Daniel Robinson: The Workday, the Search and the Records
A young geologist’s disappearance is documented through worksite accounts, family appeals and later reporting.
Abstract
Daniel Robinson was 24 when he was reported last seen leaving a Buckeye worksite on June 23, 2021. The public record leaves his subsequent movements unresolved.1
A Life and Work in Arizona
His fraternity, Lambda Theta Phi, identifies Robinson as a member of its College of Charleston associate chapter, inducted in autumn 2017. Its appeal describes a graduate who relocated to Phoenix to work as a field geologist, visiting remote desert sites as part of his job. The organization also records David Robinson’s journey from South Carolina to Arizona to search for his son.2
In WIS’s July 13, 2021, report, David described his son’s interest in hiking and habit of keeping family informed about his plans. For the family, the loss of contact departed from how they usually communicated.3
The Workday and First Searches
The NamUs narrative gives an approximate 9:15 a.m. departure near Sun Valley Parkway and Cactus Road in Buckeye. It identifies the subject as Daniel Cornelius Robinson and names Buckeye Police case 21-0623079.1
WIS attributed the departure account to police and reported an air-and-ground search with the Arizona Civil Air Patrol on July 9. At that stage, its report said neither Robinson nor his Jeep had been located. That describes the search as reported in July 2021.3
The Jeep and the Reporting Date
ABC15’s July 21, 2021, article reported the Jeep Renegade found in a ravine, on its side with airbags deployed. It attributed these details and the recovery of a phone, wallet and keys to Buckeye police.4
The article’s publication date and its description of a discovery on Tuesday require separate entries in a chronology. A dated recovery record would establish when the vehicle was found; the article establishes when that account was published.4
The Family’s Search
Angie Koehle’s September 26, 2021, ABC15 report described David organizing private investigators and volunteer search crews. It identified an investigator specializing in accident reconstruction. David also spoke about the difficulty of securing attention for his son’s disappearance. These are the family’s reported efforts and concerns; the article does not turn them into a finding about what happened.5
ABC15’s anniversary coverage carried David’s message that the absence was experienced day by day. He described Daniel through his place in a family, as a son, brother and relative, alongside his scientific work. The account preserves why the search mattered beyond an annual milestone.6
Sourced Accounts and Questions
Here’s where you come in. Can you identify the original observation supporting the approximate worksite departure time?1
Can you match the Jeep’s discovery to a dated recovery record, keeping a vehicle location separate from an observation of Robinson?4
Can you identify the underlying data and time basis for each published location claim before adding it to a timeline?7
Keep the records, source dates and questions in a Research File in Almost Solved. Let each document establish its own part of the history, while leaving unsupported connections open.
Show later developments and reported outcomes
Later Records and Search Updates
The ABC15 anniversary article, updated in March 2023, also recorded more than 40 ignition cycles after the apparent crash. It left open whether they originated with the driver or during towing and recovery. The count needs its operating context before it can explain anyone’s actions.6
FOX 10’s May 31, 2023, report quoted police analysis placing the phone at the crash site around 10:05 a.m. on the morning of the disappearance. It also carried David’s challenge to that conclusion and his question about the data behind it. Evaluating that published disagreement requires the underlying device records and method.7
Adam Klepp’s April 12, 2025, ABC15 report described around 100 volunteers searching the desert with David. Possible items were flagged, photographed and recorded for law enforcement to investigate. David described a search for remains. That was a family search objective, without an identification or established cause of disappearance in the article.8
FOX 10’s written June 23, 2026, programme description announced Justin Lum’s interview with David five years after Daniel’s disappearance. It documents another public appeal. The description alone supplies neither a newly established observation nor a verified outcome.9
Scope and Method
The underlying police report, device data and original witness statements were not independently inspected.
Prepared with AI assistance. Sources and references checked against the cited public materials. This paper is an original synthesis of the identified public sources; it does not reproduce article bodies, transcripts, or an investigative file.
Footnote References
- NamUs, MP82064, Daniel Cornelius Robinson; reviewed November 2, 2026.
- Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, Help Us Find Brother Daniel Robinson; undated notice.
- WIS News 10 staff, SC man missing in Arizona, last seen leaving work June 23, July 13, 2021.
- ABC15 staff, Vehicle located in search for missing man in Buckeye area, July 21, 2021.
- Angie Koehle, ABC15, Daniel Robinson family search and attention report, September 26, 2021.
- ABC15 staff, Daniel Robinson anniversary report, June 23, 2022; updated March 6, 2023.
- Lindsey Ragas and FOX 10 staff, Daniel Robinson police-report coverage, May 31, 2023.
- Adam Klepp, ABC15, Daniel Robinson desert search report, April 12, 2025.
- FOX 10 Phoenix, On the Record: Daniel Robinson, June 23, 2026; written programme description.