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

[AliceInPain]

Why do people want to see photos of him deceased? Scrutinize his dead body?
In an FB-group I'm in some women were discussing some mark on his penis, while others were comparing the pictures with the autopsy report.
Seriously, why?

 

[iulia]

New article about MH

Deceased hiker Mostly Harmless still unidentified: Unsolved mystery nameless man found Big Cypress National Preserve

 

[GatorFL]

Why do people want to see photos of him deceased? Scrutinize his dead body?
In an FB-group I'm in some women were discussing some mark on his penis, while others were comparing the pictures with the autopsy report.
Seriously, why?

Lots of reasons.

It is hard to imagine how quickly he went from a normal guy to Auschwitz victim, in terms of looks. The pics show that drastic change.

Also, as you have said, to compare the general condition of the body to the autopsy. Before I saw the pictures the autopsy seemed very basic to me. IMO, the pictures confirmed that. It seems the ME just did a basic, down and dirty exam figuring this was some homeless guy. A more thorough autopsy with a conclusive cause of death would have stopped a lot of unneeded speculation about MH. Of course, the ME had no idea there would be so much interest in this guy when he did the exam.

I personally wanted to see the scar. Lots of people were suggesting he had bariatric surgery. I think we can conclusively say that is not the case, now that the photos are released. That is not a scar from bariatrics. (Note, no resectioning of the stomach or intestines was noted in the autopsy). It also was not super recent. Definitely a surgery he had as an adult, but probably years before he went on walkabout.

The penis stuff is interesting. Starvation victims sometimes self mutilate. I personally think he was scratching himself there as an effect of the starvation. But, an insect bite in that area is also of interest.

Also, remember the CCSO is releasing this stuff to generate interest in the case. They want him identified.

The photos are beneficial for the community looking into this poor guy. After all, I think in addition to wondering WHO he is, we all wonder WHY. The photos help resolve that. But ultimately I do agree the photos are somewhat intrusive.

 

[GatorFL]

New article about MH

Deceased hiker Mostly Harmless still unidentified: Unsolved mystery nameless man found Big Cypress National Preserve

Good read, thanks for sharing.

 

[UnlicensedPI]

It's been two years today since Mostly Harmless was found. Rest easy, Ben.

 

[AliceInPain]

Lots of reasons.

It is hard to imagine how quickly he went from a normal guy to Auschwitz victim, in terms of looks. The pics show that drastic change.

sbm

Thanks for your explanation.
A very tragic way to go, especially since we have these pictures of him looking like such a nice guy. People want to understand.
I couldn't figure out how this was important for his identification since there are so many living photos, but for some there are other things involved. You explained it very well.

 

[EricaJ4u2]

Hmm it looks like latrodectism, or the condition caused by black widow spiders, can result in partial paralysis. Poisonous Spiders: Bites, Symptoms, and Treatment; an Educational Review

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.

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

I was one that posted it was waterlogged. I have seen all of the CCSO photos and that is the only way I can describe it- unless a professional can refute that.

 

[GatorFL]

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.


I was one that posted it was waterlogged. I have seen all of the CCSO photos and that is the only way I can describe it- unless a professional can refute that.

Which foot?

The left foot looks slightly bigger than the right but I think this is all camera angle and shadow. It is also a little cleaner than the right foot for some reason. But both feet look bone dry to me.

When you're in camp you're not wearing your boots/hiking shoes anymore. It's flip flops or Crocs. We know he was wearing flip flops because they took a picture of them. It's natural when wearing flops for one foot to be a little dirtier than the other.

 

[moonriverfarm]

Lots of reasons.

It is hard to imagine how quickly he went from a normal guy to Auschwitz victim, in terms of looks. The pics show that drastic change.

Also, as you have said, to compare the general condition of the body to the autopsy. Before I saw the pictures the autopsy seemed very basic to me. IMO, the pictures confirmed that. It seems the ME just did a basic, down and dirty exam figuring this was some homeless guy. A more thorough autopsy with a conclusive cause of death would have stopped a lot of unneeded speculation about MH. Of course, the ME had no idea there would be so much interest in this guy when he did the exam.

I personally wanted to see the scar. Lots of people were suggesting he had bariatric surgery. I think we can conclusively say that is not the case, now that the photos are released. That is not a scar from bariatrics. (Note, no resectioning of the stomach or intestines was noted in the autopsy). It also was not super recent. Definitely a surgery he had as an adult, but probably years before he went on walkabout.

The penis stuff is interesting. Starvation victims sometimes self mutilate. I personally think he was scratching himself there as an effect of the starvation. But, an insect bite in that area is also of interest.

Also, remember the CCSO is releasing this stuff to generate interest in the case. They want him identified.

The photos are beneficial for the community looking into this poor guy. After all, I think in addition to wondering WHO he is, we all wonder WHY. The photos help resolve that. But ultimately I do agree the photos are somewhat intrusive.

Agree with every word. Thank you.

 

[EricaJ4u2]

Which foot?

The left foot looks slightly bigger than the right but I think this is all camera angle and shadow. It is also a little cleaner than the right foot for some reason. But both feet look bone dry to me.

When you're in camp you're not wearing your boots/hiking shoes anymore. It's flip flops or Crocs. We know he was wearing flip flops because they took a picture of them. It's natural when wearing flops for one foot to be a little dirtier than the other.

Right foot, discovery photo #99. The flip flops found on scene looked like they hadn't been worn recently. The way the grass seemed to almost grow over them. Personally, I believe he was unable to move for a significant period of time. Had he been able to stand up, his shorts would have fallen right off as emaciated as he was

 

[GatorFL]

Right foot, discovery photo #99. The flip flops found on scene looked like they hadn't been worn recently. The way the grass seemed to almost grow over them. Personally, I believe he was unable to move for a significant period of time. Had he been able to stand up, his shorts would have fallen right off as emaciated as he was

I'm not an expert but I do live in South Florida. It looks normal to me. Flip flops with grass over them, normal also. I can throw flops in tall grass here and it will look the same, especially after some rain or light wind to move the grass around.

FTA volunteers do most trail maintenance. At best Nobles might get a grass cut once a year and grass grows fast here in the summer.

He had to be somewhat mobile because he was drinking. The water source is the freshwater pond there at the camp. He wasn't moving far but moving far enough to get water regularly which he would need because of the temperatures and humidity. Or he would have died from dehydration far before he got that thin.

 

[Ursamajr]

Why do people want to see photos of him deceased? Scrutinize his dead body?
In an FB-group I'm in some women were discussing some mark on his penis, while others were comparing the pictures with the autopsy report.
Seriously, why?

I've been following this case from the start but I missed the pictures and I can't take part in the discussion because I've not seen any of them. It's driving me crazy.

I think that yes, some people just have a morbid curiosity but really - you can do a quick google search and fine the most horrible things in the time it takes to hit the enter key. I think that most of us (I hope) are just trying to figure out the "why" of this case.

Edit: we all have different life experiences - bitten by poisonous spider or hikers/campers, people that have suffered from EDs - then there are the people with medical knowledge. Crowd sourcing is a thing that has helped in many cases.

 

[gfinale]

K, I had to sign up after reading so much and having something I think I can contribute. I believe there is a logical and natural reason why he died. What if he was suffering from pain in the knees, back or wherever and couldn't go very far at all each day? He could have run out of food or had to ration just to stay alive longer but at the expense of losing weight rapidly. In this case, it would take him way longer to get to anywhere he could get help. Maybe he even got off the trail and "lost" for a while then found his way back near the end. I believe it has been said that nobody saw him for a few months before the end and this would explain it. We know he was not too experienced and was using rudimentary maps without GPS and all. In any case, he would have become weaker and weaker. As someone said, he got water each day or he wouldn't have got so low in weight before dying. However, maybe he couldn't do too much more and less every day.

 

[gfinale]

Two other points I can make:

1) If he was carrying a few thousand dollars on him then it would seem he purposely didn't bring cards and such. You kind of do one or the other. You don't carry that much if you're carrying cards and ID. It seems like he wanted to go incognito for some reason.

2) If his sister is in Florida and he talks about her lots then it's been 3 years without her contacting him or hearing about what happened?! What about the girlfriend/ex? What about parents, family, friends? Everybody he met and hung with said they liked him, one girl hiked for a week with him, yet NOBODY is looking for him?! Almost seems he went out of his way to ensure if people were looking, they wouldn't find him. Seems he wanted to do the trails mostly alone, off in another world, away from whatever and whoever.

 

[GatorFL]

K, I had to sign up after reading so much and having something I think I can contribute. I believe there is a logical and natural reason why he died. What if he was suffering from pain in the knees, back or wherever and couldn't go very far at all each day? He could have run out of food or had to ration just to stay alive longer but at the expense of losing weight rapidly. In this case, it would take him way longer to get to anywhere he could get help. Maybe he even got off the trail and "lost" for a while then found his way back near the end. I believe it has been said that nobody saw him for a few months before the end and this would explain it. We know he was not too experienced and was using rudimentary maps without GPS and all. In any case, he would have become weaker and weaker. As someone said, he got water each day or he wouldn't have got so low in weight before dying. However, maybe he couldn't do too much more and less every day.

He had food in his possession. He was on a well marked trail after having hiked 1200 miles from NY to South FL. No way he was lost. He knew how to read trails. Nobles Camp is 100 yards off an old road which is 5 miles away from a rest stop on I-75 where there is help, food and shelter. That is the easiest hiking anybody can do.

It is said people did see his tent at Nobles before he died but they did not disturb him. He could have asked anybody coming across the camp for help. He could have moved 100 yards at a time over a number of days and made the rest area. Even a rudimentary map would have shown him he did not have far to go.

Lost, not moving far, etc. doesn't make sense. He was manic somehow and chose to avoid contact and to wither away there. That makes sense. Although we will never know for sure.

 

[GatorFL]

Two other points I can make:

1) If he was carrying a few thousand dollars on him then it would seem he purposely didn't bring cards and such. You kind of do one or the other. You don't carry that much if you're carrying cards and ID. It seems like he wanted to go incognito for some reason.

2) If his sister is in Florida and he talks about her lots then it's been 3 years without her contacting him or hearing about what happened?! What about the girlfriend/ex? What about parents, family, friends? Everybody he met and hung with said they liked him, one girl hiked for a week with him, yet NOBODY is looking for him?! Almost seems he went out of his way to ensure if people were looking, they wouldn't find him. Seems he wanted to do the trails mostly alone, off in another world, away from whatever and whoever.

Exactly. He chose to use an alias and to stick to himself. And he did that for a long time. The question is WHY? We all want that answer. What was he running from? A broken heart? A crime? Running from all responsibility?

 

[Countem]

As a reminder, I do not believe that we can discuss said photos on this forum because they are not freely available to the public.

 

[Countem]

Quick update for everyone following along: we have reached our funding goal for this case! More details are at DNASolves.

What exciting news! This is such a wonderful thing you are doing!

 

[nannymo]

Othram will sequence Mostly Harmless’ DNA then a genealogist will use the sequence to build out a family tree using a public database. The process is expected to take at least several weeks but could lead investigators to a family member of Mostly Harmless, Hurm said.

Deceased hiker Mostly Harmless still unidentified: Unsolved mystery nameless man found Big Cypress National Preserve

 

[kimwexler]

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

I have dealt with anorexia for most of my life and (sadly) ones body doesn’t know when starvation is about to get critical/life threatening. after such a low caloric intake, your body eventually grows used to the lack of food. eventually systems just start to shut down without warning, usually starting with the heart. not sure about the science here (im not a doctor) ive just been here before and have had friends in the same situation.