Authorities Hope Gabby Petito Case Helps Find Missing Geologist
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Authorities Hope Gabby Petito Case Helps Find Missing Geologist

Amidst the heightened media attention over the disappearance and subsequent recovery efforts of travel influencer Gabby Petito, people are hoping that the surge in publicity will bring renewed attention to the case of a young geologist that went missing in the Arizona desert two months ago.

24-year old Daniel Robinson was last seen June 23 after leaving his workplace in the suburbs of Phoenix in a Blue Jeep Renegade that was later found overturned in a ravine with the airbags deployed and his wallet, cellphone and keys a few weeks later. A human skull was found near the Jeep weeks later but was later determined to not belong to Robinson.

Robinson's family has started an online petition in an attempt to hold investigators accountable as potential leads appeared to have dried up. Since the Robinson family first posted the petition a few weeks back, it has gathered over 26,000 signatures.

"From the first day that I arrived in Phoenix, Arizona, I have done more to find my son than the law enforcement agency, whose jurisdictional authority covers where he was last seen and where his vehicle was recovered," writes Robinson's father David. "The Buckeye PD investigation has not gathered any evidence of their own. They are unwilling to move beyond their theory which leads to non-action on their part. This petition is another step in holding the Buckeye Police Department accountable to make sure this case is taken seriously."

Robinson then went on to note he had conducted six searches in the desert for his son and had hired a private investigator that suggests the Jeep crash could have been staged after the fact. "My public searches are coming to their completion, and the Buckeye Police Department has a responsibility to continue. This petition will ensure that this happens."

The renewed interest comes in the wake of increased scrutiny over the inconsistent media coverage of missing persons cases and the way that media attention frequently falls along racial lines. Joy Reid specifically used Robinson's case as an example on her MSNBC show The ReidOut. "The answer actually has a name: Missing White Woman Syndrome, the term coined by the late and great Gwen Ifill to describe the media and public fascination with missing white women like Laci Peterson or Natalee Holloway while ignoring cases involving missing people of color," Reid said

Photo via change.org

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