A man who vanished from the Tucson area more than six years ago has finally been identified after human remains were found buried in a midtown backyard; physical evidence indicated he suffered gunshot trauma. The victim, 36-year-old Robert Drabeck, was reported missing in February 2020, and his case sat open for years until a tip led investigators to a quiet residential block far from where the trail first went cold.
Drabeck's disappearance was first flagged in February 2020, when Marana Police officers located physical evidence of a violent crime inside a motor home in the 6800 block of North Camino Martin, near Interstate 10 and Ina Road, according to a Marana Police Department news release. Officers had gone to the motor home while attempting to locate Drabeck when they found signs pointing to foul play, a discovery that launched what would become a yearslong homicide investigation.
That case stayed unresolved until August 4, 2026, when detectives executed a search warrant at a residential property in the 2700 block of North Dodge Boulevard near East Glenn Street in midtown Tucson, as reported by the Arizona Daily Star. Acting on leads developed over the course of the investigation and a tip they had received, a search of the backyard uncovered human remains buried at the property, at a different location from the motor home site where the case began.
Medical Examiner Confirms Gunshot Trauma
The remains were turned over to the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner after the exhumation. The Arizona Daily Star reported that Marana Police identified them as Drabeck and said physical evidence indicated he had suffered gunshot trauma, a finding that moved the case from a missing person investigation to a confirmed homicide.
As of late September, the station's report noted, Marana Police said no arrests had been made and the investigation remained active and ongoing. Detectives have not publicly named a suspect, and the identity and motive behind Drabeck's killing remain the central unanswered questions in a case that spans more than six years.
Marana Police Investigated the Tucson Discovery
The backyard where Drabeck's remains were found is in Tucson, while Marana Police investigated his disappearance in 2020 and later executed a search warrant at the Tucson property.
As later reported by KVOA, the case involved the discovery of Drabeck's remains and the identification of the missing man.
What Arizona Law Says About Moving a Body
Arizona Revised Statutes § 13-2926 makes it unlawful to knowingly move a human body or body parts with the intent to abandon or conceal them; a violation is classified as a Class 5 felony, according to the Arizona State Legislature.
Discoveries of buried remains on residential property have surfaced elsewhere in the region. In a separate missing persons investigation, two bodies were discovered in a Litchfield Park backyard, and U.S. Marshals were involved in an international fugitive search for a relative of the victims, according to ABC15 Arizona.
For now, Marana Police say detectives continue conducting interviews as they work to identify who was responsible for Drabeck's death. Anyone with information relevant to the investigation is encouraged to come forward, though authorities have not released further details on potential persons of interest.
