*Last Updated – August 11, 2024*
EARLY LIFE:
Daniel Cornelius Robinson was born on January 14, 1997, into a loving family, which included his father, David; mother, Melissa; twin sisters, Davisha and Latisha; older brother, David; and his younger sister, Talia. They were incredibly close, especially he and his siblings, who helped Daniel come to terms with being born without his lower right arm. Despite what others might think, he never let the disability slow him down.
According to those who knew him, Daniel was smart and happy guy. He had a passion for adventure, which showed in his love for life, and he enjoyed spending time with his friends and family. He was known to travel whenever the opportunity presented itself, thanks to his abundance of self-confidence, which paired well with his outspoken nature.
In 2019, Daniel graduated from the College of Charleston in South Carolina. Not long after, he was hired as a field geologist with Matrix New World Engineering and moved to Phoenix, Arizona. He was charged with overseeing remote desert sites. His family says he loved the job, as it allowed him to do three things he loved: be outdoors, hike and examine various rock formations.
DISAPPEARANCE:
Daniel was last seen by a worker from Webber Waterworks around 9:15 AM on June 23, 2021. He’d been working at a site close to Sun Valley Parkway and Cactus Road, near the Hassayampa River and west of the White Tank Mountains, testing groundwater. According to this unnamed individual, the 24-year-old had been acting strange, staring off into space and at one point even asking if they’d like to go to Phoenix, despite the two only meeting for the first time that morning.
At some point, Daniel got into his blue 2017 Jeep Renegade and drove away from the site. He didn’t tell anyone where he was going or why he was leaving. That evening, a missing persons report was filed by his father, after the elder Robinson was informed of the situation by Matrix New World Engineering.
Concerned, David drove 2,000 miles from South Carolina to start searching for his son. The following day, the Buckeye Police Department launched a ground search of the site, while the Tempe Police Department looked through Daniel’s apartment.
SEARCH:
Investigators with the Buckeye Police Department spoke with Daniel’s friends and family to gather information about him and where he may have gone. They learnt that, in the lead to his disappearance, he had been acting strange and seemed to have become withdrawn, but his father shared that he appeared to be back to normal by the time he went missing.
Searches were conducted and local hospitals were checked. Phoenix Firebird participated in the search, as did patrol officers and detectives on 4 x 4 vehicles. On July 9, 2021, the Arizona Civil Air Patrol (CAP) offered its assistance. Multiple CAP aircraft were utilized, and four air searches were performed in conjunction with the ground effort. Unfortunately, no sign of Daniel or his vehicle were found.
Investigators obtained cellphone and financial information, but weren’t able to find any information to aid in their search. They also tried to access information from the Jeep’s On-Star technology, but there was no power to it.
Flyers were put up on many of the gate entrances into the desert, just off Sun Valley Parkway. Officers at Buckeye Airport were also told to share information about Daniel’s disappearance with pilots, so they could keep a lookout during flights.
Police were able to establish a ping from Daniel’s cellphone, but couldn’t obtain any location data because it was either turned off or out of range. They were able to collect limited records, but it appeared he hadn’t made any calls or sent any text messages after leaving the worksite
Daniel’s Jeep was discovered by a cattle rancher on July 19, 2021. It was approximately two-and-half to four miles southwest of where he was last seen, and appeared to have rolled 20 feet down into a ravine. The airbags had been deployed, and it was determined via the vehicle’s “black box” type recorder that he’d been wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident.
The driver’s side window was smashed and the front windshield had been cracked, but no blood was found and it appeared Daniel had spent little time at the scene. Several of his personal belongings were found, including his clothes, cellphone, wallet and keys. The clothes were found three feet from the vehicle, including his boots and safety vest. According to Daniel’s family, investigators didn’t conduct any forensic work on the Jeep, so they themselves have hired a team to analyze it.
Detectives conducted a ground search of the area surrounding the vehicle, with the aid of the Department of Public Safety’s Ranger helicopter, search and rescue dogs, and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, but came up empty. According to investigators, any potential evidence could have been washed way, as the area had experienced significant rainfall prior to the Jeep’s discovery.
According to collision report conducted following the vehicle’s discovery, the Jeep had been involved in a rollover crash that saw it speed up right before the moment of impact. It’s believed this could indicate that whoever was behind the wheel was trying to drive up the other side of the ravine. It had experienced more than 40 ignition cycles (later confirmed to be 46 in total), and an 11-mile discrepancy was found, a phenomenon Jeep dealerships have noted in other vehicles.
In late July 2021, a human skull was found south of where Daniel’s vehicle had been found, but testing proved it to not belong to the missing 24-year-old. Several months later, in November of that year, a second set of human remains were found, but these, too, proved not to be his.
Buckeye Police came forward in October 2021 to say that Daniel’s cellphone records showed he’d been texting with an unnamed female prior to his disappearance. According to the woman, he’d delivered groceries to her residence while working as an Instacart driver and the pair had exchanged numbers. She stated that she soon became uncomfortable with his advances and told him so.
While Daniel had mentioned this woman to David, their discussion had been brief, and that he didn’t seem upset about how their interactions had transpired.
In June 2023, the Buckeye Police Department released an updated missing persons report on Daniel, which provided new information about the investigation. It reported that his cellphone had placed him at the crash site at around 10:05 AM, with the last ping occurring at 10:30 AM. A witness referred to only as “Bill” claimed to have seen the 24-year-old about an hour after this, but Daniel’s electronic footprint disproves this.
The updated reported also shared some of the Google searches Daniel had conducted in the weeks leading up to his disappearance. They included “shooting Tempe”, “love changed me”, “I’m okay to do things I hate”, “explosion” and “delete Instagram account”. While unusual, the Robinson family said that he hadn’t been exhibiting any unusual or alarming behaviours during this time.
In September 2023, the family’s former private investigator and retired police officer, Jeff McGrath, disclosed some concerning information he’d noted regarding Daniel’s Jeep. He reiterated the 11-mile travel discrepancy and ignition cycles mentioned in the official collision report, and added that red paint transfer had been identified on the vehicle.
To McGrath, this signalled that an accident had occurred prior to the vehicle winding up in the ravine. What’s more, he also suggested that the scene could have been set up after the fact by unknown parties.
The private investigator also discovered that someone other than law enforcement had gone through Daniel’s apartment after his disappearance, with particular focus on digging through his closet and going through the files on his computer.
The Robinson family has come together to help keep the case in the public eye. David created a website solely dedicated to his son’s disappearance and has organized several volunteer searches. He also set up a GoFundMe fundraiser to raise money for various aspects of the search, including the hiring of a private investigator, the printing of missing persons flyers, paying for hotel expenses, and helping to fund the overall search and rescue effort.
Matrix New World Engineering has also shown support and has publicly stated it’s concerned for Daniel’s wellbeing.
Daniel’s family has shared on numerous occasions that they think something criminal happened to the missing 24-year-old. However, the Buckeye Police Department doesn’t suspect foul play, based on the information found in his Jeep. Daniel’s father disagrees, saying he feels authorities are just looking to wrap up their investigation.
Along with receiving unsettling, yet unverified messages on social media, David says the story provided by the rancher who discovered Daniel’s Jeep proves foul play. Just two days before the vehicle was found, the rancher had been at the ravine, looking for cattle, and they hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary in the area. This means that the Jeep couldn’t have been there for 30 days, as the Buckeye Police Department has implied.
David has been vocal about his displeasure over how the authorities have conducted the investigation into his son’s case. He says insufficient methods were used to rule out the possibility of foul play and claims he’s done more to look for Daniel than they have. Among his efforts was an appearance on the Facebook Watch series Red Table Talk and bringing the case to social media.
In the years since Daniel’s disappearance, David has become an advocate for families of missing individuals. In 2024, he announced he was running for Congress in South Carolina, with the aim of making the reporting and search process easier on those looking for missing loved ones.
There is currently a $10,000 reward being offered by the family for information leading to Daniel’s return. His information has been added to a national database and disseminated all over the country, including to local law enforcement, the Bureau of Land Management, and Arizona Fish and Game.
DETAILS:
Daniel Cornelius Robinson was last seen leaving a worksite near Sun Valley Parkway and Cactus Road in Buckeye, Maricopa County, Arizona, on June 23, 2021. He was 24 years old, and he drove away from the area in a blue 2017 Jeep Renegade, Arizona license plate NLA2CMA, which has since been located. What he was last wearing is unknown.
At the time of his disappearance, Daniel stood at around 5’8″ and weighed between 150 and 165 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes. As aforementioned, he’s missing a portion of his right arm, starting at the forearm.
CASE CONTACT INFORMATION:
Currently, Daniel’s disappearance is classified as a missing persons investigation.
Anyone with information regarding the case is asked to contact the Buckeye Police Department’s tip line at (623) 349-6411. Tips can also be submitted anonymously via Crime Stoppers at +1 (888) 274-6372 or a separate tip line at +1 (844) 602-0660.
Image Credit: Facebook
Stories of the Unsolved 
Sadly, the information presented on this website points toward something other than a missing person case. His driver side window was smashed, his clothes were left at the site of the crash, and he did not take his cell phone or keys. It does not sound plausible! I hope his family finds him.
How much has the Matrix New World Engineering actually helped? I would think with the nature of their employees work the dangers, areas and situations , etc. they would be very involved to help locate a missing employee. Companies with any type of high risk working environments don’t not just ignore
the fact one of their own is missing. They should be leading the charge as highly intelligent as they should be-would not stop till he is found. It doesn’t say much about them, their company morals or intelligence. Searching is something they should know how to do.
I agree Shelly! If they think he may be in the desert, and that is an if, they can try to use remote sensing. I also feel like authorities need to examine his cell phone data. His phone was left at the site, but there is a tool that will allow them to get an idea of his travel patterns before he went missing. I also wondered why they. ( the company that he worked for)have not offered more help. Very odd!