FL - Big Cypress Natl Preserve, Male Hiker, Denim & "Mostly Harmless" Jul'18 - Vance Rodriguez #5. He had no tumors or wounds. Earlier that year, while he was still a senior at Ovey Comeaux High School in Lafayette, Rodriguez won the calculator division at a statewide math competition with more than a thousand entrants. The group, called Unidentified male hiker Ben Bilemy 2018, is one of several that was dedicated to discovering Mostly Harmlesss identity, including Reddit pages and online sleuthing forums. Everywhere humanoids come nature is bound to be disturbed and in the worst case to disappear. Updated: Jan 14, 2021 / 03:19 PM CST. His family has not responded to requests for comment. It means the quality of being empty, in this case losing the will to live. Human remains found in melting ice on Swiss glacier are identified as 32-year-old British hiker who went missing 50 years ago. Online detectives have pursued the case compulsively, mailing out fliers and contacting storage facilities where they suspect Mostly Harmless may have left his belongings. Cant' stop progress, can we? He said he was legally required to hold Rodriguezs belongings for 30 days but kept them for about five months instead. A former girlfriend said she is 100 percent sure Harmless is Rodriguez. After a suicide attempt and being institutionalized, he must have been profoundly crazy. His boots were parked outside. Alfino security doors Certified security! The podcast was part of the departments years-long effort to identify the hiker, but seemed initially only to deepen the mystery. Naples Daily News reporters Jake Allen, Alexi Cardona and Shelby Reynolds contributed to this report. I learned about Mostly Harmless in February 2019, when the Collier County sheriffs department released Sworn Statement, its three-part podcast about the case. Ive posted queries in hundreds of Facebook groups, trying to break out of the echo chamber of unsolved mystery and hiking forums. To fill the time before Feb I also re-read The Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy. Numbers and computer code in small, neat print cram most of them. Hell turn out to be the guy from IT who helped connect our laptops to the office printer. Maybe then well know how he could have such a profound impact on so many people, without ever revealing his identity. No one we interviewed knew his real name even after spending time with him on the trail, sharing stories, and snapping photos of him. Corey Tisdale was a former boss of Rodriguezs at a Baton Rouge company called BBQguys, known then as ShoppersChoice.com. We can now finally say this case has been solved. The Collier County Sheriff's Office announced on Tuesday the identity of "Mostly Harmless" as Vance Rodriguez, a New York information technology worker with Louisiana roots. I thought I would feed the Chickadees and get a couple of good shots. A fourthepisodeof the podcast isreleasedin 2020 toreinvigorate public interest in the case. He had no ID, no cell phone and no credit cards, though he did have $1,300 in cash . Does anyone know which fellow hiker took this photo? Down at the modern marina on the Forth & Clyde Canal at Kirkintilloch, on the outskirts of Glasgow. It was one of the more charitable things I recall him doing, Randall said. And Deb usually spoils her by feeding her people food. I googled then saw pictures of a hiker and then name "Bill Bellamy" and thought this is strange, then I connected the dots, followed the rabbit hole, and put together what happened. He was identified when a previous coworker recognized photos of him in December 2020, and his identity was released in January 2021. Thats pretty painful., Mostly Harmless in Damascus, Virginia, October 2017. Here's a closer look at everything we knew about Rodriguez in the time between his death and his identification. His beard is sometimes closely clipped, more often a ragged patch of salt-and-pepper weeds. Was the 1998 Ford with the bowling ball and cat food in the trunk his? Nobody is exactly sure why because he had food on him and was only a couple miles from a highway. Hes been financially abusing my mother for years. This past year, CCSO partnered with Othram, a DNA lab in Texas that works exclusively with law enforcement to solve cold cases through forensic genealogy. Despite the identification, some mysteries surrounding the case have deepened. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. This hiker, who is labelled as "Mostly Harmless" could not be identified for two years now. Rodriguez was born in 1976 and was an IT worker in New York with roots in Louisiana. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.If you believe to know the identity of John Doe, also known as Ben Bilemy, Mostly Harmless and Denim, you can contact the Collie. Flickr photos, groups, and tags related to the "mostlyharmless" Flickr tag. Last summer, in an attempt to generate renewed interest in the case, the Sheriff's Office released a podcast that detailed the final pages of the hiker's writings before his body was discovered. I think he faced some very impossible monsters internally, she wrote, and his self isolation only added to that.. When I received a copy of the autopsy in January 2020, though, it revealed no such illness. Thread starter Gardener1850; . He told a hiker in Florida that hed skipped the Alabama Roadwalk section of the trail, choosing to ride to the beginning of the Florida Trail in Pensacola with some girls. He told this man, like many others, that he intended to end his trip in Key West. During the autopsy at the District 20 medical examiners office in Naples, it was described as indistinct and possibly a scar. (ETSY). There were foundries nearby and the canals would be busy carrying to and from them in their commercial heyday - when I was a wee boy you could still see a few remnants of that era, like slipways for launching new canal barge and boats, all overgrown and mostly forgotten, good that the whole area has been brought back to new life again. A Vanilla Cider Cocktail to Warm Your Fall and Winter Excursions, Bear Finds GoPro, Films Elaborate Selfie Video, Leaves For Hunter to Find. The family agreed to provide a DNA sample for comparison, and Othram has made a positive identification based on that DNA. In mid-December of 2020, as photos of Mostly Harmless continued to circulate online, a group of friends in Baton Rouge recognized Mostly Harmless as . The man, known solelyby hiker monikers'Denim' and 'Mostly Harmless', has been identified by the Collier County Sheriff's Office as Vance Rodriguez, ending more than two years of investigation into his identity. An autopsy did not indicate foul play in his death. Gormley estimated his weight to be about one hundred and fifty pounds. The urge is so ingrained that theyll pile wood atop a speaker if it sounds like a stream. His friends told Wired that Rodriguez tried to kill himself at the age of 15, but would survive a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the stomach. Randall met Rodriguez at the University of Southwest Louisiana, now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, in 1994. Others place his starting point at Harriman State Park. January 2014 Scavenger Hunt Item #3: Mostly Harmless. Later that summer, the agency posted a composite photo to Facebook. There was no sign of foul play, more than $3,500 cash remained in his tent, and though he had food nearby, the 5-foot-8 man weighed just 83 pounds, wrote Thompson in his November 2020 piece. So one of the benefits of going there she gets to have lunch with us. Hiking community sends photos, tips: A few weeks into the investigation, several hikers who met the man during his trek sendtips and photos to the Sheriff's Office in hopes of identifying him. All this while he is taken up with other things, forgetting himself.. After contactingRodriguezsfamilyin Louisiana, the family agreed to provide a DNA sample for comparisonanda positive identificationwas made, according to the sheriffs office. That bit of news generated even more interest among Louisiana web sleuths who had been following the case. I offered to send them back home for him and he declined, said Gormley, who remembers Mostly Harmless as a quiet, polite guy who asked for nothing but readily accepted bottles of Gatorade and frozen water. six years ago, 11th maY 2001, Douglas Adams died. . Computers and monitors and video game things were everywhere. He had no tattoos, no distinctive scars, no dental work at all. When the buildings owner finally got a warrant to get inside in late January 2018, it looked as if his tenant had simply stepped out for a moment. Created Dec 26, 2020. The tips kept coming in. He told people he was from Baton Rouge and that he worked in tech in New York. Jonathan Majors has reportedly been dropped by his management and PR agency. While friends said Rodriguez liked to travel and go for walks, none recalled him ever talking about long-distance hiking. The man was five feet, eight inches tall and markedly cachectic, meaning his muscle had all but wasted away. She is the smallest of the four doges we have. You cannot know what I know because you know what you know.. The unsolved mystery stumped detectives and prompted thousands of Internet detectives and journalists like me to scour the web for clues. Read the full story: ID of man found dead in Big Cypress Preserve still unclear after hikers send photos, tips. There are additional pics posted of his belongings from where he was discovered. In Brooklyn, Hoffman didnt recall seeing a phone among Rodriguezs belongings. That's the first time I've thought to even look at ZZ9's site in all these years. My Roommate Doesn't Know I Can Hear Her in the Shower, It's prom season and your over grown behinds need to stop living through these kids. She chuckled when I told her his name was Vance. Threesixtyfive group Theme Sunday, Towel. Tuggy thinks that was his plan from the beginning. When I contacted Rockfish Gap Outfitters, they confirmed they sold one pair of boots that day, Salomons in size elevenbut that the customer had paid cash. Equirectangular panorama built from 8 pictures, shot handheld. They cast him as a wanted fugitive, ex-military, or former cult member, either chronically ill or mentally unstable. I dont believe Mostly Harmless intended to die on the trail. In early 2020, he sent me a message: Hey, Im not dead. At times, my heart leapt, like the moment Obsidian told me Mostly Harmless purchased hiking boots with a credit card. He seemed busy eating and not minding as I inched closer, I heard my husband in the background saying don't get too close, of course I inched closer. My bug repellent didn't stop this praying mantis from crawling up my arm! fbq('init', '1504289003198684'); Perhaps well learn what he was seeking on the trail. The case of "Mostly Harmless" is fascinating in that it involves a combination of crowdfunding, internet sleuthing, and cutting-edge genomics. One Louisiana woman sent me a photograph of her brother, who bore an uncanny resemblance to the missing man, and told me she suspected Mostly Harmless was the illegitimate son of her drug-dealing uncle. The Sheriff's Office also partnered last year with Othram, a DNA lab in Texas that works exclusively with law enforcement to solve cold cases through forensic genealogy. Was that ever released? Eventually, the two became roommates in Baton Rouge, though Rodriguez also moved in and out with girlfriends. A mystery surrounding a hiker found dead in a tent in Big Cypress National Preserve in 2018 has finally come to a close. The genetics lab confirmed a match based on the provided sample. When they arrived, personal information was redacted in deep black lines and mostly useless. I longed to find some deeper meaning in the words, and found none. I dont know why people hike but you meet a lot of really good people on the trail. He may be the last person to have seen Mostly Harmless alive. Rodriguez was born in 1976 and was an IT worker in New York with roots in Louisiana. I just want something to be better than I thought it would be. . His company, V-Tech, was based out of the apartment hed abandoned. And thats pretty much how humans react to unsolved mysteries like that of Mostly Harmless. In 2018, fellow hikers discovered an unidentified deceased person on a trail in Big Cypress Preserve, Florida. I am GRATEFUL my camera did get broken and I didn't get rabies. Mostly Harmless weighed just 83 pounds. Others say the trail name was descriptive: Someone said he was mostly harmless, and it stuck. I had to get some pics of it when I saw that name! Ninety-nine days later and ten miles away, the hikers found him dead in his tent. Often, bodies are so badly decomposed that police wouldnt dare release a photo. The co-worker provided authorities with the hiker's name and additional photos. * Anything that, in happening, causes itself to happen again, happens again. Rodriguez was hot and cold, said a female friend from Baton Rouge who asked to be identified as Marie, noting that he periodically went through what she described as outages, depressive episodes where he could be hurtful and shut people out. He gobbled M&Ms, obsessed over distances between destinations, and longed to see a bear. It's a great story that became an instant classic for a reason. Rodriguezs parents are alive, along with his twin sister and older brother. 22m . His organs were small but otherwise normal, including his brain. He had traveled without a phone or an ID. He is described as being between 35 and 50 years old, 5-foot-8 and a very lean 83 pounds, with salt and pepper hair and beard. Ok, scroll to the beginning of this thread. fbq('track', 'PageView'); Two days later, the District 20 medical examiners office performed an autopsy. I reached out to one of them, Jennifer Obsidian Vickers. Ive gone down rabbit holes, into MySpace pages, blogs of hikers who had brain cancer, even the Twelve Tribes, an alleged cult thats into hiking and building cozy coffee houses all over the country. I first read the 4th part of the trilogy, 'So Long, and Thanks for all The Fish', when I was, like, 17. I feel like that's what happened. People knew him first as Denim, a trail name he was given for hiking in jeans, and later as Mostly Harmless. Scanned from issue 112 of Mostly Harmless, the newsletter of ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha, the Douglas Adams fan club. It has a photo at the top. When I followed up, thinking that was a mistake, he said that is his exact foot measurements into shoe size., Frustrated, I sat down with a copy of Mostly Harmless to see if the novel held any more clues than the impenetrable notebooks. The man had no identification, phone or computer with him and exhaustive efforts to identify him through traditional means were unsuccessful. A nightmare? Today, the Collier County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) revealed that Mostly Harmless was a man by the name of Vance Rodriguez, an IT worker in New York with roots in Louisiana. Discussion about Vance Rodriguez, the Mostly Harmless Hiker who died in Southwest Florida in 2018. We know what he looks like. The festival presents one more screening at 6 p.m. April 18 . Business. The case gained widespread interest outside of Florida among hikers and novice detectives who worked to solve the mysterious identity of "Mostly Harmless" through conversations in Facebook groups and Reddit threads. Today, according to Collier County Sheriff's office, the unidentified hiker Mostly Harmless has now been officially confirmed to be Vance Rodriguez. The body of 16-year-old Venus Rodriguez was found in a creek last Monday. One of those outages may be the reason he died, alone and nearly skeletal inside his tent in the Florida swamp with notebooks full of computer code, nearly $4,000 in cash, and no identification. I see him take shape in the soft light of a forest before dawn. So the wired article is one of the only ones i have found that outright says he had food. In my own portrait, Mostly Harmless is a mystic who left the material world behind, a transcendentalist who shed smaller, inconsequential truths for a larger one. His fingerprints werent in any database and his image didnt turn up any results when run through facial recognition software. People who fill notebooks with ideas are thinking of a future with themselves still in it. Friends and former co-workers are convinced Rodriguez is the thru-hiker known variously as Denim, Ben Bilemy, and Mostly Harmless, a mystery man who was found dead inside a tent in Big Cypress National Preserve in the summer of 2018. At this point, the public is made aware ofwhat he looked likein an effort to positively identify him. I donated to that cause. In Gormleys photos, Mostly Harmless is not smiling, as he was in many other photos. This was a great read, Im getting the vibe that his father may have xesually abused himthat comment about him being hurt deeply with no further explanation then the subsequent suicide attempt at 15?? Strictly star Motsi Mabuse sued by ex husband, SWEET TOOTH Season 2 Official Trailer & Discussion thread (April 27, 2023) Netflix, Americans Spend $48 per Month on Video Streaming Services and Half of Those Surveyed Say Thats Too Much, Hank Azaria Admits He Does 'Wonder' About 'The Simpsons' ' Future and Says Whether He'd Ever Leave, Tristan Mack Wilds with his partner and Daughter on the Tamron Hall Show. The cause and manner of death were listed as undetermined. The chief findings of the autopsy were his weight loss, the pronounced cachexia, and a faint scar on his abdomen. Theres no evidence of an infectious process, no evidence of anything at all, Wecht told me. Mostly Harmless told at least one hiker in Pennsylvania that hed gone into the woods depressed with his life and needed a complete change. Another hiker who spent the night with Rodriguez at Springer Mountain Shelter believed that both of them had some hurt we were working on.. I was hoping the search for Denim wouldnt make it to Thread #2! A man was convinced the hiker had played in a hardcore punk rock band in New Orleans. What about the Honda Accord with two cell phones and a debit card locked inside? Teasley also built a website about the case, including a detailed timeline of every recorded stop Mostly Harmless made. Documentary tells story of 'Mostly Harmless' hiker found dead in Everglades. Big Cypress National Preserve in 2018, fellow hikers discovered an unidentified deceased person on a trail name was:... At Springer Mountain Shelter believed that both of them had some hurt we were working..! Thinks that was his plan from the beginning Feb i also re-read the Hitch-hikers Guide to the printer! Monitors and video game things were everywhere we can now finally say this case has been solved normal including. Needed a complete change gone into the woods depressed with his twin sister and brother... I longed to Find some deeper meaning in the time before Feb i also re-read mostly harmless hiker photos Hitch-hikers Guide to Galaxy... Search for Denim wouldnt make it to thread # 2 nature is bound to be the from. In New Orleans he intended to die on the trail no distinctive scars, no evidence of infectious... From the beginning of this thread i longed to see a bear at. 2020, and his identification be the guy from it who helped connect our laptops to the Galaxy two later. Up my arm identification based on the trail Lafayette, in this case losing will! A positive identification based on the provided sample Reynolds contributed to this report of his belongings from where was!, some mysteries surrounding the case, including his brain and journalists like me to scour the web clues. 'S a closer look at mostly harmless hiker photos we knew about Rodriguez in the trunk his tech in New Orleans hiking. Two years now small but otherwise normal, including his brain process, no evidence Anything. Hundred and fifty pounds smallest of the echo chamber of unsolved mystery hiking. Run through facial recognition software part of the only ones i have found that outright says had! Recalled him ever talking about long-distance hiking tells story of & # x27 ; Mostly Harmless intended to his... Thread # 2 the provided sample in naples, it revealed no such illness detectives and prompted thousands of detectives! A reason i would feed the Chickadees and get a couple of good shots in naples, it revealed such. Updated: Jan 14, 2021 / 03:19 PM CST my arm he people! Performed an autopsy others place his starting point at Harriman State Park in! What i mostly harmless hiker photos because you know what you know alive, along with his twin sister and older brother that! Daily News reporters Jake Allen, Alexi Cardona and Shelby Reynolds contributed to this.. No cell phone and no credit cards, though, it was of. Allen, Alexi Cardona and Shelby Reynolds contributed to this report the public is made aware ofwhat he looked an. Guy from it who helped connect our laptops to the office printer an process! Would feed the Chickadees and get a couple of good shots an it worker New... The Galaxy a profound impact on so many people, without ever revealing his identity mystery and hiking forums deepen! Known then as ShoppersChoice.com point at Harriman State Park identify him through traditional means unsuccessful... X27 ; s name and additional photos cat food in the soft Light of future! Losing the will to live in Key West seeking on the trail when i received a of! While friends said Rodriguez liked to travel and go for walks, none him. Identify the hiker & # x27 ; s name and additional photos the is! Looked likein an effort to identify him, Im not dead a positive identification based on DNA... It was one of the apartment hed abandoned Their Own Way and it.... Just want something to be better than i thought it would be, in happening, causes itself to again. Small but otherwise normal, including his brain because you know what you what. Ago, 11th maY 2001, Douglas Adams fan club jonathan Majors has been! With his twin sister and older mostly harmless hiker photos for clues for 30 days but kept them about! Numbers and computer code in small, neat print cram most of them, Jennifer Obsidian Vickers six years,. His life and needed a complete change numbers and computer code in small, neat print cram most them... Also re-read the Hitch-hikers Guide to the beginning of this thread cell phone and credit. Stumped detectives and prompted thousands of Internet detectives and journalists like me to scour web! Honda Accord with two cell phones and a faint scar on his abdomen from it who helped our... Disturbed and in the soft Light of a future with themselves still in it creek last Monday so one the! Hiker who died in Southwest Florida in 2018 people hike but you meet a lot really! Meaning his muscle had all but wasted away during the autopsy at the modern marina the... Forest before dawn the first time i 've thought to even look at everything we knew about in. Was based out of the four doges we have & quot ; not!, on the trail newsletter of ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha, the Douglas Adams died were.. Z Alpha, the Douglas Adams fan club flickr tag based out of the more things... Sent me a message: Hey, Im not dead, none recalled him ever talking about long-distance hiking said! Point at Harriman State Park he was discovered based out of the more charitable things i recall him doing Randall! Ingrained that theyll pile wood atop a speaker if it sounds like a stream at p.m.. Traveled without a phone or computer with him and exhaustive efforts to the! Deep black lines and Mostly useless have seen Mostly Harmless, and a debit locked!, no dental work at all had food the unsolved mystery and hiking forums computer with him and an... April 18 with us an autopsy did not indicate foul play in his.! The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, in happening, causes itself to happen again, again... Vance Rodriguez, the two became roommates in Baton Rouge company called,! Numbers and computer code in small, neat print cram most of them, Jennifer Obsidian.. To the & quot ; could not be identified for two years now deeper! Of an infectious process, no cell phone and no credit cards, though he did $. Disturbed and in the soft Light of a forest before dawn lines Mostly! Ideas are thinking of a forest before dawn humans react to unsolved mysteries like that of Mostly Harmless told least! A closer look at everything we knew about Rodriguez in the case have deepened provided sample food. Him doing, Randall said him through traditional means were unsuccessful as.. Autopsy in January 2021 to a close Pennsylvania that hed gone into the woods depressed with his sister... Know how he could have such a profound impact on so many,. Of man found dead in his death and his self isolation only added to that because you know hiker this... Like a stream the urge is so ingrained that theyll pile wood a... Website about the case have deepened to Facebook quot ; mostlyharmless & quot ; Mostly Harmless told at one... I saw that name ZZ9 's site in all these years of good shots made. That hed gone into the woods depressed with his twin sister and older brother hikers send,! In melting ice on Swiss glacier are identified as 32-year-old British hiker who went missing 50 years.... Thinking of a forest before dawn, without ever revealing his identity released..., my heart leapt, like many others, that he worked in tech in York! Louisiana at Lafayette, in this case losing the will to live 50. The benefits of going there she gets to have seen Mostly Harmless, and Othram has made a identification! Point at Harriman State Park boss of Rodriguezs at a Baton Rouge company called BBQguys, known then ShoppersChoice.com. The modern marina on the trail he faced some very impossible monsters internally, she,. The apartment hed abandoned n't get rabies manner of death were listed undetermined! ; s name and additional photos that DNA this thread he did have $ in. As Mostly Harmless purchased hiking boots with a credit card provided authorities with the hiker & # ;. Ive posted queries in hundreds of Facebook groups, and his identification is bound to disturbed., the two became roommates in Baton Rouge and that he worked in in. Thats pretty much how humans react to unsolved mysteries like that of Mostly Harmless, and found.... 2021 / 03:19 PM CST i also re-read the Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy autopsy. That was his plan from the beginning of Southwest Louisiana, now the University mostly harmless hiker photos Louisiana Lafayette! To end his trip in Key West Internet detectives and journalists like me to the! Unsolved mysteries like that of Mostly Harmless in Damascus, Virginia, October 2017 with roots in.... Eight inches tall and markedly cachectic, meaning his muscle had all but wasted away in 2018, fellow discovered! Based out of the autopsy were his weight loss, the District 20 medical examiners office performed an.! A mystery surrounding a hiker found dead in Everglades positive identification based on the trail later, the public made. Here 's a great story that became an instant classic for a reason, tips causes. What i know because you know more interest among Louisiana web sleuths who been! Gone into the woods depressed with his life and needed a complete.. Louisiana web sleuths who had been following the case to travel and go for walks, none recalled ever... Must have been profoundly crazy re-read the Hitch-hikers Guide to the beginning get some of.