Google history yeah Now in March 2024 Robinson announced that he was running for the U.S. Congress and South Carolina

Noting that advocating for the families of missing people would be one of his major agenda items. Oh, yeah He said in his campaign campaign announcement 3,500 going missing every day We definitely have to do something about that what call it what it is a crisis is a crisis now He was unfortunately unsuccessful and has been for Congress, but his campaign was definitely inspiring and started bringing attention to his son's case as well as other cases Among those inspired by Robinson's activism was Gabby Petito's father Joseph Petito

Despite his own loss Petito had heard the criticism of the press and the disproportionate coverage of his daughter's case and it opened his eyes to the Realities of families like Daniel's yeah, he told CNN in 2024. I did a deep dive into it I looked at popular missing persons cases and the ones that hit the mainstream they all looked similar Now since then Joseph Petito has been a vocal advocate for the families of missing black and brown people Whose cases have been overlooked by the press including Daniel Robinson

Robinson said what Mr. Petito has done for my family it means a lot to me because he had a tragedy

And it's amazing when a person can take a tragedy and make something big out of it

Absolutely come an advocate and help people. Yeah, that's the Petito family is really impressive very incredible now as of now Daniel Robinson is still missing and no new leads have been discovered as to where he could be Anyone with any knowledge of his disappearance is encouraged to reach out to the family through their 24/7 tip line That's at eight four four six zero two zero six six zero or to the buck eye police department at six two three three four nine six four one one or both choices yeah or both get them both but literally anything yeah make sure we're gonna go into picture Daniel

Take a look at it if you see them if you saw them before the disappearance after Anything you know who the fuck was in his apartment going through his computer anything I did any tips could move this along. I did not know how weird this one. Yeah like

β€œIt's a it's bizarre. Yes, and we'll post the website. We'll make sure you have all the links you need to”

To take a peek at all of this yeah definitely take a peek. Yes, I'd love to see that family get any kind of Deserve anything every family is through something like this deserves answers. I just want them to get answers That's all yeah, because there's there's a lot of weirdness going on here. Yeah, there is for sure And you'll just seems like a like a light, you know like a good guy what a what a What a loss for the world if that he's not around right now. Yeah, and when you hate to think that he was like really going through something

with beforehand I know

Well, there's really no way to transition but we always end on a fun fact just to keep things

Yeah, because this one's and again keep it keep it in mind keep make take a look at the pictures. Yeah Make sure you're thinking a little bit around that area and those are the places you can contact. Yeah This segment is brought to you by state farm But moving on to the fun fact because let's let's bring it into fun fact territory heck yeah This one blew my mind. What's up all Australia is wider than the moon

wider than the moon. It's wider than the moon from east to west. That's insane like obviously surface area The moon is much bigger but like yeah wider than the moon What yeah? Well, I mean they have so much out back. Yeah, this one the the moon is 400 kilometers in diameter. Can you tell me that Australia this two quick and intermediate do a conversion? Well, kilometers. I don't know about kilometers. There's the one thing about me is that kilometers and miles and my brain are

β€œWhen it's that's what different I said it was 3400”

2,112 miles see that and my brain makes a whole lot. Yeah, that's freaking crazy. That is freaking crazy and then Australia is 4,000 kilometers which is 2,485 miles dang yeah

It's so crazy to me how much of Australia is just like unlovable

I know do you think about that frequently so much what I mean

I love getting TikToks of people who live in Australia and how they just live in such a state of chill with the unchillist environments around the continent like that. I'll Australia Trying to kill them at all turns and they're the chillist people just being like yeah, it's okay Huntsman spiders alone. I know that like they're supposed to be real nice and they just like they're not here to mess your day up and they're just here to eat all the other pests which is just and they and they won't hurt you like they're I don't

I don't think they want to hurt you. I think they're just like big and scary looking

β€œThat's what we know of their intentions. I just know you can hear them walking down a hallway and I don't”

I don't think that's okay. How dare you say that the amount of like all Australians that will be like oh

we just have like a house Huntsman named Alfred that just we see him every now and I'm like that things too big help me with my more good things too big yeah you're way too big to just be living off my house yeah but they just they're using my warmth. I don't see apparently they're very helpful so I mean it's nice that they're helpful but the thing is I'm like but but that's the pest I want taking care of so the fact that he's taking care of all the others that's super nice of him but like what

takes care of him but then you think about all the then you think about all the pests that he probably is taking care of like you don't want to approach him like you they have crazy bugs. Yeah and it's and it wouldn't be like because they're you know it's not like they're dirty or something it's like that's just land. Like isn't that like where they used to send people to like that like couldn't be

β€œlike a rehabilitative ability. Yeah they're just like a living australian trying to make it. Yeah I think”

I try to make it look I think it was literally like a prisoner colony. Yeah like alcatraz almost let me see I can look it up I can look it up look it up bro. Yeah it's a penal colony. A penal colony. 15,000 prisoners a year there the UK did. Dang yeah and they just made it through and populated that place. Well and then they populated and they and they're like the coolest people. I love australian.

Like australians are we've I just I'll australians have always been really good to us. They sent in the best

listener tales and they just I think they're so funny and I think they have the funny us out look on most things like they're just cool people. I think they have a good outlook on things. One great experiment

β€œthat turned out to be live and with that's why like australia is such an uninhabitable for the most”

part because it was technically supposed to be uninhabitable. Yeah but the ones that's the the ones that got through that are there now and like damn you're some hearty you come from hearty stock don't mess with australians because because they'll throw huntsman's part. They live with the unlivable like they live with it like it's no big deal. They really do. Yeah well that is crazy too though that it's like so close to this size of the moon. And also just a quick little like side

thing off of that. What's up? You know that the that scientists call the moon the Earth's child that's the most we have to end there. That's the most beautiful thing I've ever heard. Yeah because it really is it's like a piece they they believe that a large body collided with the Earth and a piece popped off and I love space. Yeah that's the door hide. Wow thank you so much state farm for sponsoring the fun fact segment it's one of my favorite things ever. It is fun. Thank you again to our sponsor

state farm for sponsoring this segment. And with that being said we hope you keep listening and we hope you keep it weird. But that's a way that you don't take a minute to look a little bit more into this case and think back to that time if you saw something if you know something if you know some long ago something see if you recognize it. Call those numbers. Let's get some eyes on this case. Let's have. Bring down your home. Bye. Bye.

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