Identified! FL - Big Cypress Natl Preserve, Male Hiker, Denim & “Mostly Harmless” Jul'18 - Vance Rodriguez #5

[Narkj]

The public knew his name before his immediate family was even notified of the possibility? If that's true, that's awful.

Yes, the public has been trying to help identify this man for a long time.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I've had to inform family members their loved ones died on a few rare occasions as a reporter and it's a grim task.

Why wasn't it possible for a member of LE to talk to the families?

 

[K9Enzo]

For me it was the comparison to this pic (thread 1, post 7).

IMO, this poor guys end was not peaceful and I feel incredibly sad about the whole thing right now. I hope the compassionate energy of those here and elsewhere that followed this case are felt somehow....

 

[annemc2]

I posted last night out of sheer shock. I haven't slept. After looking at a few thousand faces for the last 2 years, my brain became blurred almost and I started thinking "well sure, maybe that could be him"to a lot more faces than unusual. I tried to believe that when I finally saw him, I would know. That's what hapened last night. I screamed out loud at my dining room table and woke up my family. If any of the Mods want to remove the photo from my post, that's fine. I can't figure out how to do it myself. If you need to delete the whole post, that's fine too. It is him, and that will come out, eventually.

I've had to inform family members their loved ones died on a few rare occasions as a reporter and it's a grim task.

I saw the time that you posted the photo and thought, wow Jason probably didn't sleep all night! I appreciate your post, as you are a trusted source and have invested *so much* into helping MH get his name back. It's truly amazing that he's on the way to being reunited with his family. My thoughts go out to all who knew and loved him in real life. Rest easy, MH.

 

[lonewanderer]

Why wasn't it possible for a member of LE to talk to the families?

I don't want to speak for Narkj, but one of the reoccurring things I have noticed with podcasts such as Trace Evidence and TrailWentCold is that some cases went unsolved because the families did not want to speak to authorities.

The families may have been part of the crime, may have had other illegal activities that they didn't want exposed by LE, or were completely innocent and just simply did not trust LE.

 

[youcancallmeal]

I am not so sure the family had not yet been informed by the time his name was out there. I am hoping not. I am sorry for posting anything that may not have been allowed. I try to keep my posts vague enough but sometimes even that doesn't seem to fly. I am thankful his family will now know but also so sad at the same time they are getting this news, especially before Christmas. We have no idea what his family relationships were. We could speculate all day. I am hoping to hear what he was like in RL. Many of us have been following this story since day 1 and wanted his name given back. hearing stories from the trail and seeing his kind eyes, we all wanted him to go home and now it appears he will.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Yes, the public has been trying to help identify this man for a long time.

I know. And so discussing information that's already out there in some form is necessary. Discussing as a possibility. What I meant was before the, "He's been ID'd, and here is brand new information" posts started, it wouldn't be right if the notification process by LE wasn't at least underway, IMO.

 

[K9Enzo]

I don't want to speak for Narkj, but one of the reoccurring things I have noticed with podcasts such as Trace Evidence and TrailWentCold is that some cases went unsolved because the families did not want to speak to authorities.

The families may have been part of the crime, may have had other illegal activities that they didn't want exposed by LE, or were completely innocent and just simply did not trust LE.

I'm not implying it's the case here but to add to your comment - they could also think they will be responsible for funeral/burial costs and simply not have the money. IMO

 

[Crutches]

This is my first post, although I’ve been following this case for a while. I’m a hiker and Cajun and he looks so much like my Cajun uncles and cousins. But what I wanted to say was about his death. I wonder if he could have got what we always called water poisoning. It’s really called hyponatremia I think. Two years ago I got this. It’s low blood sodium. Usually when you are hydrating a lot but not taking in enough sodium. I woke up one morning and could not walk. I was dizzy I had to be carried to the car and then into the hospital. It was a dizziness like I have never experienced before. I just can’t help but think that if he got this in the woods with no one around, he couldn’t have taken care of himself. He could not have walked anywhere. I even fell over trying to crawl. And he may not have been able to eat or interested in eating. Even when I was laying down, my world felt like it was constantly spinning. I just had to lay there and try to not move. I can’t help but think this is what happened to him. He was hydrating a lot and not taking in enough sodium and this happened and then he just laid there and wastes away, the problem only getting more exacerbated by his inability to move and care for himself.

 

[lonewanderer]

I'm not implying it's the case here but to add to your comment - they could also think they will be responsible for funeral/burial costs and simply not have the money. IMO

I didn't think about that!

To add your comment on my comment; in some cases the family is collecting that persons Social Security, VA disability, etc and want to know what became of their loved one, while still collecting the money. The loved one being officially pronounced dead will stop their income. I really hate money.....for reasons like this and for the overwhelming amount of cases where someone is killed to collect on life insurance.

 

[lonebirch]

I really hope that it turns out to be the "reuniting with his family" and the "closure for the grieving family" that we're all imagining, now that his identity has been discovered. That's always been the object.

But family members become estranged for all sorts of reasons. Yes, sometimes the wandering son is just a loner and they give him his space. But sometimes people are split from family because their politics, religious views, or sexuality don't line up with what the family demands.

Maybe that's not the case here, and we may never know since these things tend to get glossed over after death. But it's always seemed quite peculiar to me that MH went to some lengths to not be identified even in death, not carrying a single thing in that 50-lb pack that had so much as his name on it, and that after nearly three years they weren't looking for him.

 

[youcancallmeal]

I didn't think about that!

To add your comment on my comment; in some cases the family is collecting that persons Social Security, VA disability, etc and want to know what became of their loved one, while still collecting the money. The loved one being officially pronounced dead will stop their income. I really hate money.....for reasons like this and for the overwhelming amount of cases where someone is killed to collect on life insurance.

Somehow I do not feel that is the case here. I cannot go into detail without violating TOS. I feel he was most likely cared about and his family will be upset over this news.

 

[folieadeuxnola]

@Teche

 

[George Fayne]

Somehow I do not feel that is the case here. I cannot go into detail without violating TOS. I feel he was most likely cared about and his family will be upset over this news.

Well said. I was trying to figure out how to convey that same sentiment, myself.

 

[WhoIsMostlyHarmless]

Wait, what?

This information was shared by a friend of his. They commented it on the True Crime Society blogpost about him.

 

[Laura Avery]

Apparently Collier county are not happy his name/Id/Pictures are out as of the family do not know yet, as he hasn't been positively id yet. This is real terrible, I thought that is why there was a picture that the family had been infomed.

 

[branmuffin]

I am not so sure the family had not yet been informed by the time his name was out there. I am hoping not. I am sorry for posting anything that may not have been allowed. I try to keep my posts vague enough but sometimes even that doesn't seem to fly. I am thankful his family will now know but also so sad at the same time they are getting this news, especially before Christmas. We have no idea what his family relationships were. We could speculate all day. I am hoping to hear what he was like in RL. Many of us have been following this story since day 1 and wanted his name given back. hearing stories from the trail and seeing his kind eyes, we all wanted him to go home and now it appears he will.

Considering the conversation MH had with a fellow hiker, that his father was physically abusive to him, and the myriad posters who have dissected that information, it's a good possibility that the family would prefer not to release his name publicly.

Why? Because posters on WS, FB, TCS, and Reddit when reviewing the memorial video on his grandfather's obit page, will be wondering: Which one is his dad? The climate today on social media is for people to be excoriated online by perfect strangers including death threats, etc.

 

[Alethea]

Apparently Collier county are not happy his name/Id/Pictures are out as of the family do not know yet, as he hasn't been positively id yet. This is real terrible, I thought that is why there was a picture that the family had been infomed.

I'm not saying I agree but the general outrage when the identity of Lyle Stevik was not released is going to make it harder to keep these things private if they are discovered in any way by the internet public. I don't think people will give LE or the family the respect they may deserve as people think they "deserve" this knowledge from researching these cases for so long. It is a difficult situation.

 

[lonewanderer]

Somehow I do not feel that is the case here. I cannot go into detail without violating TOS. I feel he was most likely cared about and his family will be upset over this news.

I don’t think so either.

My post stemmed from a comment that wondered why LE wouldn’t be the persons informing the family of their loved ones death (for any case).

The series of posts where about that, and not about MHs situation.

 

[K9Enzo]

Apparently Collier county are not happy his name/Id/Pictures are out as of the family do not know yet, as he hasn't been positively id yet. This is real terrible, I thought that is why there was a picture that the family had been infomed.

Luckily, on Webslueths, no names have been mentioned that I can see. His pictures are throughout all of these threads already. The one posted earlier falls in line with the others, IMO.

I definitely understand CCSO point and warning.