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

[carbuff]

Not that it makes a lot of difference but ....he could have camped in Harriman State Park. It backs right up to Bear Mtn, Here’s some info on the free lean- tos.
Harriman State Park Lean-Tos

Yes, when I (and most hikers I know) refer to hiking or camping at "Bear Mountain," they don't just mean the state park, they mean that whole complex of parks and trails centered around Bear Mountain.

Harriman State Park is where most of the low cost camping is found, and also I think where most of the "bandit" campers go. The main Bear Mountain park is pretty heavily patrolled.

 

[carbuff]

I found a similar knee wrap at Eco Braces. It says it is for tendon and meniscus problems. The ones for arthritis are different in that they include compression features.

Knee Brace Patellar Tendon Strap Torn Meniscus

Mr. Carbuff wears braces like that when he's backpacking.

It's very common among hikers, even ones who don't have knee problems. The strenuous walking and rough terrain can make anybody's knees hurt. The brace helps ease the stress and also helps support the weight of backpacking. You don't need to see a doctor or even an athletic store to get them--the foot care section of most drug stores has a selection.

 

[dotr]

Ok, yeah, thank you for bringing this up again! I’m thinking finding this FB group is more likely to yield some helpful information.

I’m going to look around myself and see if I can turn up anything.

Welcome to Ws Phaelenopsis Amabilis, nice to have you onboard!

 

[amytothekate]

Another musing of a meandering mind (if I led an interesting enough life to write an autobiography, I think that would be the title)... let's just say we make things as simple as can be and do some real basic math to take a SWAG at his age:

• 2017 - had been working for about 10 years (frequently mentioned tip, let's say he's also only been in the workforce for 10 years, since graduating college)
• 2017 - 10 (years in the workforce) = 2007: college graduation
• 2007 - 4 (time to complete a bachelor's degree) = 2003: high school graduation
• 2003 - 18 (approximate age at high school graduation) = 1985: born

That would make him 33-34. Of course, I'm taking many liberties and making quite a few assumptions to get there. I don't think he looks quite that young, but I do think he is definitely in the bottom half of the range provided.

 

[Phaelenopsis Amabilis]

Welcome to Ws Phaelenopsis Amabilis, nice to have you onboard!

Thanks so much!

 

[Phaelenopsis Amabilis]

Yes, when I (and most hikers I know) refer to hiking or camping at "Bear Mountain," they don't just mean the state park, they mean that whole complex of parks and trails centered around Bear Mountain.

Harriman State Park is where most of the low cost camping is found, and also I think where most of the "bandit" campers go. The main Bear Mountain park is pretty heavily patrolled.

Ok, this may be a silly question (Lol, be gentle, I don’t camp much) but I’m assuming “bandit” campers are more the “live off the grid in the woods type” and not actually running from LE?

 

[carbuff]

Ok, this may be a silly question (Lol, be gentle, I don’t camp much) but I’m assuming “bandit” campers are more the “live off the grid in the woods type” and not actually running from LE?

Oh, sorry, yeah, it's hiker slang.

Along the AT and in other heavily used trails like the Long Trail in Vermont, there are established tent sites and shelters. You're not supposed to camp anywhere else, so as not to damage the environment any more than necessary. Somebody who camps at an unauthorized campsite, or who camps at an established site without paying the fee, is called a "bandit."

 

[Phaelenopsis Amabilis]

Oh, sorry, yeah, it's hiker slang.

Along the AT and in other heavily used trails like the Long Trail in Vermont, there are established tent sites and shelters. You're not supposed to camp anywhere else, so as not to damage the environment any more than necessary. Somebody who camps at an unauthorized campsite, or who camps at an established site without paying the fee, is called a "bandit."

Thanks! Interesting!

 

[eucalyptuz]

I have been following the “shares” on the original Collier County post that nearly every article in the press has linked to. One thing is worrying me...the story has not gained any traction in non-USA shares. It is possible that he is Canadian. If he was from Ontario the accent is often very slight and sometimes even mistaken for a Californian/west coast accent.

Come to think of it, he could be from anywhere in the world. Language and accent studies have shown that regional English accents become stubbornly fixed between 7-14 years of age. So if MH spent his childhood/teen years in the USA he could have a US accent despite another nationality/home-country.

 

[booghawk]

Mr. Carbuff wears braces like that when he's backpacking.

It's very common among hikers, even ones who don't have knee problems. The strenuous walking and rough terrain can make anybody's knees hurt. The brace helps ease the stress and also helps support the weight of backpacking. You don't need to see a doctor or even an athletic store to get them--the foot care section of most drug stores has a selection.

I concur lol, I wear a similar knee brace for my Osgood Schlatter's disease in my left knee. They are very common and for a wide variety of reasons.

 

[booghawk]

I have been following the “shares” on the original Collier County post that nearly every article in the press has linked to. One thing is worrying me...the story has not gained any traction in non-USA shares. It is possible that he is Canadian. If he was from Ontario the accent is often very slight and sometimes even mistaken for a Californian/west coast accent.

Come to think of it, he could be from anywhere in the world. Language and accent studies have shown that regional English accents become stubbornly fixed between 7-14 years of age. So if MH spent his childhood/teen years in the USA he could have a US accent despite another nationality/home-country.

I've shared his posts in many groups up here, but for whatever reason, the general public in Canada shys away from those types of posts much more than Americans. We are fairly sheltered here.

A good way to possibly start down that path would be if we could view anything he had written in hostel's guestbooks or anywhere else and see how he spelled certain words. Colour vs. color, flavour vs flavor etc. You can detect a Canadian fairly quickly through written word.

 

[turanna25]

I just want to add, when I was actively posting in this thread, one woman in the AT group on FB mentioned he WAS in an AT FB group. She said this a while before he was found deceased, so it seemed genuine. Several hikers were looking for him because of a storm or something that was heading their way or had already hit, and she had replied saying he was in one of the FB groups but didn't mention which one. I very much doubt I could find that FB thread again, I have since left all the AT groups because the feedback from hikers was at a standstill, but I just wanted to mention that.

booghawk,
do you remember the time frame of the post you saw? just trying to narrow it down a little bit if I end up searching through some of the AT groups.

 

[ilovepierre]

I've shared his posts in many groups up here, but for whatever reason, the general public in Canada shys away from those types of posts much more than Americans. We are fairly sheltered here.

A good way to possibly start down that path would be if we could view anything he had written in hostel's guestbooks or anywhere else and see how he spelled certain words. Colour vs. color, flavour vs flavor etc. You can detect a Canadian fairly quickly through written word.

BBM.
Unless you’re me
I tend to write the American way.

JMO

 

[booghawk]

BBM.
Unless you’re me
I tend to write the American way.

JMO

I flip flop between the two, but it's somewhere to start.

 

[booghawk]

booghawk,
do you remember the time frame of the post you saw? just trying to narrow it down a little bit if I end up searching through some of the AT groups.

I would say early 2018 or late 2017. I don't know if it was a hurricane or a tropical storm that was heading their way.. or some severe weather occurance, but if you can find something that happened around that time, it may help narrow it down. It was an older woman who said he was in one of the group's and she was fairly vocal & active in the group.

 

[EllieGato]

I would say early 2018 or late 2017. I don't know if it was a hurricane or a tropical storm that was heading their way.. or some severe weather occurance, but if you can find something that happened around that time, it may help narrow it down. It was an older woman who said he was in one of the group's and she was fairly vocal & active in the group.

That was somewhere around Georgia Alabama before Crestview Florida. See Gardeners timeline for quick access to the name of the storm... Nate maybe. They were stuck in a basement 3 nights. Cross check to the 40 sightings on Amy'totheKate list for any extra details around that time. Let us know what you find @turanna25 and I will look around too tonight. If it was mentioned was on a trail site in real time and has since been removed, I likely have it in my notes. I think this a comment worth looking into.

 

[EllieGato]

If he WAS from Baton Rouge, and he indeed skipped the road walk in Alabama and we also heard a mention of him taking a 'road trip with some girls' around that same time... ok well, then if he communicated thru social media with any old friends to meet up with during this time, he did so in the Georgia Alabama area and that is where he was stuck for the hurricane/storm.

If he is from Baton Rouge, could he have checked in with friends or family during this time as well? It was the holidays. Maybe he only gets in touch at Christmas time. Who picked him up before the Alabama Rd walk?

The Mountain Crossings photo. Reluctance? Would somebody be looking for him to finish?

The photo in front of the truck...
Big dose of reality? Maybe from 'checking in'?

MOO.

 

[EllieGato]

I've got quite a list I'm working on, but if anyone is looking through MPs in Canada, might as well add Australia and UK to the list too. Some of my searches (based on some theories mentioned here) lead me to both places.

 

[turanna25]

That was somewhere around Georgia Alabama before Crestview Florida. See Gardeners timeline for quick access to the name of the storm... Nate maybe. They were stuck in a basement 3 nights. Cross check to the 40 sightings on Amy'totheKate list for any extra details around that time. Let us know what you find @turanna25 and I will look around too tonight. If it was mentioned was on a trail site in real time and has since been removed, I likely have it in my notes. I think this a comment worth looking into.

I agree, I think its worth looking into.. I looked on one of the AT groups last night.. I'll continue tonight once I get home. If you find anything else that may help narrow it down let me know.

 

[coffeeandacig]

I've got quite a list I'm working on, but if anyone is looking through MPs in Canada, might as well add Australia and UK to the list too. Some of my searches (based on some theories mentioned here) lead me to both places.

Just a suggestion, but some countries like Iceland, Israel, and The Netherlands have people who speak English with very little hint of an accent.