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

New Posts

Status
Not open for further replies.
amytothekate said:
I'm excited to share the annotated map/timeline. Tricia asked that I include in my post: this map has been reviewed and approved prior to my sharing it. This wouldn't be possible without the timeline @Gardener1850 put together. Everything included comes from official LE postings and official business postings. Of course, this does not mean everything is 100% accurate!

This has been hand-stitched together in Photoshop from approximately 20 screenshots of maps with MH sightings/interactions marked. After that, I overlaid the trails, then associated photos and annotations were placed on a top layer. Due to the shape of our little blue planet, as well as the dynamic nature of trails, please keep in mind that some marked locations and trails may be a bit skewed.

A final note, some photos and sightings were intentionally excluded due to the inability to verify the sighting location, and/or the photo was not found via an official source. I hope this is helpful. I welcome feedback and have set the map up in a way that we can edit/add to it without too much trouble.

Click to expand...

Bumping for fellow Sleuthers
 
amytothekate said:
I'm excited to share the annotated map/timeline. Tricia asked that I include in my post: this map has been reviewed and approved prior to my sharing it. This wouldn't be possible without the timeline @Gardener1850 put together. Everything included comes from official LE postings and official business postings. Of course, this does not mean everything is 100% accurate!

This has been hand-stitched together in Photoshop from approximately 20 screenshots of maps with MH sightings/interactions marked. After that, I overlaid the trails, then associated photos and annotations were placed on a top layer. Due to the shape of our little blue planet, as well as the dynamic nature of trails, please keep in mind that some marked locations and trails may be a bit skewed.

A final note, some photos and sightings were intentionally excluded due to the inability to verify the sighting location, and/or the photo was not found via an official source. I hope this is helpful. I welcome feedback and have set the map up in a way that we can edit/add to it without too much trouble.

Click to expand...
Awesome, thanks!
 
Something that has been nagging at me.. one hiker said that MH "didn't keep social media accounts because of hackers". The reason I keep thinking about this comment is - there are 8 hikers who say MH worked in some variation of: IT, tech, programming, computer science. I work in IT, and I've never heard anyone in the industry cite hackers as the reason for not having SM. The reason someone doesn't have SM in IT is typically not wanting an employer or government agency to have access to info - not hackers.

Programmers and developers, especially, are heavy users of sites like GitHub and open source code-sharing sites, where they can share, edit, and build on code. Of course, I realize the plural of anecdote is not evidence, and n=1 etc... more just a musing about something that stuck out to me, although likely insignificant.
  • 8: Worked in IT (computer science, IT/tech/technology, programmer)
  • 7: Worked in Greater NYC/Brooklyn
  • 3: From South/Baton Rouge
  • 2: Has a sister
  • 2: Doctor Who fan
 
amytothekate said:
I'm excited to share the annotated map/timeline. Tricia asked that I include in my post: this map has been reviewed and approved prior to my sharing it. This wouldn't be possible without the timeline @Gardener1850 put together. Everything included comes from official LE postings and official business postings. Of course, this does not mean everything is 100% accurate!

This has been hand-stitched together in Photoshop from approximately 20 screenshots of maps with MH sightings/interactions marked. After that, I overlaid the trails, then associated photos and annotations were placed on a top layer. Due to the shape of our little blue planet, as well as the dynamic nature of trails, please keep in mind that some marked locations and trails may be a bit skewed.

A final note, some photos and sightings were intentionally excluded due to the inability to verify the sighting location, and/or the photo was not found via an official source. I hope this is helpful. I welcome feedback and have set the map up in a way that we can edit/add to it without too much trouble.

Click to expand...

This is wonderful. Thank you so much for making a timeline map @amytothekate and taking the time to consult with @Tricia. Fantastic work!
 
carbuff said:
<snipped for space>

He may have been bandit camping. Because Bear Mountain is accessible from NYC, they tend to attract quite a few homeless/transient types. It's also pretty close to several towns, and across the river from Peekskill, a small city. There are summer camps and tourist facilities everywhere. In the summer, it's packed wall to wall with people. Not as busy in late spring, but lots of boy scout troops doing day or overnight hikes in the area.

There are RV camping facilities, several tent campgrounds nearby but not right at the headquarters, an inn, public restrooms and so forth--pretty much everything you'd need for extended visit. AT through hikers often stay at the inn overnight to rest, sleep in a bed, get a shower, etc. etc.

I think the map of the area has been posted before but here it is again: Google Maps
Click to expand...

I have looked at that area on the map quite a bit. I also noticed the National Guard Training and Recruiting Center across the river. The Podcast mentioned that detectives cross checked the major branches of the military. I wonder if that includes National Guard. You have to be age 17-42 to join National Guard.

Everything You Need To Know About Joining The Guard and Reserve

I know a guy who signed up for the Air Force (23 years ago). He hought he was healthy but the required physical for joining revealed something pretty serious and he couldn't get in as a result.

I told the gal with the auction business to draw a triangle from Chestertown, NY to Brooklyn, to Buffalo and back to Chestertown and then put a star at Unionville, Bear Mountain, Brooklyn, and Lake George for concentrated areas of abandoned lockers to look at, but anywhere in New York was worth a look. But again I question the statement about the friends putting his stuff in storage. I think that is a
1:friends put stuff in storage

But I'm also questioning the high counts too like...
Worked in IT for ten years... Brooklyn.

I don't really doubt he was in Unionville or Bear Mountain. Where before Bear Mountain? Even if MH really was in Brooklyn for 10 years. Maybe the trick to finding someone to recognize him is before all of that anyway. It may have to be someone from 20 years back or further.

And if he was truly noticeably heavier before he hiked, I think he started pseudo-hiking way before Bear Mountain. Maybe just hitchhiking and walking. But moving somewhere.
 
Hello everyone!
I’m new to the site and was drawn into this case ‘cus MH seemed like such a nice guy—I want him to have his name back.

I thought I remember seeing some photos of MH wearing knee braces (am I right about that?). Just throwing it out there, but I wonder if he had orthopedic issues and possibly went to a medical facility in the New York area (or elsewhere)...maybe even had a procedure done at some point? If he had been overweight, he might have been seen for knee issues due to the pressure from the extra weight he was carrying. I wonder if the possible extra weight could’ve damaged his joints enough that even at a lighter weight, they still hurt him. Not a doctor, but it makes me wonder.

Of course, he’d have to give ID if he saw a doctor and a lot of offices take pictures of their patients now (it’s a more recent development in most places, so it’s a long-shot), but the braces did make me wonder if maybe an orthopedic doctor might have seen him at some point recently or in the past. Buuuut... I might just be reading into the braces. He could’ve been self-treating.

On another note, I’d love to see someone (more experienced than me?
!!!) try their hand at creating a picture of him at a heavier weight than the pics that have been circulating. As noted previously in the thread, he could have looked drastically different during his IT/tech days.

Lol, I hope I’m not repeating other posts! I read as much as I could, but may have missed something. Apologies if this has already been discussed!
 
First of, I wanted to interject that the age estimate LE made most likely isn’t (solely) based on his grey hair but on the condition and density of his bones, as well as his teeth.

I tend to believe their age estimate. Could be they are some years off, but not a decade. MOO

Phaelenopsis Amabilis said:
Hello everyone!
I’m new to the site and was drawn into this case ‘cus MH seemed like such a nice guy—I want him to have his name back.

I thought I remember seeing some photos of MH wearing knee braces (am I right about that?). Just throwing it out there, but I wonder if he had orthopedic issues and possibly went to a medical facility in the New York area (or elsewhere)...maybe even had a procedure done at some point? If he had been overweight, he might have been seen for knee issues due to the pressure from the extra weight he was carrying. I wonder if the possible extra weight could’ve damaged his joints enough that even at a lighter weight, they still hurt him. Not a doctor, but it makes me wonder.

Of course, he’d have to give ID if he saw a doctor and a lot of offices take pictures of their patients now (it’s a more recent development in most places, so it’s a long-shot), but the braces did make me wonder if maybe an orthopedic doctor might have seen him at some point recently or in the past. Buuuut... I might just be reading into the braces. He could’ve been self-treating.

On another note, I’d love to see someone (more experienced than me?
!!!) try their hand at creating a picture of him at a heavier weight than the pics that have been circulating. As noted previously in the thread, he could have looked drastically different during his IT/tech days.

Lol, I hope I’m not repeating other posts! I read as much as I could, but may have missed something. Apologies if this has already been discussed!
Click to expand...

It’s definitely possible that he suffered from his knees. Especially if he was at one point overweight. I don’t think he had a procedure done because that would have left scars (or puncture marks). But he definitely could have seen a doctor or a fysiotherapist for this problem so there could be records of it somewhere. He could also be wearing braces as a precaution. I’m not very knowledged with thru hiking habits, so maybe someone else could tell us more about that?
 
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 said:
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.
Click to expand...


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.
 
Phaelenopsis Amabilis said:
Hello everyone!
I’m new to the site and was drawn into this case ‘cus MH seemed like such a nice guy—I want him to have his name back.

I thought I remember seeing some photos of MH wearing knee braces (am I right about that?). Just throwing it out there, but I wonder if he had orthopedic issues and possibly went to a medical facility in the New York area (or elsewhere)...maybe even had a procedure done at some point? If he had been overweight, he might have been seen for knee issues due to the pressure from the extra weight he was carrying. I wonder if the possible extra weight could’ve damaged his joints enough that even at a lighter weight, they still hurt him. Not a doctor, but it makes me wonder.

Of course, he’d have to give ID if he saw a doctor and a lot of offices take pictures of their patients now (it’s a more recent development in most places, so it’s a long-shot), but the braces did make me wonder if maybe an orthopedic doctor might have seen him at some point recently or in the past. Buuuut... I might just be reading into the braces. He could’ve been self-treating.

On another note, I’d love to see someone (more experienced than me?
!!!) try their hand at creating a picture of him at a heavier weight than the pics that have been circulating. As noted previously in the thread, he could have looked drastically different during his IT/tech days.

Lol, I hope I’m not repeating other posts! I read as much as I could, but may have missed something. Apologies if this has already been discussed!
Click to expand...


This is a good direction to think in. Although LE said he only had one small scar on abdomen. I think if he had knee surgery there would be visible scar(s).
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

DNASolves

Who is Escambia County John Doe (1989)?

Members online

... and 145 more.
Total: 3,759 (members: 146, guests: 3,613)

Online statistics

Members online
146
Guests online
3,613
Total visitors
3,759
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Forum statistics

Threads
592,271
Messages
17,966,499
Members
228,735
Latest member
dil2288
Back
Top