Skeletal remains discovered in a remote desert area of Buckeye, Arizona, have fueled social media speculation that they may belong to Daniel Robinson, a young geologist who vanished in the area in 2021.
“While off-roading near Johnson Road and Southern, someone discovered human skeletal remains, including a skull and other bones.” “Investigators are currently on the scene,” the Buckeye Police Department said on Facebook on Saturday.
The discovery of the remains has sparked speculation that they could be those of Robinson, who vanished in 2021 at the age of 24 after driving away from a desert geology site.
“Yesterday, a woman in Buckeye Arizona stumbled upon skeletonized human remains. She called police & posted a pic of the find on FB. Out of respect for deceased, I’ve covered the skull/vertebrae shown in her original photo. A shotgun shell is also shown in photo,” Lauren Lee Malloy, founder of Unsolved RI, which works to provide support for victims and families of cold cases in Rhode Island, posted to Twitter.
“Many believe the remains are those of Daniel Robinson, who disappeared in 2021,” Malloy added in a follow-up tweet.
Other sleuths and crime experts speculated on social media that the remains could belong to Robinson, but noted there has been no confirmation.
Buckeye Police Department asking if there was any indication the remains belong to Robinson, and was told the only available information was a press release on the unidentified remains being discovered and that they were turned over to the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office for forensic examination.
It is not the first time skeletal remains were found near where Robinson disappeared, with volunteers searching for the young man in 2021 finding a vertebra, two femur bones and both sides of a pelvis.
Robinson was last seen on June 23, 2021, in Buckeye when he abruptly left a site in the desert where he was working as a hydrogeologist. On July 19 that same year, a rancher found Robinson’s 2017 Jeep Renegade battered and rolled onto its passenger side in a ravine.
Buckeye is located about 30 miles west of downtown Phoenix.
Robinson’s father, David Robinson, has remained steadfast in his search for his son. The dad and military veteran said the one-year anniversary of his son’s disappearance that he has “to stay strong for Daniel” and even moved from his home in South Carolina to Arizona to continue looking for him.
“Just because I’m retired doesn’t mean I stopped being a soldier,” David, who served two tours in Afghanistan,. “My son, he’s my mission. He’s my new mission.”
