Identified! FL - Big Cypress Natl Preserve, Male Hiker, Denim & “Mostly Harmless” July 2018 - Vance Rodriguez#4

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baberuthless said:
Yes, a hiking couple reported that they talked to him in French and he seemed fluent, he even told them his mother was Cajun.
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This French-speaking thing, like many other clues about this case, has somehow leaked into the narrative as fact. Someone reached out to the couple and it wasn't him.

Also, we can't assume the coroner was incompetent and ignored alleged bite marks, blood, supposed scars on his inner elbow.
 
EricaJ4u2 said:
Any of those scenarios *could* be possible. A bite, poisonous seed, etc. But seeing his condition at death, I don’t think his state was compatible with life. Starvation was obvious.
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I agree. I think a spider bite mightve been the straw that broke the camels back, in a way. He was already super thin and malnourished, so getting bitten by a venomous spider would’ve probably taken a greater toll on him than another heathy adult. Plus, if he was incapacitated by pain or partial paralysis, it would explain why he didn’t seek help.

As for the autopsy, I have searched to see if spider venom/toxin is something they normally test for. I didn’t see anything suggesting one way or another. It seems like something that, if they did test for it, I’d be able to confirm that online. I also get that this type of rationale is bordering on logical fallacy (lol).
 
branmuffin said:
It's very possible MH suffered some spider bites. There are two specific venomous spiders in Big Cypress - the black widow and the recluse spider. He has numerous bites all over his body.

Any individual with bites from the usual suspects of mosquitoes, ticks and fleas but also spider bites, can alleviate the pain by taking Benedryl which was found in MH's body. In his weakened state, I suppose it is possible that he succumbed to the toxins. What I don't know is whether spider bite venom showed up on autopsy. I have no idea how long it would stay in your system.
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Brown recluse isn't deadly itself. Its bite is necrotic. You get a big open sore that gets infected. The infection can go deep into the skin causing cellulitis and eventually sepsis. I can attest this from personal experience. He would have had a huge open, oozing and pussy sore from a recluse.

Black widow I think is not very deadly. I wouldn't want to get by one if I only weighted 83 lbs though.
 
whosbobby said:
I agree. I think a spider bite mightve been the straw that broke the camels back, in a way. He was already super thin and malnourished, so getting bitten by a venomous spider would’ve probably taken a greater toll on him than another heathy adult. Plus, if he was incapacitated by pain or partial paralysis, it would explain why he didn’t seek help.

As for the autopsy, I have searched to see if spider venom/toxin is something they normally test for. I didn’t see anything suggesting one way or another. It seems like something that, if they did test for it, I’d be able to confirm that online. I also get that this type of rationale is bordering on logical fallacy (lol).
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I think this is an interesting theory, as I just posted. It would not be a recluse bite, they are very distinctive. Their venom causes necrosis which kills an area of flesh around the bite. They are not very painful.

Black widow bites are far less distinctive, but I think but they are painful and cause an immediate reaction. If I were investigating I'd be searching around his groin where he was scratching.

Still, a grown man weight 83 lbs is severely underweight and at risk of dying any moment.
 
I've been on the anorexia/ED bandwagon for a week or two. Somebody posted something elsewhere and it makes sense to me. He could have had an ED, and gotten so thin he realized he needed to consume some calories. He started to eat, and died. You can die from refeeding disease. Your electrolytes get out of whack. I wonder if this was the final cause of death? He had recently eaten. What do you all think? Would that show up in typical bloodwork?
 
Narkj said:
This French-speaking thing, like many other clues about this case, has somehow leaked into the narrative as fact. Someone reached out to the couple and it wasn't him.

Also, we can't assume the coroner was incompetent and ignored alleged bite marks, blood, supposed scars on his inner elbow.
Click to expand...
Narkj said:
This French-speaking thing, like many other clues about this case, has somehow leaked into the narrative as fact. Someone reached out to the couple and it wasn't him.

Also, we can't assume the coroner was incompetent and ignored alleged bite marks, blood, supposed scars on his inner elbow.
Click to expand...
as others have stated, black widow bites aren’t very distinctive and don’t cause necrosis like a brown recluse might. I just don’t think it can be ruled out, but then again, I cannot bring myself to view the photos.
 
GatorFL said:
I've been on the anorexia/ED bandwagon for a week or two. Somebody posted something elsewhere and it makes sense to me. He could have had an ED, and gotten so thin he realized he needed to consume some calories. He started to eat, and died. You can die from refeeding disease. Your electrolytes get out of whack. I wonder if this was the final cause of death? He had recently eaten. What do you all think? Would that show up in typical bloodwork?
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People with eating disorders still eat, just not very much. IMO he was probably eating very small amounts all along. I don't think that "oh bleep, I need to eat or I'm gonna die" moment would have been possible if he had dysmorphia, but we have no idea if he did. Death isn't always the objective with EDs but I can't shake the feeling it was with MH. I'm curious about his last meal -- what did he eat and how much? I'm also in the ED/depression camp, JMO. My instincts are telling me he was patiently waiting to die :(
 
Just thinking was there any reason stated on the autopsy for his "water logged foot"?
Do they look for broken/fractured bones, I don't recall any mention of it apart from on here someone said the photos showed it.
Waterlogged meaning looking like it had been left in water for a long time and had gone white and wrinkly or waterlogged as in odema/swollen/puffy. The later could really indicate a bite mark. I myself swell when I get bitten by things, adders/bees etc. A few years ago I got bitten by a Tube webspider (related to the funnel web but not deadly) The pain resembled a long on going deep jab, a couple of hours later hand had doubled up but two days after that you couldn't even tell as there was no bite marks but still quite swollen..Thank you antihisatmies. Some people do react by swelling at bite areas, so in my head that was what waterlogged foot could mean?
 
Found this link on another site. It’s reported that they’ve been contacted enough to be annoyed. I don’t remember seeing it. I think MH probably got his trail name as a result of a conversation with other hikers but I still think this site is interesting. Did a quick search and there looks to be some videos of meetings. Off I go to watch Mostly Harmless Guild meetings.

Mostly Harmless Guild
 
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Laura Avery said:
Just thinking was there any reason stated on the autopsy for his "water logged foot"?
Do they look for broken/fractured bones, I don't recall any mention of it apart from on here someone said the photos showed it.
Waterlogged meaning looking like it had been left in water for a long time and had gone white and wrinkly or waterlogged as in odema/swollen/puffy. The later could really indicate a bite mark. I myself swell when I get bitten by things, adders/bees etc. A few years ago I got bitten by a Tube webspider (related to the funnel web but not deadly) The pain resembled a long on going deep jab, a couple of hours later hand had doubled up but two days after that you couldn't even tell as there was no bite marks but still quite swollen..Thank you antihisatmies. Some people do react by swelling at bite areas, so in my head that was what waterlogged foot could mean?
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They did full radiology on him and likely would have spotted a broken bone.

I don't consider his feet to look either waterlogged or edemic. We know his tent was pretty dry based on photos, no standing water. That Tyvek "footprint" you see in the camp photos is there to keep water out. I think the feet looked shriveled because of his general condition of cachexia and because he was deceased.
 
Podengo said:
Org my daughter and I have been bitten by a black widow. It really just makes you feel achy and run down for a few days. Maybe it’s worse if you are already doing poorly, but for us it wasn’t much.
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Was it painful?

The recluse bite I got was not painful. The necrosis, infection and cellulitis were not painful. Debridement of the wound a few times to clean it out was pure torture.
 
GatorFL said:
They did full radiology on him and likely would have spotted a broken bone.

I don't consider his feet to look either waterlogged or edemic. We know his tent was pretty dry based on photos, no standing water. That Tyvek "footprint" you see in the camp photos is there to keep water out. I think the feet looked shriveled because of his general condition of cachexia and because he was deceased.
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Thanks on here very recently some people mentioned one foot looked very waterlogged so I was going through as where various ideas as to why as where other people , but you are saying it wasn't? I think that idea needs to be cleared up as a group x

Yay to reaching funding goals, hopefully some answers.
Another rule out today Patrick Beavers
 

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