David Robinson upended his life after terrorists attacked America on Sept. 11, 2001, selling his trucking business to join the Army, where he served two tours in Afghanistan before suffering injuries in an IED blast.

“I joined the military when duty called to fight for our country, defend our democracy, defend our way of life,” he told Fox News Digital. 

Decades later, his life changed again when his geologist son vanished without a trace from a well site in Arizona. Now he’s running for Congress with a focus on missing persons across the country.

He served as a combat engineer until he retired from the Army and moved on to open a new business in his hometown of Columbia, South Carolina, he said. But his son’s disappearance sent him to another desert, this one on the other side of the country, in search of answers.

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“I’m sitting right here in this very seat, and I see that phone call from Arizona. My daughter called me, and I ended up in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona,” he told Fox News Digital. 

“My journey from there came to a point of running [for Congress], when you get sick and tired,” he said. 

He wasn’t making progress in the search for his son, he said, but he was meeting more and more families of missing Americans. 

Daniel Robinson is shown in this undated photo provided by his father. (David Robinson II)

“I had families out there with missing loved ones of their own,” he said. “You learn a lot. … I went to meetings with the telecommunications [companies], talking to the senators, to you name it, law enforcement agencies. And I learned the ins and outs of things that are not being correct, the policies and the laws that are in place that actually hurt efforts to find missing Americans.”

One problem with the way cases are investigated is how phone records are approached, he said. Telecommunications companies usually ask to see a warrant before providing information such as cellphone pings, he said.

MISSING ARIZONA GEOLOGIST DANIEL ROBINSON: A FATHER’S UNENDING SEARCH FOR HIS SON, 1 YEAR LATER

David Robinson, right, is shown with Candice Cooley, whose son, Dylan Rounds, vanished from his own Utah farm and was later found to have been killed by a squatter next door. They are part of a community of parents of young Americans who went missing. (Michael Ruiz/Fox News Digital)

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“Sometimes when that happens, it’s too late,” he said. “The other problem is law enforcement cannot do it unless it’s a criminal case, or they fear that a person is in severe danger, or something’s out of order.” 

In cases like his son’s, although the circumstances remain a mystery, there wasn’t a probable cause right away, he said. His wrecked Jeep wasn’t discovered until almost a month after he went missing. But his son’s phone account was under his daughter’s name, and she paid the bill.

“That’s problematic for a family,” he said. 

MISSING ARIZONA GEOLOGIST: NEW DETAILS RELEASED IN DISAPPEARANCE OF DANIEL ROBINSON

He would propose legislation that makes data on an account available to the person paying the bill immediately, he said. Or at least to law enforcement upon the account owner’s request – with exceptions built in for domestic violence cases.

David Robinson, center, takes part in a panel discussion with the parents of Gabby Petito and Dylan Rounds, two other young Americans who went missing under suspicious circumstances. (Michael Ruiz/Fox News Digital)

Data retention is another issue. If police don’t get a warrant in time, crucial information might be lost, he said.

There are other, traditional issues in his campaign platform as well, ranging from education in his district to the cost of prescription drugs, abortion and climate change.

Daniel Robinson, a geologist working for an energy company in Arizona, vanished from a remote job site in June 2021.

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These images show Daniel Robinson’s crashed 2017 Jeep Renegade and Daniel Robinson in an undated photo. (Buckeye Police Department)

Buckeye police last year published more than 120 pages of investigators’ records in the case, which remains unsolved.

“There was no indication of foul play,” a detective wrote in a supplemental report, but there was also “no indication that Daniel had packed and planned a trip.”

On July 19, 2021, a rancher located Robinson’s 2017 Jeep Renegade battered and rolled onto its passenger side in a ravine. The vehicle had front-end impact damage, a broken driver’s side window and a missing piece of its roof. It was still in drive. There was no blood inside.

Police found clothes, Robinson’s phone and work computer inside. His wallet had no cash inside. But there was no sign of the missing geologist.

Daniel Robinson is shown in this undated photo provided by his father. (David Robinson II)

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Robinson faces an uphill battle, however. He is running as a Democrat in a district that has consistently elected a Republican to Congress since 1965.

The seat is currently held by Rep. Joe Wilson, a fellow Army veteran who first won the office in 2001.

Both men are running in their respective parties’ primary elections, scheduled for June 11.

This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1).  

This beautiful passage is from Psalm 23, one of the most well-known passages of the book of Psalms, a collection of 150 poems, songs and prayers written in ancient Hebrew, according to the website Bible Project. 

A little less than half these psalms are attributed to King David, about a third are anonymous — and the rest are attributed to a variety of authors. Psalm 23 is attributed to King David. 

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“These first words of Psalm 23 are not merely an introduction; they are a declaration of God’s provision and care,” Işık Abla of Virginia told Fox News Digital.

Abla is senior pastor of Dream Church International in Virginia Beach and the author of many Christian books. Born in Turkey and raised as a Muslim, she moved to America while fleeing an abusive marriage, her website says. 

After a “personal encounter with God” on a day she intended on ending her life, Abla experienced supernatural healing and converted to Christianity. 

“When trauma makes us feel lost and lacking, these words remind us that we have a Shepherd who meets our needs,” she said. 

“His presence was my sustenance, a reminder that even in scarcity, I could find abundance in His spirit.”

“In my darkest moments,” she continued, “feeling as though I had nothing left, I learned that in God, I lacked nothing. His presence was my sustenance, a reminder that even in scarcity, I could find abundance in His spirit.” 

It was through the words of Psalm 23, said Abla, that “God extended His grace to me, a soothing balm that healed my wounds and restored my soul.” 

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As the text of the psalm continues, it reminds believers of “God’s promise to lead us beside still waters and make us lie down in green pastures,” said Abla — which “speaks to His desire to restore tranquility to our lives.”

“In my journey, these words became a reality as I allowed God to guide me to tranquility, much like a shepherd who gently guides his flock to places where they can rest and rejuvenate safely,” she said. 

The verse’s imagery of still waters and green pastures “speaks to His desire to restore tranquility to our lives,” said Abla of Virginia.  (iStock)

Psalm 23 “became a prayer and a practice, as I sought places and moments of peace in God’s creation, finding solace in the simplicity and beauty of nature that He provided,” said Abla. 

The process of healing from trauma, she said, “is more than just overcoming moments of past pain; it’s a restoration of the soul, a deep and profound renewal.” 

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“As I leaned on this promise, I found that God was actively restoring my vitality and purpose,” said Abla. 

“Each step forward in righteousness was a step away from the shadows of my past, guided by His loving hand, showing me a way through the suffering.” 

The path that God has for each person “is not defined by the trauma we experience, but by the healing He offers,” said Abla.

“Just as a shepherd tends his flock with care and love, God attends to our broken spirits,” a Virginia pastor told Fox News Digital.   (iStock)

“Just as a shepherd tends his flock with care and love, God attends to our broken spirits,” she said.

God “does not leave us to wander in despair, but leads us to peace, restores our souls, and guides us in righteousness,” she said. 

Abla said she hopes those who are struggling “find in Psalm 23 the same hope and healing that I did.” 

She told Fox News Digital, “Trust in the Shepherd who has promised to carry you through, to restore your soul, and to lead you into peace.”

“You are being led by the Father who loves you infinitely and personally.” (iStock)

“You are not walking this path alone,” she said.

“You are being led by the Father who loves you infinitely and personally.”

For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle. 

Alabama is spearheading a coalition of 18 Republican-led states in a federal lawsuit against five Democrat-run states, alleging the latter are trying to coerce the former into complying with strict climate-conscious policies that could imperil their residents’ access to affordable energy.

The filing was made at the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday as the plaintiffs argued that Democrat-led states California, Connecticut, Minnesota, New Jersey and Rhode Island are essentially forcing residents of politically opposed states to feel repercussions of their restrictions and, therefore, are dictating national energy policy.

“California and New Jersey and the defendant states are trying to make national energy policy through state laws,” said Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, one state official who is party to the lawsuit. “And if the Supreme Court does not step in, they may succeed.” 

“If the defendant states’ laws have their desired effects, fossil fuel energy companies across the nation will either be hit with massive damages or have to change their policies directly. And, those defendant states will affect the availability of cheap, affordable energy in our states,” he said.

“One state does not have the right to control policy in another state.”

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Of criticisms that it may not be apropos to escalate such a case immediately to the Supreme Court, Kobach said this is a rare instance where it is needed. He said the high bench has always had jurisdiction over interstate quarrels and that the “opposing interests” in this filing are especially stark.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, who is leading the charge, told Fox News Digital he has the right to take the complaint directly to the Supreme Court because it has original jurisdiction over state action. He pointed to other cases in which one state takes legal action against another and makes its plea to the high court.

“When you have two sovereigns that are making claims against one another, it is the appropriate venue for those claims to be heard,” he said.

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Marshall said the crux of the matter is essentially that defendant states are crafting climate policies that will have an undue effect on Alabama and its fellow plaintiff states.

“I think one of the things that is so most objectionable is the fact they are using common law claims, plus the statutory Deceptive Trade Practices Act claims, as a vehicle to engage in climate policy,” he said.

“I think, broadly, the issue is how does this affect the constituents of our individual states? And so the legitimate question is: Why should we care in Alabama how California chooses to operate in the state courts themselves?”

“Well, if California prevails, they’re really going to be able to do two things. They’re going to be able to impose a tax on carbon because that’s what [legal] ‘damages’ truly are in these cases,” Marshall said.

He expressed hope the Supreme Court would agree that energy and climate policy is a federal issue and not one the states can dictate in a way that could affect others.

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The legal complaint reads in part: “Defendant States want a global carbon tax on the traditional energy industry” … “In their view, a small gas station in rural Alabama could owe damages to the people of Minnesota simply for selling a gallon of gas.” 

The complaint cited API v. Minnesota, a case brought against energy firms for alleged harm caused by their contributions to global warming, among other things.

It also referenced a case from 1981 brought against West Virginia by bordering states who took issue with a policy that required Mountaineer natural gas producers to meet local needs before exporting their valuable energy source.

Kobach said this current multiparty lawsuit is one of a few qualified cases that should be heard first and ultimately by the Supreme Court:

“A relatively small number of cases can go directly to the Supreme Court because they are complex between one state and another or one group of states and another group of states,” Kobach said, adding that the high bench has at times declined to hear such cases.

Asked about what plaintiff states’ resources might be if New Jersey, California and the others are permitted to continue crafting policy with alleged wider-reaching effects than statutorily permitted, Kobach said Kansas, for example, has limited recourse.

“The second course of action would be [to] seek legislation in Congress, preempting what the defendant states have done, but that is a difficult process,” he said.

“It takes a long time, and it may come too late, depending on what happens in these defendant states.”

Kobach said the current suit is not the first of its kind. The Supreme Court previously upheld California’s sow housing law that plaintiffs said led to an avoidable spike in the cost of bacon and other pork products outside California.

Efforts to reach representatives for the defendant states in the case were unsuccessful.

Editor’s Note: This story originally reported 12 states had signed onto the lawsuit. Since its publication, that number has increased to 19.