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

[Coffee56]

That ear keeps bringing me back to this guy but he had a prior arrest so I would think his prints would be in file. Graying in hair and beard too. If he’s been mentioned then ignore.

Seth Burhenne

Willoughby police looking for missing man

 

[Sillybilly]

This post lands at random.

Remember, before posting info and pics on individuals, please make sure they are in fact listed as missing persons.

 

[Gardener1850]

Can anyone hear enough of his voice to determine if he had a "regional" accent?

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=245369582985667

I can only hear the voice of the man wearing the go pro and not very well. Our unknown hiker doesn't talk much and I can't hear him well enough when he does. It's good to see some video of him though. His mannerisms are not what I expected based on the photos. He looks down a lot and seems camera shy. It could be that he was tired at the end of a long day but I expected him to be a little more gregarious. Can anyone make out the conversation enough to transcribe it? Not that it will help ID him but word choices or grammar can also be regional...

 

[Coffee56]

That ear keeps bringing me back to this guy but he had a prior arrest so I would think his prints would be in file. Graying in hair and beard too. If he’s been mentioned then ignore.

Seth Burhenne

Willoughby police looking for missing man

2001 South High School Willoughby OH

 

[ilovematt]

He was not an experienced hiker in that he got his name—Denim—because he wore jeans to hike the AT. A sign of an extremely inexperienced hiker. By the time he got to Florida, he would have ranked in the "experienced" category. However, keep in mind that the AT (where he seems to have acquired his savvy) is hardly a wilderness (except maybe in Maine). It doesn't require any backcountry skills, and the majority of AT thru hikers don't have any. It can be quite scary at times. Lack of skill is made possible by the shelters every 7 miles or so, many Walmarts and motels, road crossings, trails through busy parks and forests. It's not any kind of remote. After decades of hiking out west, the AT experience is positively suburban.

The trail in Florida evidently didn't have AT creature comforts, and may have been extremely challenging to an AT thru-hiker for just that reason.

It’s knowledge like this that make me want to add AT to my bucket list. I can survive anything with a Walmart. lol

 

[fred&edna]

2001 South High School Willoughby OH

I think it's likely his prints would be on record.

Willoughby: Men busted for drug trafficking

 

[LeenC]

Can anyone hear enough of his voice to determine if he had a "regional" accent?

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=245369582985667

I can’t really make our anything he says either, unfortunately. I’m not American so it’s difficult for me to recognise accents and I’m not very sure about it at all anyway, but I thought that the way he spoke at least seemed different than that of the man carrying the camera. The rhythm seems different.

It would be interesting to ask people who hiked with him whether or not he had an accent. I don’t think his accent could have sounded overly southern when he was telling people he was from around New York. That would strike people as weird and they would remember. An accent isn’t something you can hide well either so while he may have changed his backstory, I think it’s nearly impossible for him to have been using an other accent than his own 24/7.

He already seemed very skinny in this video to me. Not alarming so yet, but I couldn’t stop looking at his elbows and how boney they were.

 

[fred&edna]

I can’t really make our anything he says either, unfortunately. I’m not American so it’s difficult for me to recognise accents and I’m not very sure about it at all anyway, but I thought that the way he spoke at least seemed different than that of the man carrying the camera. The rhythm seems different.

It would be interesting to ask people who hiked with him whether or not he had an accent. I don’t think his accent could have sounded overly southern when he was telling people he was from around New York. That would strike people as weird and they would remember. An accent isn’t something you can hide well either so while he may have changed his backstory, I think it’s nearly impossible for him to have been using an other accent than his own 24/7.

He already seemed very skinny in this video to me. Not alarming so yet, but I couldn’t stop looking at his elbows and how boney they were.

He appeared a bit thinner (or maybe just more "trim") than previous pics. And, he was really leaning on those poles, but then again he is balancing a hefty backpack. I do hope he is identified soon... and I'd love to know he had a happy life before the AT (as well as when he was traveling it).

 

[Classito]

Posted on Unidentified and Unclaimed FB page One hiker that knew him said he talked about staying with a sister in Ft. Myers or Sarasota and that he had some health issues and wanting to do the trip while he still could..also that he was in the tech industry

Zoomed in photo from the same page

 

[Gardener1850]

Is there a timeline of when he was seen by other hikers and where they met him? Anyone want to do a map with known locations and dates? The earliest date I have seen is a photo posted Dec 2017 on the AT.

 

[FlossyMay]

I think the reason he looks so familiar to me is that he favors a distant relative of mine. When I first saw his pic, I actually checked on my family member just to make sure they weren't missing, lol.

I think it's his smiling eyes. That may sound weird, but he has a look that seems warm and friendly and I think that's why he seems so familiar to everyone.

 

[Gardener1850]

I think the reason he looks so familiar to me is that he favors a distant relative of mine. When I first saw his pic, I actually checked on my family member just to make sure they weren't missing, lol.

I think it's his smiling eyes. That may sound weird, but he has a look that seems warm and friendly and I think that's why he seems so familiar to everyone.

Yes, his eyes are smiling eyes! I don't recognize his face but he has a sort of confidence in his eyes that seems familiar. I also think that his posture and way of holding his body seems familiar to me. When I saw photos of him sitting down his posture reminded me of military friends of mine. But if he was in the military they should have his prints and DNA on record.

 

[Gardener1850]

Is there a timeline of when he was seen by other hikers and where they met him? Anyone want to do a map with known locations and dates? The earliest date I have seen is a photo posted Dec 2017 on the AT.

I'm going to work on a timeline of the photos later today unless someone else says there is one already.

 

[Classito]

More information from a hiker that knew him on the trail
" I loved him - he was so funny. I kept joking that I was going to just keep on hiking to Springer and hike out with him. I gave him my email just to keep in touch but he didn’t of course. But he told me he was in computer systems so that’s why he didn’t have social media or anything like that (because of hackers). How did you find out? Where in Florida. How the hell did he get to 83 pounds? I think he told me he was overweight when he started and i don’t think he intended to do a thru hike but just kept going."

Photo taken in Oct 2017 at Woodchuck's Hostel in Damascus VA

 

[Gardener1850]

I'm currently working on a detailed timeline with sources. I have looked at all the comments on the Sheriff's fb page posts. We cannot link to people's personal social media pages here nor can we link to reddit under the TOS but if possible can posters please post links to trail group pages, businesses and any other hiking associations where there are relevant comments and photos? For example, I know there was a photo of him on the Mountain Crossings at Walasi-yi facebook page in Dec 2017. I believe this is the page- Mountain Crossings at Walasi-yi but I have not found the original posting from Dec yet (I don't have fb currently so I have to scroll through to find it). A link to the original post there would be helpful.

I am writing up everything other hikers said about him (using their initials and links to where the comments can be found on public pages). The majority of the comments for people who met him have been confirmed by the Colliers County Sheriff updates (If a statement is in doubt/not credible or not victim friendly I'm choosing to leave it out). Hopefully I can do this and stay with TOS. Mods, please let me know if trail group pages and business pages are not allowed.

 

[fred&edna]

I think this is original post

Mountain Crossings at Walasi-yi

 

[thesensitivechild]

I'm currently working on a detailed timeline with sources. I have looked at all the comments on the Sheriff's fb page posts. We cannot link to people's personal social media pages here nor can we link to reddit under the TOS but if possible can posters please post links to trail group pages, businesses and any other hiking associations where there are relevant comments and photos? For example, I know there was a photo of him on the Mountain Crossings at Walasi-yi facebook page in Dec 2017. I believe this is the page- Mountain Crossings at Walasi-yi but I have not found the original posting from Dec yet (I don't have fb currently so I have to scroll through to find it). A link to the original post there would be helpful.

I am writing up everything other hikers said about him (using their initials and links to where the comments can be found on public pages). The majority of the comments for people who met him have been confirmed by the Colliers County Sheriff updates (If a statement is in doubt/not credible or not victim friendly I'm choosing to leave it out). Hopefully I can do this and stay with TOS. Mods, please let me know if trail group pages and business pages are not allowed.

Thank you!!! Wonderful.

 

[coffeeandacig]

I keep coming back to this guy... Does anyone else see a resemblance?
Missing Person Case
I couldn't find a WS page for him, unfortunately.

Adam Christopher Patterson, 30 yrs old (2015)
5' 8" 145 lbs. Blue Eyes, Dark Brown Hair
Nov. 10, 2015 His water taxi washed up without him in it @ Kennebunk ME.

 

[thesensitivechild]

I keep coming back to this guy... Does anyone else see a resemblance?
Missing Person Case
I couldn't find a WS page for him, unfortunately.

Adam Christopher Patterson, 30 yrs old (2015)
5' 8" 145 lbs. Blue Eyes, Dark Brown Hair
Nov. 10, 2015 His water taxi washed up without him in it @ Kennebunk ME.
View attachment 143392 View attachment 143393

That looks very much like him. Do we know what this gentleman did before he went missing? He is on the younger side but it’s not impossible.

I think it’s a very good match in terms of facial proportions, stats, and over look. Good job. The only issue is age and the fact that his boat was found crashed.

If you google his name there is another picture of him about five images in of the google search that looks very much like our missing man albeit younger.

 

[fred&edna]

And it appears his family held a memorial service believing he was lost at sea.

A Service For Captain Adam Patterson