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

[MadMcGoo]

Sometimes, when an online article about a seemingly broad topic contains photographs of random people, the first few keywords of the photo’s caption can be used to search for other articles/photos pertaining to the same topic/people. In my research experience, such a search has had favorable odds of producing potentially related information.

JMOO

ETA: Another thing that I can’t seem to put out of my mind is this button up shirt. The original reconstruction released by CCSO shows this UID to be wearing one. There is one comment, out of the hundreds we’ve seen in the past 18 months, that mentions this UID’s affinity for button up shirts. Yet, where has there ever been mentioned, in text from the investigating agency, the button up shirt depicted in their photo? I don’t think the artist chose clothing at random to put this man in.

But it’s never been among the list of clothing found, its never been in any of the photos of Denim, it’s never been mentioned by any of the hikers. Not to say that he wasn’t carrying one in his pack and no one ever saw it, but it does make me wonder...

 

[EllieGato]

I wonder if LE has checked storage facilities in the area they believe he’s from. If no pay, how long before they auction everything off.

All of those emails and mailed flyers sent out between Brooklyn, BearMountain and Unionville to storage facilities have not produced any results. The family that has the monopoly on buying and auctioning abandoned storage units has emailed me 3 times over the past to see if we ever found our guy. I do believe they really had an eye out for similarities but did not come across anything significant.

Additionally, scanning in the yearbooks from Baton Rouge over a 10 year period did not produce any results nor did the alerts sent and circulated in the tech community in Brooklyn, which is pretty huge.

I really dont think looking in New York or Baton Rouge for clues or contacts is going to produce any results.

The first photo of MH we have is September of 2017. The first sitings were in June. Its MOO but I think the possibilities are wide open as far as where he was before then. I'm not sold on Brooklyn or Baton Rouge.

 

[MadMcGoo]

DBM duplicate
ETA:
I took many years of art classes, all types of art and all levels and skill sets of training...If anyone else remembers starting out as an artist, learning the basics, you’ll remember this. The perspective city scenes LOL. The reason I mention it is because it’s useful when doing facial comparisons also.
Worm's Eye View in 2020 | Linear perspective drawing, Perspective drawing lessons, Perspective drawing
I have a hard time putting into words the things I’m thinking, but I’ll try. And I’m not necessarily referring to this specific case or person but in general (although IMO the concept can be applied pretty universally).

I’m going to use these photos as an example and with my personal presumption that they are of the same person and that ther was no facial trauma, cosmetic surgery, substantial aging or anything else that would alter his appearance greatly. Keeping that in mind: When comparing noses for instance, the tip of the nose will not change positions in relation to the spot on the face where the bottom part of the ear lobe connects.

So, the tip of the nose is now out “perspective city scape”’s focal point, or the spot on the horizon where all lines of the buildings would meet if they were continuous straight lines. And the spot where the bottom part of the earlobe connects to the face has become the tallest building in our drawing. All of the other facial features are the buildings between the two things.

Hold a ruler or something straight to the paper and the ... (wait a sec)... I said I had trouble putting my thoughts into words, I’m going to have to think on this for a minute... does anyone else have a clue what I’m trying to say??

 

[MadMcGoo]

(Don’t forget, by all accounts he did perform odd jobs along the trail...a hike spanning 12 months...)

 

[EllieGato]

I just can't decide... so for me, the search isn't over.

 

[Sweetsbeach]

I have a feeling when Denim is identified (hopefully soon) any previous photos will show him as more clean-cut than his trail beard. JMO of course.

 

[carbuff]

DBM duplicate
ETA:
I took many years of art classes, all types of art and all levels and skill sets of training...If anyone else remembers starting out as an artist, learning the basics, you’ll remember this. The perspective city scenes LOL. The reason I mention it is because it’s useful when doing facial comparisons also.
Worm's Eye View in 2020 | Linear perspective drawing, Perspective drawing lessons, Perspective drawing
I have a hard time putting into words the things I’m thinking, but I’ll try. And I’m not necessarily referring to this specific case or person but in general (although IMO the concept can be applied pretty universally).

I’m going to use these photos as an example and with my personal presumption that they are of the same person and that ther was no facial trauma, cosmetic surgery, substantial aging or anything else that would alter his appearance greatly. Keeping that in mind: When comparing noses for instance, the tip of the nose will not change positions in relation to the spot on the face where the bottom part of the ear lobe connects.

So, the tip of the nose is now out “perspective city scape”’s focal point, or the spot on the horizon where all lines of the buildings would meet if they were continuous straight lines. And the spot where the bottom part of the earlobe connects to the face has become the tallest building in our drawing. All of the other facial features are the buildings between the two things.

Hold a ruler or something straight to the paper and the ... (wait a sec)... I said I had trouble putting my thoughts into words, I’m going to have to think on this for a minute... does anyone else have a clue what I’m trying to say??

I understand what you're saying but I'm not sure I agree with all of it. For one thing, the tip of the nose does change; as we age, it becomes longer and sometimes more bulbous, for one thing. Though I don't think in this case there's enough elapsed time to bring that into play.

 

[Ursamajr]

Hold a ruler or something straight to the paper and the ... (wait a sec)... I said I had trouble putting my thoughts into words, I’m going to have to think on this for a minute... does anyone else have a clue what I’m trying to say??

Kind of? It sounds like you are talking about forced perspective. Forced perspective is really visible in places you find lots of depth of field - landscapes and city scenes with tall and short buildings. Not so much with a face unless you are playing with F-stops, aperture and possibly even macro settings and really drastic angles with photography.

Both the nose and ear cartilage continue to grow as we age and mostly the nose is affected by lifestyle choices and genetics. I think all of this is moot with it comes to MH though - he was still young and you mostly see those changes later in life.

Personal opinion? We are trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

 

[janewall]

So here is what I found out...
She said she'd rather play it safe than wonder if she should have done something.
If she gets a rule out, she said she would let me know.

RSBM.

I agree with your contact, especially after looking at MadMcGoo 's perspective comparisons. I simply don't have the training (or keen eyesight) to tell. I'd like to see CCSO investigate and do a ruleout or an identification, and I hope they put serious effort into it.

edited by me: That is to say, I'd like to see CCSO investigate using any appropriate tools at their disposal, not just unenhanced visual comparison.

It would be amazing if a DNA sample for 'Steve' could be located.

 

[MadMcGoo]

Yes @Ursamajr ! I think you understood, I just used a horrible example. I guess it’s something that comes natural (whether accurate or useful is still up for debate) to me but something I’ll never be able to explain.

I’ll be waiting patiently to hear what CCSO has to say.

 

[LeenC]

One of the channels I follow on youtube just released a short video about his case. There’s not really any new information but to anyone who’s interested in watching it: here’s the link

 

[apearn]

I had a thought to contact the Lake George Chamber to see if they would put his info in their monthly newsletter after I read this article: Hiker found in Florida may have Lake George, tech ties
This weekend I was at a convention and was chatted up by the Lake George Chamber because I was representing, in part, their area in New York state.
I talked to them about this case and they said they'd put his info in their monthly member newsletter. (fingers are crossed that me may have lived/worked in Lake George)
I just sent over a nice little info blurb and some of the photos to make it super easy for them.
.....and now we wait......

 

[K9Enzo]

@apearn Outstanding!

 

[muggles63]

I had a thought to contact the Lake George Chamber to see if they would put his info in their monthly newsletter after I read this article: Hiker found in Florida may have Lake George, tech ties
This weekend I was at a convention and was chatted up by the Lake George Chamber because I was representing, in part, their area in New York state.
I talked to them about this case and they said they'd put his info in their monthly member newsletter. (fingers are crossed that me may have lived/worked in Lake George)
I just sent over a nice little info blurb and some of the photos to make it super easy for them.
.....and now we wait......

Thank you

 

[PatLaurel]

I had a thought to contact the Lake George Chamber to see if they would put his info in their monthly newsletter after I read this article: Hiker found in Florida may have Lake George, tech ties
This weekend I was at a convention and was chatted up by the Lake George Chamber because I was representing, in part, their area in New York state.
I talked to them about this case and they said they'd put his info in their monthly member newsletter. (fingers are crossed that me may have lived/worked in Lake George)
I just sent over a nice little info blurb and some of the photos to make it super easy for them.
.....and now we wait......

You are amazing @apearn!
Fingers crossed!

 

[buruczka]

Great idea, @apearn!

 

[MadMcGoo]

Yes, yes, and YES!

 

[nannymo]

Thank you for caring @apesarn. I hope this brings some clues!

 

[Narkj]

FYI:

I have been posting a ton of queries to FB groups, at least 100 in Baton Rouge and NY, along with tech groups, gaming groups, even Dr. Who groups. Nothing. The gaming and Dr. Who folks have not been very kind about posting in there since it's tangentially related and perhaps not at all. They have often deleted my posts.

Someone above mentioned the futility of posting in these groups. Indeed, I've found nothing.

Posting in these groups has produced two other people who hiked with "Denim" in Pa. Not too much to add. One spent a rainy day with him a shelter near Stroudsburg, Pa. She said he had a very soft voice.

Another hiker, however, said he hiked with him for a while, and said Denim had told him he had come to Harriman/Bear Mountain planning to die and that he had been very depressed. He told that hiker that being out in the woods made him reconsider and that's how wound up on the AT. He left a recent comment about it on the CCSO FB page after we made contact.

Another update: I spoke to a hiker who had supplied a few pictures of Denim to the CCSO. She says she though he said he was from the Bronx, not Brooklyn and she also thought she might have been the source of the whole Brooklyn connection when it was reporter. Not sure how she could mix the two up but she seems (IMO) a little flaky.

 

[neesaki]

FYI:

I have been posting a ton of queries to FB groups, at least 100 in Baton Rouge and NY, along with tech groups, gaming groups, even Dr. Who groups. Nothing. The gaming and Dr. Who folks have not been very kind about posting in there since it's tangentially related and perhaps not at all. They have often deleted my posts.

Someone above mentioned the futility of posting in these groups. Indeed, I've found nothing.

Posting in these groups has produced two other people who hiked with "Denim" in Pa. Not too much to add. One spent a rainy day with him a shelter near Stroudsburg, Pa. She said he had a very soft voice.

Another hiker, however, said he hiked with him for a while, and said Denim had told him he had come to Harriman/Bear Mountain planning to die and that he had been very depressed. He told that hiker that being out in the woods made him reconsider and that's how wound up on the AT. He left a recent comment about it on the CCSO FB page after we made contact.

Another update: I spoke to a hiker who had supplied a few pictures of Denim to the CCSO. She says she though he said he was from the Bronx, not Brooklyn and she also thought she might have been the source of the whole Brooklyn connection when it was reporter. Not sure how she could mix the two up but she seems (IMO) a little flaky.

Interesting , strange how know one seems to know him. Thank you for your work and for the update.