Gabby Petito’s father joins 100 volunteers in search for missing Arizona geologist Daniel Robinson
Gabby Petito’s father has joined the search for an Arizona geologist who has been missing since 2021, according to a report.
Joseph Petito — whose daughter Gabby spurred national attention when she went missing in August 2021 only to be found dead — was among the 100 volunteers to show up in Buckeye, Arizona to hunt for Daniel Robinson, a geologist who disappeared in June 2021, Fox 10 reported.
“It’s inspirational, the amount of energy it takes to do what he does with the heartache and the unknowing that goes on every day,” Petito told the outlet.
David Robinson, the missing man’s father, decided to continue searching for his son.
“I’ve been telling him [David] for years I really want to get out there and I saw this one coming up and I was like ‘I don’t care what the schedule is, I’m coming for ya buddy,'” he said.
Robinson, 24, was last seen on June 23, 2021, leaving his worksite in the suburbs west of Phoenix, according to The Arizona Republic.
He left work in a blue Jeep Renegade that morning and did not tell anyone where he was going.
His Jeep was found a month later, rolled over into a ravine with the airbags deployed. Robinson’s cellphone, wallet and keys were found at the scene, according to the article.
Gabby’s widely publicized search and recovery mission renewed demand for authorities to find Robinson in September 2021, when her remains were discovered in a Wyoming national park.
The two fathers have bonded over the experience of the frantic search for their missing children, with Petito hoping David Robinson can have a happier ending to the search than he did.
“There’s never gonna be closure on the death of a child, but there is starting the grieving process properly, and David hasn’t been able to do that yet. Hopefully, Daniel is found safe, but if the worst does come true, that’s when that grieving process will come true for David and his family,” said Petito.
Volunteers scoured Sun Valley Parkway and Rosewood Avenue in Buckeye as part of a three-part search, the outlet reported.
“We’re not looking for Daniel out here running around. We are looking for remains,” David told ABC15
“I’m his father, so I’m gonna be here always to make sure that I’m continuing to fight and advocating for him and find the justice that he deserves,” said David.
“I look at this 50th search as possibly being one of the latter searches that I have out in the desert. What I’m trying to do is collect information with the Buckeye Police Department, who is now checking a lot of the forensic work, and we can see if it’s feasible for us to come back out to the desert and if so, what area we need to approach next,” he said.
