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

[gfinale]

I was agreeing with Rickshawfan that I couldn't say unequivocally that MH was homeless based on him camping/living in the New York State Park. That's based on the traditional definition of homeless usually meaning 'without choice'. And now you and Richshawfan have cemented that camping in a park while on a business trip doesn't denote homelessness it denotes choice. Seeing someone come out of a public washroom wearing a suit could be seen by other campers as the equivalent of living out of your car.

It's the same as the interpretation of staying/visiting with a sister. Both those words can mean the same thing. It's just semantics and we can get bogged down by focusing on the terms.

I do think his first name is Ben based on the law of averages for aliases but at the same time I felt he absolutely was gonna write another name but again I could be way off base. It's just my opinion.

I've always been under the assumption (wrongly, as it turns out) that someone going by the name 'Ben' means their name is Benjamin. However I realized that a friend's aunt who's name was Bernadette was called Bennie, so I guess Bernard could also be his given name. If he signed his name 'Jack' most people might assume that his real name is John (like JFK and my dad!) but a friend's first born son is just Jack so maybe it's just 'Ben'. Who knows? We're just spitting in the wind at this point in time.

I am curious about the other posters on the hiker website who mentioned a Denim who was hiking in 2015 and 2016. It's been discussed way earlier that Mostly Harmless is a common enough avatar name online due to the popularity of the Hitchhikers series so it's possible that other hikers have also either been given or assumed the trail name Denim for exactly the same reason MH was given it early on the AT.

I have no problem with posters proposing alternate theories to mine. If their theory involves individuals who bear no resemblance to MH by way of partial bridges, root canals, tattoos, scarring, ex-con, brown eyes, six feet tall, pushing the envelope age-wise, like 60ish, or have been missing for 20+ years, I'll give my opinion regarding the likelihood of them being MH, which will be an emphatic NO but I'm not going to belabour the point.

It may be beneficial to update the timeline and map of MH's travel to include the two sightings of him at Nobles camp June 1-2 and July 3 2018 with supporting screenshots of the discussion on the hiking site (if it is an approved source). Maybe @Gardener1850 would be so kind to do it since it was her baby. And the TN sighting if it can be verified. The timeline has helped a lot of posters having it included at the beginning of each thread.

At this point in time, I'm just waiting for the results from Othram.




I think it was just speculation. IMO.

Definitely thanks for doing a timeline, Gardener. I'm just pushing hard to make it even better I can supply additional or conflicting info that everyone can check if wanted.

Personally, I think there has been lots more we have learned in the past 3 weeks about MH including clearing up some confusion. That it could all help lead to identifying him. That I'm not going to wait for months for DNA to hopefully help when there is more otherwise that I believe could help identify him.

To me, it's counter productive to have all these distractions of people with tattoos, 5'2" or 6'4", etc. being considered. If you're saying "If it wasn't for the tattoos" then it isn't him so why post it?

 

[newyooper]

There are certain mental and physical conditions that can cause that though and they could help explain where he was at

On the one radio program you can probably find in a search, they said waffles but his notes clearly say wafers. There is no doubt if it says wafers or waffles. Still, you could compare (or I may) the nutritional info. Once I read every detail on the bars in his notes, I went on a tear on the internet to find the bars that matched. I found similar but the numbers didn't match close enough along with the flavours, whether they had wafers, and whether they offered the various kinds. The notes pdf on Sworn Statement page is pretty good quality. BTW, if he had some food left as I thought I read and some of it was those bars, again, why don't we know that in a complete list of what was found on him?

One further point about the bars. He put "Future Flavours" such as raspberry and peanut butter and "Future Types" such as High Protein. This may be where some are assuming he means he's going to make those in the future. However, I believe he just means he could try those in the future and the people who say it's a recipe are completely incorrect, there is no recipe of ingredients, how to make them or anything.
"

Future "flavors" or "flavours"?

 

[SugarQueen]

I don’t think MH necessarily had another tent. Some AT hikers just bring a sleeping bag or a hammock. I actually spent some time chatting with a 72 year old female thru hiker who only carries a hammock. She’s hiked the AT several times. I personally think she’s a superstar!

 

[branmuffin]

Definitely thanks for doing a timeline, Gardener. I'm just pushing hard to make it even better I can supply additional or conflicting info that everyone can check if wanted.

Personally, I think there has been lots more we have learned in the past 3 weeks about MH including clearing up some confusion. That it could all help lead to identifying him. That I'm not going to wait for months for DNA to hopefully help when there is more otherwise that I believe could help identify him.

To me, it's counter productive to have all these distractions of people with tattoos, 5'2" or 6'4", etc. being considered. If you're saying "If it wasn't for the tattoos" then it isn't him so why post it?

Are you going to add to the timeline and map? Let's see if Gardener1850 is still interested in doing it first, though, since she is the timeline guru . She might have a full plate right now and will gladly hand it over to you to maintain.

If we can add the additional screenshots from the hiking site along with the two sets of hikers to verify their sightings I agree that we have added to our knowledge, if only to verify his tent was seen as early as June 1-2, 2018.

You know, there's lots of threads, some as long as #125 (the Delphi Murders 2017). And some only 3 months old that are already up to #25 (Suzanne Morphew) So knowing that, it's understandable that you're not going to get relatively new posters wading through three years worth of posts before suggesting someone who was dismissed as a suspect 2 years ago or a UID possible match. We don't want to scare new posters away when they make suggestions but we can point out that certain attributes assigned to the deceased, like NO tattoos, can easily help eliminate someone. We always have the option of scrolling by posts. Hard to do sometimes, though!

Recaps are a great thing, even if it's only to refer to a new improved timeline. Every time new and verified information is presented it could also be added to a secondary list.

There's probably lots of ruleouts that we don't know about. I believe Namus no longer lists them, although I could be wrong about that. For instance, MH's listing UP51453 lists about 22 ruleouts but they don't include Robert Wayne Roush so some people continue to submit him as a possibility, even though we have been told he has been ruled out.

 

[branmuffin]

I don’t think MH necessarily had another tent. Some AT hikers just bring a sleeping bag or a hammock. I actually spent some time chatting with a 72 year old female thru hiker who only carries a hammock. She’s hiked the AT several times. I personally think she’s a superstar!

I'm not a camper but I like to walk. I am intrigued about hiking parts of the trail but seeing people walking waist deep in swamp water does give me pause....

 

[moonriverfarm]

A back injury. I don't think that has been discussed yet as a possibility.

 

[branmuffin]

It's been in the back of my mind that MH could have thought he was ill or dying for whatever incorrect reason.He certainly seems to have not eaten very well or balanced which could have caused ongoing problems in the digestive system. I think it was a beer he was drinking in one photo and a can of pop in another. He seemed to be nibbling on pizza (only) and, in his notes, it is not a recipe to make bars, wafers or what a radio program that can't read called them waffles! What he has done is listed the "important" nutritional information of a certain make of wafers/bars. I'm fairly certain they sell regular, high protein, no fat, etc and he has each's nutrition listed. There is one line that notes these bars are all natural and such. Another line that lists flavors they sell and one other note saying he should try their peanut butter. That's it. That's all. If that's what he was eating mainly, again, his system couldn't have been happy!

Seems to be a pretty weak autopsy. Nobody seems to want to point out the elephant in the room. Why was his you know what massacred?! Was it done by him? Was it self-mutilation or was he extremely itchy there for lengths and couldn't stop scratching. Why wouldn't the ME and police wonder more about it?! Here's this unusual situation of a guy who can't be identified for 2 years even though there are lots of pics of him. We seem to know a fair amount about him but he seemingly hid his identity for who knows what reasons. He seems to have killed himself painfully slow of starvation...AND HE'S GOT A MESSED UP YOU KNOW WHAT!!! Kind of puts it over the top, doesn't it? No explanation or thought about it.

Perhaps the AR was rudimentary and now the coroner is kicking himself, or maybe not. On the surface is looks pretty comprehensive but the elephant in MY room is the severe cachexia verified by a respected MD as the result of starvation. It's like it was glossed over. You'd think a bone sample would have been taken to see when the effects of starvation occurred.

As for the abrasions on his genitals, just think what it's like when you're covered with mosquito bites. Awake you know enough not to scratch them but waking up in the morning you realize you've shredded all the skin on your ankles while asleep. There are several very sensitive places on our bodies that would cause intense itching or pain if bitten; armpits, genitalia, eyelids, toes. Men are also susceptible to candida and it can be intensely itchy. Someone with a high temperature or semi-conscious could do some serious damage to their person scratching without being aware.

 

[GatorFL]

He could have just decided to camp there until the weather got better for hiking then a couple of months later been hit with something heavy BUT he stayed quiet in the tent while June 1-2 and July 3 hikers were there. Still, possible. If he decided to camp there so long though, you would think he would have made trips into town for some supplies but nobody has said they saw him. Since he died there, they must have all heard about him yet nobody.

He didn't have to go to town. I think he hit the rest area and stocked up at the vending machines.

 

[GatorFL]

I don’t think MH necessarily had another tent. Some AT hikers just bring a sleeping bag or a hammock. I actually spent some time chatting with a 72 year old female thru hiker who only carries a hammock. She’s hiked the AT several times. I personally think she’s a superstar!

Those hammocks are amazing. They have a little tarp that goes over the top so you stay dry at night. Outside with just a sleeping bag is almost unheard of, the first little drizzle and you're not sleeping and your bag is wet. Even in cold weather without rain, you need a cover over you otherwise you get wet from condensation. He had a tent before he bought the Foray, @gfinale worked this out from the timeline a few posts back.

 

[deadfoot13]

The ME did mention the trauma to his genital area. It wasn't a cause of death and so I think that's about all he could do. I don't think it was a massacre either. I asked a nurse about it, she said that area is very vascular and so when scratched can bleed a lot, which is what we see on his underwear. We will never know if it was a bug bite, self mutilation or something else, sadly. But that's not what killed him, starvation did. There are some studies on starvation out there and self mutilation does occur by those who are starving. Look up the Minnesota Starvation Experiment. One of the subjects of that experiment amputated some of his fingers during the study and he could not remember why.

RSBM

Chafing is something you have to deal with when long-distance hiking. Long-distance runners experience it in the chest area. I have experienced it to a degree in the underarm and inner thigh areas when I've done extensive hiking. If you let it go long enough or don't properly treat the area, it can turn into an open sore. MOO, but here is an article that talks about prevention and treatment -- I wanted to note the references to keeping the area and clothing clean and dry, as there have been some indications that MH maybe wasn't practicing great hygiene.

Feel The Burn? How To Stop Chafing While Hiking

 

[branmuffin]

Future "flavors" or "flavours"?

Yes, I'm Canadian and I would write flavour.

 

[gfinale]

Best kind of rope for a tarp is paracord.

The shelters on the AT are first come, first served and most are open on one side. There are pics of MH in a shelter, you cans see what I mean. No way he hiked from NY to Georgia where he bought the Foray without another tent or tarp.

But not necessarily a tent. My point is that hiker, GI Joe, confirms MH had as tent.

 

[gfinale]

Yes, I'm Canadian and I would write flavour.

That's part of why I said sometime ago, when I analysed his notes that he's American. He uses flavors, not flavours.

 

[SugarQueen]

But not necessarily a tent. My point is that hiker, GI Joe, confirms MH had as tent.

We don’t know that “Denim” is our MH do we? I may have missed something confirming they are the same person.

 

[branmuffin]

That's part of why I said sometime ago, when I analysed his notes that he's American. He uses flavors, not flavours.

Are you Canadian?

 

[broadviewren]

I wonder if he developed celiac disease. It can cause rapid, extreme weight loss and pain in eating. And when you do eat, becaue the intestines are damaged and nutrients aren't absorbed, malnutrition results. A family member developed celiac and lost 40+ pounds over a couple months. He would have died if he didn't get a diagnosis.

edited for clarity

 

[victoriarobinson642]

I wonder if he developed celiac disease. It can cause rapid, extreme weight loss and pain in eating. And when you do eat, because the intestines are damaged nutrients aren't absorbed, causing malnutrition. A family member developed celiac and lost 40+ pounds over a couple months. He would have died if he didn't get a diagnosis.

How often is celiac disease diagnosed post-mortem? | University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center
Unfortunately, autopsies rarely check for the presence of celiac disease, so we cannot draw a statistically significant conclusion.
VIA: UChicago Medicine

 

[RickshawFan]

I find it even more awful that he could have been just days away from being found alive. How terrible. One thing that really hit me when looking at the mess in his tent, was after all he was going through he still put his garbage up in a tree to avoid littering.

FYI Garbage in a tree is to keep animals from getting into it. He had to have been very lucid, and all of a sudden, not at all lucid, IMO.

 

[GatorFL]

RSBM

Chafing is something you have to deal with when long-distance hiking. Long-distance runners experience it in the chest area. I have experienced it to a degree in the underarm and inner thigh areas when I've done extensive hiking. If you let it go long enough or don't properly treat the area, it can turn into an open sore. MOO, but here is an article that talks about prevention and treatment -- I wanted to note the references to keeping the area and clothing clean and dry, as there have been some indications that MH maybe wasn't practicing great hygiene.

Feel The Burn? How To Stop Chafing While Hiking

If you saw the postmortems you would know that what we are talking about is not chafing. He bled quite a bit from the abrasions and they were done shortly before he died. Which was well after he was done hiking.

 

[GatorFL]

I'm not a camper but I like to walk. I am intrigued about hiking parts of the trail but seeing people walking waist deep in swamp water does give me pause....

The FT has some different hiking than the AT. Worst I've done on the AT water wise is cross a cold stream. FT has miles and miles of swamp. Swamp is not too bad when it is ankle deep but when it gets thigh high, it gets hard, especially when you're carrying a 50# pack.

I know you have a place in SWFL, if you're down in wintertime it is usually pretty dry. Finding trails that are not swampy is pretty easy. The Florida Panther Wildlife Refuge west of Nobles is a really nice hike and pretty dry. I usually head over to Everglades City, eat some stone crabs, then hike it for a couple hours.