Identified! FL - Big Cypress Natl Preserve, Male Hiker, Denim & “Mostly Harmless” July 2018 - Vance Rodriguez #2

[neesaki]

Well, the church has photos of some its later sign-ins, with full names and trail names so if they are claiming they're not sharing the names, they have been doing that before.

Frustrating isn’t it?

 

[carbuff]

He looks a lot like Australian golfer Jason Day. PGA Championship 2019: Inside Jason Day’s prep for brutal Bethpage Black - Australian Golf Digest. I believe I've read his father is Australian Irish and his mother is Filipina.

 

[mp_1989]

Forgive me if this has been brought up before, but there's also a former AT hiker who was diagnosed with brain cancer and was going to hike NOBO on the AT in 2015. His name was Ben Reynolds. He made about four blog posts then nothing. There's some pictures of him but none that show his face, both on the blog and his FB page. He looks a little heavier, and MH said he was once heavy. This guy appears to have sold everything for this hike.I couldn't find an obit for him that matched these dates and my attempts at reaching people who liked his FB posts have been unsuccessful. He mentioned one woman who drove him South to get to the trailhead but I have not been able to reach her. Just a stab in the dark. Here's the blog. Ben Reynolds, Author at The Trek

Feel like you're on to something there Narkj, quote from one of the blog posts...

"I was employed with a small tech start-up at the time and did not have health insurance."

 

[houndpounder]

Deleted post.

 

[turanna25]

Forgive me if this has been brought up before, but there's also a former AT hiker who was diagnosed with brain cancer and was going to hike NOBO on the AT in 2015. His name was Ben Reynolds. He made about four blog posts then nothing. There's some pictures of him but none that show his face, both on the blog and his FB page. He looks a little heavier, and MH said he was once heavy. This guy appears to have sold everything for this hike.I couldn't find an obit for him that matched these dates and my attempts at reaching people who liked his FB posts have been unsuccessful. He mentioned one woman who drove him South to get to the trailhead but I have not been able to reach her. Just a stab in the dark. Here's the blog. Ben Reynolds, Author at The Trek

Thats a great find Narkj! Two things- the photo of the man on this blog (the only one of a man walking in the woods) doesn't seem to match our guy. He appears to have light hair. The other thing that made me wonder was the fact that this blog writer states he has done a lot of hiking in his time. Most hikers who have hiked a decent amount know that hiking in jeans is a horrible idea. Which would contradict our guy's initial nickname "denim". Just my two cents. You definitely found something that gave me pause for a moment though. I think our guy may have a similar story to this guy. IMO

 

[houndpounder]

If you read the blog he mentioned his email address which is pookahiker@gmail.com and his friend DAVE. If he never returned I would like to think his friend Dave would have inquired to his whereabouts.

 

[Gardener1850]

Forgive me if this has been brought up before, but there's also a former AT hiker who was diagnosed with brain cancer and was going to hike NOBO on the AT in 2015.

*Respectfully Snipped by me

The main issue I see is that Denim claimed to be new to hiking in 2017. That's how he got his name-- for hiking in jeans when he was a new hiker. There are also hostels mentioned there that we know Denim stayed at on his 2017/2018 hike. If he had stayed in those same hostels in previous years I think someone would have recognized him. The fugitive that hiked the trail for 6 years before being caught was a well known and recognized by the business people along the trail and other frequent hikers. I think the same thing would have happened if BR was hiking for 4 years.
That said, I think it's worth looking into, but we aren't supposed to be sleuthing people here unless we know they are missing (the mods have warned us several times about that on this thread). Would anyone be willing to send that blog as a tip to the Collier County Sheriff's office? It might get looked into that way even if the above post gets removed here. MOO.

 

[neesaki]

Theoretically speaking considering MH possibly had a terminal illness such as a brain tumor..... I don’t recall reading anything being reported about him that even slightly resembled symptoms of a brain tumor. Yet again, I suppose he could have been in complete remission and asymptomatic for that length of time. And perhaps prescriptions meds may have helped?

Then again those type of drugs are some serious ones, and would have had considerable side effects as well that probably would have significantly impacted his endurance and ability to withstand the stress of such a hike. And he lasted what, 18 months or so? That’s pretty darn good, and the photos of him I’ve seen he appeared healthy enough. I had an uncle who died from a brain tumor, and he was on a ton of meds that caused a large amount of weight gain, and left him barely able to function for years. Very tragic.

Not sleuthing this other anonymous hiker / blogger as I know it’s a no no... but he did supposedly start two years before MH, in 2015... had a handful of blog posts then absolutely nothing after he started the hike. I guess another Unsolved mystery.

 

[janewall]

BR was hiking northbound on the AT in 2015. Denim was a southbounder in 2018, according to those who encountered him on the trail.

Given BR's illness and prognosis, I doubt he'd have been in any condition to attempt another hike in 2018.

 

[Narkj]

Thanks, I realize it doesn't all line up, as nothing does in this case. Didn't know there was sleuthing rules about people who aren't missing. Thanks. I've been a member for a long time but don't post much.

Back to nationality. That picture of him at the CLC meal is so unique to me because it shows the shape of his face. He seems to have a round, flat face in many pictures, but in that one you can see the angles, the way his mouth extrudes a bit (maybe he just has food in his mouth)

He could be from South American, Middle East, etc. BUT. . . he had no accent. Ugh. There's always a dead end.

 

[Narkj]

I found out more about that blog and while it is confusing and perhaps another mystery, I don't believe it's MH.

 

[Narkj]

So many rabbit holes! Ugh.

 

[EllieGato]

I have a couple of questions that I've been trying to find info on here by scrolling through the old posts and using the search mechanisms and have not been successful so far. Maybe someone here could help me...

The first question:
How much does his particular tent weigh? I can't find this specification online. It would seem an important specification to include since hikers are usually planning how much weight they want to carry. Does anyone have this in their notes or are they able to find it?

The second question:
The blue/grey bandanna attached to his pack on his left side, trailing down the front.. Does anyone see that bandanna in any pictures that were taken north of Springer Mountain, Georgia? I don't see it but I cropped my photos so much. Maybe someone else does see it.

Thank you in advance for any help with these.

 

[Narkj]

I don’t recall seeing the winter gear in any other pictures. Didn’t one person say he refused to have his winter gear mailed and was hauling it through Florida summertime?

I know there has been speculation, posts about his pack and that it wasn’t recovered but I asked Collier County specifically about the pack and they said they did recover it.

there is a chance they have not revealed 100 percent of the stuff they found or info about his body. If someone knows him, truly, there could be some clue about him that only they know, that would make Collier County know for certain it was legit.

 

[EllieGato]

I don’t recall seeing the winter gear in any other pictures. Didn’t one person say he refused to have his winter gear mailed and was hauling it through Florida summertime?

I know there has been speculation, posts about his pack and that it wasn’t recovered but I asked Collier County specifically about the pack and they said they did recover it.

there is a chance they have not revealed 100 percent of the stuff they found or info about his body. If someone knows him, truly, there could be some clue about him that only they know, that would make Collier County know for certain it was legit.

Yes we did get confirmation quite a while back in thread 1 that the pack was recovered... we/I pressed SugarQueen to press CCSO for that info. We also know the pack weighed 50 pounds at one point. I'm wondering how much of that weight was the tent and the pack itself.

I think of bandannas as a year round supply for a hiker, not just winter. I'm wondering if he is only seen with it in the photos where he is wearing the coat or if its attached to his pack in a summer photo. Is it a supply? A momento he carries close to his heart? Something someone gave him along the way? Something from his past?

 

[EllieGato]

The other thing I cant find any info on... the fire that happened at the shelter in Big Cypress near Nobles Camp and at about the same time as Ben's passing... does anyone else remember that from thread 1 or CCSO information. I have stayed away from all Social Media and other sleuthing sites on this case so it had to be a legit source... CCSO, podcast, newspaper...

Any early participants here that remember that fire? I dont think we gave it much thought at the time, but maybe someone else did.

ETA: Maybe it was in the podcast... I will listen again.

 

[carbuff]

re: the bandanna

Many hikers carry a bandanna like that. It's a multifunction tool--headband, washcloth, napkin, potholder, maybe even a bandage at times. Not to mention keeping it near so you don't have to dig through your pack if you need to blow your nose.

 

[Onaliv]

Has anyone else wondered why he was so willing to be photographed along the trail if his identity was to be such a secret? Starting to make me think he was someone who literally had no family or acquaintances to miss him and report him missing, which is making it so difficult to figure out “who” he really was. These comments aren’t meant to be derogatory, it just makes me wonder...

 

[janewall]

The other thing I cant find any info on... the fire that happened at the shelter in Big Cypress near Nobles Camp and at about the same time as Ben's passing... does anyone else remember that from thread 1 or CCSO information. I have stayed away from all Social Media and other sleuthing sites on this case so it had to be a legit source... CCSO, podcast, newspaper...

Any early participants here that remember that fire? I dont think we gave it much thought at the time, but maybe someone else did.

ETA: Maybe it was in the podcast... I will listen again.

I do remember a campsite fire coming up relatively early in discussion of this case, but not much about it – I don't think there was any inference by LE that it was pertinent. It would take poring over thread 1 to find out if there's anything more than just a brief report that it happened, or who reported it
.

 

[neesaki]

Has anyone else wondered why he was so willing to be photographed along the trail if his identity was to be such a secret? Starting to make me think he was someone who literally had no family or acquaintances to miss him and report him missing, which is making it so difficult to figure out “who” he really was. These comments aren’t meant to be derogatory, it just makes me wonder...

I've been wondering this as well, seems if his goal was to be incognito he would have shied away from the camera. But then why use an alias ? Baffling.