Identified! FL - Big Cypress Natl Preserve, Male Hiker, Denim & “Mostly Harmless” July 2018 - Vance Rodriguez#4

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mjak said:
the medical examiner I believe stated the cause of death as starvation. no explanation for the starvation was found. It might be when he is ID his family might know information regarding his health that could shed light on why he might have starved but short of another autopsy or a witness being found who could shed light not sure how we can add light on why he starved.
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I don't think the ME declared starvation but we've pretty well concluded it was starvation. I think it's important to try because if we can, it is something that is potentially recognizable by others who can identify him. Anything we can find out about him could do that. Some would say they'd recognize the picture over that stuff but, for instance, I had many customers that were long distance, who I never met for some years who I had long term relationships with but without ever hanging with them in person. They were in Russia, Taiwan, California, New Zealand. Radios and podcasts don't show pictures either. Sometimes you're listening but you're not really watching.
 
gfinale said:
I am not aware of 2 sets of hikers around those times, just the ones on July 3, 2018 and then there were the two who found him on July 23, 2018. Can you provide more info or links about these additional hikers? Are you sure the 2 sets of hikers are not actually the same ones? To my understanding, the ones making the video left him water in the morning.
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Yes, Armando Ruiz made the video, was there July 3, and confirmed he saw MH's tent but did not see MH. They're the hikers that left some "trail magic water" for him.
 
lonewanderer said:
That is where I thought you were heading with this. In addition, there are major gaps where we do not know his whereabouts, no one has seemed to see him, and there are no pictures of him.

For the ED, I also think the same thing. I have kicked around some (far-fetched) ideas such as smoke inhalation and trying to hide from it in his tent. I have also speculated about him having a condition leading up to starving due to a form of paralysis (stroke, seizure, coma, tetanus) and being technically alive but ultimately dying from starvation.

A few (off the wall) theories I won't discuss to deeply is the possibility of toxic fumes instead of smoke. There is also the possibility that a very foggy day could have disorientated him very badly and he didn't realize how much time had passed or where he was. Eventually he stumbled back to his tent, ate and drank something, and then succumbed shortly after.

A (slightly ridiculous) theory of mine is that he may have been (literally) scared to death. In this scenario, MH may have been surrounded by wild boars, Florida panthers, bobcats, (probably not bears in the summer) etc. That is a little dramatic sounding to be scared to death from animals making intimidating sounds (such as boars burrowing), but what if he was deathly afraid of (lets say) snakes (a very common phobia) and woke up with one (or more) on his chest (or other areas such as the place that was mysteriously bleeding). When scared to death (literally) your adrenaline glands kick into high gear and completely take over your central nervous system. This could have lead to him trashing the tent to try and get the snake away, and this his system went into total shock. The overload could have completely disabled him until he starved to death. (Super wild speculation, but hey, I have an over-active imagination).
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We know he was not paralyzed or in a coma for a long period of time. Why? He did not die of dehydration. Same about being scared and staying only in the tent. He was out getting, filtering and consuming water.

There is a well-known bear that frequents Nobles Camp, his name is Hunchback. You can search and see videos of him.
 
GatorFL said:
Yes, Armando Ruiz made the video, was there July 3, and confirmed he saw MH's tent but did not see MH. They're the hikers that left some "trail magic water" for him.
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This is confusing to me - Armando made the video, but another hiker with initials JS is the one that responds to Armando, saying, hey, I was there on July 3rd and left trail magic water, etc., indicating that they saw the same tent and campsite within a few days of each other.
 
wardo27 said:
This is confusing to me - Armando made the video, but another hiker with initials JS is the one that responds to Armando, saying, hey, I was there on July 3rd and left trail magic water, etc., indicating that they saw the same tent and campsite within a few days of each other.
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I'll have to look at at that again. As I recall JS was speaking to Armando. Armando replied with the trail magic comment. Armando is a pretty interesting guy, motivational speaker.
 
GatorFL said:
We know he was not paralyzed or in a coma for a long period of time. Why? He did not die of dehydration. Same about being scared and staying only in the tent. He was out getting, filtering and consuming water.

There is a well-known bear that frequents Nobles Camp, his name is Hunchback. You can search and see videos of him.
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Just to clarify further, he had to be getting water from the pond frequently.
 
wardo27 said:
This is confusing to me - Armando made the video, but another hiker with initials JS is the one that responds to Armando, saying, hey, I was there on July 3rd and left trail magic water, etc., indicating that they saw the same tent and campsite within a few days of each other.
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Thanks for the screenshot. I think there was a little more to that conversation and I can't remember the rest of it. I looked at Armando's video, he does state he was there June 1, 2018 in the description. So 2 groups saw MH's tent, one in early June and a second in early July.
 
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I saw this buried video on YT about Noble's camp. It's about seven minutes long. Drone footage, no sound in terms of narrative, but it gives a really good idea where MH was. It stops momentarily on the picnic bench then moves to a couple of ponds, one of which is fairly clear compared to the others covered in algae. It's difficult to gauge the distance between the picnic bench and the pond plus anyone could move the bench wherever they wanted to so it could be in a different location from when MH was discovered. It does pull back from the picnic bench for a better view and there is no pond in the immediate area.

 
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branmuffin said:
I saw this buried video on YT about Noble's camp. It's about seven minutes long. Drone footage, no sound in terms of narrative, but it gives a really good idea where MH was. It stops momentarily on the picnic bench then moves to a couple of ponds, one of which is fairly clear compared to the others covered in algae. It's difficult to gauge the distance between the picnic bench and the pond plus anyone could move the bench wherever they wanted to so it could be in a different location from when MH was discovered. It does pull back from the picnic bench for a better view and there is no pond in the immediate area.

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Awesome! That really gives me a feel for the area. I wasn't expecting the trail to look like a country road though and the alligator, yikes.
 
Mind your biscuits said:
Awesome! That really gives me a feel for the area. I wasn't expecting the trail to look like a country road though and the alligator, yikes.
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I watched another YT video by a guy called Geezer who walked that part of the trail to end up in the Collier County rest stop on I-75 so they must have trekked through the Noble campsite. This was three men who hiked in December of 2019 and even then it was miserable. Hiking through ankle height water almost pulling their hiking boots off. It would start out fairly comfortable temperature wise then get up to the 80's by mid day. That's in December, I can't even imagine how horrible it would be in July. I can see why very few people do that hike at that time of the year. I got the impression that you get a few hikers who might park in the rest stop area and hike the 5 miles to Noble's camp and then return. It would be exhausting, every step being a boot-sucking exercise.

ETA: changed to Collier County
 
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branmuffin said:
I watched another YT video by a guy called Geezer who walked that part of the trail to end up in the Chaffee County rest stop on I-75 so they must have trekked through the Noble campsite. This was three men who hiked in December of 2019 and even then it was miserable. Hiking through ankle height water almost pulling their hiking boots off. It would start out fairly comfortable temperature wise then get up to the 80's by mid day. That's in December, I can't even imagine how horrible it would be in July. I can see why very few people do that hike at that time of the year. I got the impression that you get a few hikers who might park in the rest stop area and hike the 5 miles to Noble's camp and then return. It would be exhausting, every step being a boot-sucking exercise.
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Collier County?

The trail between the rest stop and Nobles is elevated, I've researched it and it does not flood, same for the camp. It is elevated, somewhere between 13' - 15' above sea level. The trails south of the rest stop are in water. And it is too deep for boots and too hot for waders.

Even in October I usually get wet, well north of Nobles. On the Ocean-to-Lake trail there is a swamp in Corbett WMA. It's not deep but you just make your way through.

What MH did was a pretty impressive feat of hiking.
 
GatorFL said:
Collier County?

The trail between the rest stop and Nobles is elevated, I've researched it and it does not flood, same for the camp. It is elevated, somewhere between 13' - 15' above sea level. The trails south of the rest stop are in water. And it is too deep for boots and too hot for waders.

Even in October I usually get wet, well north of Nobles. On the Ocean-to-Lake trail there is a swamp in Corbett WMA. It's not deep but you just make your way through.

What MH did was a pretty impressive feat of hiking.
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Oops, I am flipping back and forth between Suzanne Morphew Chaffee County CO and Collier County FL. I'll fix it. Thanks.
 
branmuffin said:
I saw this buried video on YT about Noble's camp. It's about seven minutes long. Drone footage, no sound in terms of narrative, but it gives a really good idea where MH was. It stops momentarily on the picnic bench then moves to a couple of ponds, one of which is fairly clear compared to the others covered in algae. It's difficult to gauge the distance between the picnic bench and the pond plus anyone could move the bench wherever they wanted to so it could be in a different location from when MH was discovered. It does pull back from the picnic bench for a better view and there is no pond in the immediate area.

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I think he was near the alligator pond, just south of the pond in the trees. This is what Mike Gormley has said elsewhere.
 
GatorFL said:
Thanks for the screenshot. I think there was a little more to that conversation and I can't remember the rest of it. I looked at Armando's video, he does state he was there June 1, 2018 in the description. So 2 groups saw MH's tent, one in early June and a second in early July.
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Just to clarify, I believe it's Armando Cruz, not Ruiz. He was with his brother in law. It also says June 1, 2018 and June 2, 2018 in the video. They don't say anywhere on his video that they saw the yellow tent. Where can I see where he says that? Who is the other group on July 3, 2018 or where can I see that? I do remember seeing where they said they left water but can't find it now. Not meaning to be demanding or anything, just hoping to see ;)
 
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I just looked loser at his photo where they found him in the tent and I believe I see the watch on his left arm down by his shorts unless that's something sticking out of his pocket. Whether it's his watch or not, it's still more important to find out if he had his wallet when found.
 
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