Identified! FL - Big Cypress Natl Preserve, Male hiker, "Denim" & "Mostly Harmless", July 2018 Vance Rodriguez

Not trying to be glib here, but if that's a 77% match in whatever "API geometrics" are, what it tells me is that you'd need a 100% match. I'm no expert, but I see eyes that are completely wrong, and Gill does not have MH's distinctive cheekbones. Those things don't change with age. I'd be astonished if this were a match. But as I said, I don't have any credentials other than what I can see.

While on the subject of possible matches - there was another possibility brought forward (may have been ruled out now) by the name of Matthew Prendergrast, who has been missing a long time but would be in the right age range if he were still alive. There are photos of him online, as well as a video interview with his parents. Matthew Pendergrast, still considered missing 15 years later | KATV I had to agree with many who commented that Matthew resembled but did not really look like a match for MH. But in the video interview, the elder Prendergrast (Matthew's father) looks astoundingly like MH, except for a receding hairline. Probably nothing more than a coincidence, but I really found it striking. Anyone else notice this? I'm a newbie here, so apologies if this has been discussed before.

 

I agree.

O/T When googling, I found this regarding BRG. Curious.

Quasi-evil

 

Agreed. That one came out of nowhere, and the user did not add any specific information to back it up.

 

Not quite even Mh pictures do not come up 100% , 89% at best, this is due to ageing and weight loss between pictures .
I should imagine his finger prints are on file, but i'm not sure if he was arrested or just questioned but he is "on the run" with a warrant out for his arrest.

 

IMO I was very interested Matthew Pendergrast but remarkably never saw the video you shared. I had read the text of a similar article (with quotes from his parents), but never saw the visual of his parents & all of the additional photos of MP. I do see the resemblance to his father, but I also am of the opinion that looking at MP is like looking at a picture of a young MH. Someone pointed out to me that their ears are different so maybe this is one detail to study to rule him out.

 

I would love to know if LE searched the Pond in the campground for MH's wallet. He could have flung it into the water even if he couldn't move around much.

 

For whatever it's worth, ears would be one of the least reliable ways to match photos from 2 decades apart. Ears are about the only feature that keeps growing all throughout adulthood, making such comparisons difficult.

 

Though the ears and nose keep growing, the cartilage shape does not change. Ears are like fingerprints. If you have a baby picture of yourself in profile - compare it to a recent profile picture. The shape of the conch - especially where the crus meets it, helix and how it is connected to the scapha (how deep is the curl/does the scapha protrude further out past the helix) the position of the tragus, and the notch below - the basic shapes stay the same even as the ear grows larger. The easiest part - the lobe - would tell you right off the bat if the comparison needs further attention. Is it attached or detached? Then go from there.

Edited to add: no two ears are the same - not even your own ears are identical to each other. That can also help with comparisons. Forensic scientists have also used prints of ears at crime scenes to help identify suspects.

 

I think BRG does not look like MH, but an interesting find.

 

IMO Yes, once the difference (with the ears) was pointed out to me, I could see it. I also think this case highlights how people see faces differently. Some people can look at photographs of two men (MH and another random person) and see a similarity overall. Others are able to distinguish the intricate differences in each individual facial feature, which is pretty remarkable. I'm not of that group, but I am slowly getting better. Lol.

 

IMO, BRG isn’t MH.
I just don’t see any of the similarities at all.

IMO

 

It wasn't a clear shot to the pond from the tent. There is a barbed wire fence and multiple trees in the way. It's about a 40-pace walk to the spot where he would have obtained water. It's also a natural alligator habitat, I saw multiple gators all over the place. I did not see one in the pond, but in aerial photographs take of the pond at other times, a gator was in there. So I would be shocked if CCSO searched the pond.

 

Hey all, forgive me, haven't been on here in a while. I swore I saw a photo floating out there with Mostly Harmless's "Ben Bilemy" sign in. Has anyone seen it? I have always been under the impression that he wrote that himself but someone suggested he may have said "Ben Bellamy" aloud and the clerk/owner simply wrote it down the wrong way. That's certainly possibly. People spell my last name "Mark" when I say it aloud because they don't think I said "Nark." Lol.

I realize people have scoured every Ben Bellamy on the planet at this point, but I was just putting it out there. It never occurred to me that someone else could have written it.

 

IIRC, it's a signature on a card. We discussed the handwriting. I'll poke around, certainly one of us can find it.

Although, your theory is sound. I do genealogy & family history. In my family, 3 siblings were married in the same county of the course of 3 1/2 years. The same clerk wrote on all 3 marriage licenses & certificates. The same clerk spelled their mother's maiden name 3 different ways.

jmho ymmv lrr


Well, the Search box is my friend this morning!!!

 

Hhmm, the images were in the post above a moment ago....



Posted by @PatLaurel on August 23, no idea where the images were found.

 

It's interesting to me that he signed it "Ben" instead of "Benjamin" in the cursive part. Most people I know may write their nickname in a name section but always sign their full name.

 

That may depend on how solidly he goes by Ben, assuming that's his real first name. I go by both my nickname and my full name pretty interchangeably, with a slight preference that strangers/acquaintances use my full name. I'd never sign something as my nickname, wouldn't even occur to me.

Meanwhile, my brother's name is Will and the few occasions I've been around when he needed to sign his full name, he had to be reminded that they wanted William. This could be generational though, we are younger.

 

I doubt his real name was Benjamin, but if it was, he might sign Ben (rather than Benjamin Jr) if his father went by Benjamin.

 

@Coffee56 posted them. No idea where the images were found either.
FL - FL - Big Cypress National Preserve, Male hiker, "Denim" and "Mostly Harmless", 23 July 2018 #4

MOO JMO