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“I think he’s leading us to find others that need to be found and closure that needs to happen for other families. “So, I do think he’s on the other side, trying to bring awareness to the area and have some closure for other families.” David Robinson confirmed the account with InBuckeye , claiming it was shocking in more ways than one. “The remains were found in the area where the psychics wanted to check,” David said. “That was huge and scary because the human remains were new, meaning fresh. Not to be so graphic, but the marrow was still on the bones, which were pinkish in color.” The remains, found in late 2021, were approximately 2½ miles southeast of where Daniel’s Jeep was found, according to the police report. The skull was found a little more than 3 miles northeast of the Jeep. “ “I think he’s leading us to find others that need to be found and closure that needs to happen for other families.” MINDY RODGERS, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR David last searched for his missing son April 12 on the doorstep of a new-build community coming to Buckeye, according to posts on X, formerly Twitter. The community is hardly more than a mile away from where Daniel’s Jeep was found. David told InBuckeye that Buckeye’s previous police chief, Larry Hall, told him a story about drug trade routes in the isolated area of the city. “He kind of gave a situation that the cartels probably did something to my son,” he said. “That the cartels land a plane at night on Sun Valley Parkway and drop drugs off and fly back into Mexico.” Investigators created a composite sketch of the skull found, according to David. He claimed the skull, found north of his son’s Jeep, was that of a family member of someone who spoke to him. In their conversation, he said the decedent’s sister told him her brother was missing after police allegedly dropped him off in the West Valley.
THE VANISHING POINT The desert started giving up its dead, but not Daniel Robinson
BY MICHAEL MCDANIEL T HERE HE WAS MURDERED. Miles north of Interstate 10, past acres of untouched desert, he was shot in the back of the head. The murderer’s bullet tore through the victim’s brain, exiting through his mouth. A likely scenario for the human skull found in Buckeye, according to the father of missing geologist Daniel Robinson. The Buckeye Police Department, however, claimed it was misinformation. “Buckeye police recovered those remains. There was no apparent gunshot hole in those remains,” said BPD spokesperson Carissa Planalp. David Robinson, Daniel’s father, claims the former missing person could have been dumped there by the police for the vultures and coyotes to pick apart. The desert is unforgiving, like a serial killer, he said. Not too far away, about 3 miles south of where the skull was found, 25-year-old Daniel Robinson went missing. His Jeep tipped over near a remote ravine, but to this day, no trace of Daniel’s body has been found, according to the BPD missing person report.
One tip came from a self-styled private investigator from California named Mindy Rodgers. She badgered McGrath, asking to be brought onboard the case. Later, she’d visit McGrath in Arizona. In his interactions with Rodgers, he learned her tools were spiritual, not forensic. “The interesting thing is that when we found the rest of the human remains, it was after a psychic came into my office from San Francisco,” McGrath said, referring to Rodgers. She told him she had visions of Daniel. Later, she drew a crude area on a map where she thought Daniel’s body was. According to McGrath, the exact coordinates were the size of a football field. “And so, we blew up a map of exactly those coordinates. It was a small area, and my partner and I said, ‘Okay, here’s the start.’ And I got in there, and I’m not kidding you, less than 30 seconds, I’m staring at a huge femur,” McGrath said. Rodgers told InBuckeye she’s
Human remains found Following national media attention, tips poured in for the police and Daniel’s search team. One tip claimed he was spotted in Flagstaff; another claimed he was a victim of a white
Jeff McGrath, a private investigator who represented the family pro bono, told InBuckeye the rancher who found Daniel’s vehicle said he probably would have noticed a body because his cattle would have swarmed it out of curiosity. David heard similar claims, proposing that former Buckeye police leadership may have staged it there. He told InBuckeye the rancher had said the Jeep had not been there two days earlier. Buckeye police deny this claim and tell a different story, begrudgingly questioning the narrative of a Black man who lost his son forever. Painful inaccuracies from the Robinson family, omissions from the police and federal indifference despite the discovery of multiple bodies cast the case of Daniel Robinson in shades of grey. Unlike the desert sky in Buckeye on a summer night, Daniel’s tragedy may never be black and white.
supremacist, an Air Force member who was working to keep Daniel away from a romantic relationship with a white woman who frequented Waddell’s Longhorn, according to the Buckeye police missing person report. Another man walked through the front door of the police station to tell investigators he thought his gay, drug-addicted father may have kidnapped Daniel because he looked like his type.
been a psychic medium for more than a decade. Her life took a turn after a near-death experience, which developed her psychic abilities, according to Rodgers. Her initial case centered around Twentynine Palms, Calif., a desert region also known for missing people. Since then, she’s worked on two dozen cases, each one culminating in a unique way. She believed Daniel was speaking
Missing person photo of Daniel Robinson
to her from beyond. “I feel like Daniel’s not only trying to help us find him,” Rodgers said, alluding to the remains,
Despite the ludicrousness of some tips, McGrath approached each theory with an open mind, he said.
Flowers for Daniel at St. Henry Roman Catholic Church June 12.
InBuckeye.com | July 2025
July 2025 | InBuckeye.com
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