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

[branmuffin]

The detective and Dr Cyril Wecht both said he died of starvation. (Note, @Narkj showed the autopsy to Dr Wecht and reported his thoughts here on Websleuths IIRC). Nobody is sure why the ME listed the cause of death as undetermined.

Regarding the bolded, MH only having a one page map I think is speculation. We know he had pages and pages of maps printed out earlier on the trail. He seemed to have been well equipped otherwise.

He definitely died of starvation. It's the underlying cause that was undetermined. I still think he probably had some kind of motor neuron disease which can be hard to diagnose even when a subject is still living. Usually, doctors come to a diagnosis through the process of elimination.

Based on what I've read about motor neuron diseases, I'm leaning toward Kennedy's disease. His DNA will identify it. One of the characteristics of KD is shrinking testicles which was noted on the AR.

 

[gfinale]

Only 3 people saw MH from the end of the AT to the FT. All 3 early, near the AT and 2 very near to each other. Nobody saw him for the rest of those trails until the FT. Why?

 

[branmuffin]

Only 3 people saw MH from the end of the AT to the FT. All 3 early, near the AT and 2 very near to each other. Nobody saw him for the rest of those trails until the FT. Why?

Maybe because he went and visited his sister?

 

[gfinale]

The detective and Dr Cyril Wecht both said he died of starvation. (Note, @Narkj showed the autopsy to Dr Wecht and reported his thoughts here on Websleuths IIRC). Nobody is sure why the ME listed the cause of death as undetermined.

Regarding the bolded, MH only having a one page map I think is speculation. We know he had pages and pages of maps printed out earlier on the trail. He seemed to have been well equipped otherwise.

A trail angel, Kelly Fairbanks, who was the first to identify him has said she asked if he had the FT app and he said no, pulling out a piece of paper with a map of Florida on it and a line drawn where the trail should be.

 

[branmuffin]

I have confirmed, straight from LE that MH used the name Ben Bilemy at several hostels in VA, GA and FL. This was questioned here a few days ago. It appears he didn't use this name once or twice but rather used it throughout. Not to say he couldn't have used a different name somewhere but he wasn't changing names to new ones regularly.

Did LE also tell you they checked every single name in each register and followed up to verify who everyone was?

 

[gfinale]

I'm in healthcare too.

I can also see the changes in the photos. He progressively lost weight. I can't rule out an eating disorder because they can become worse over time. I actually think this is what happened. He had an ED and died. There are other accounts from people he hiked with that this could be a real possibility. His diet was terrible, he was concerned about caloric density constantly, and there is a pic of him eating pizza and he only ate several bites of the crust. A couple of people who had anorexia said all of these things reminded them about their own battle with the disease.

The account from the "while he still could" camper seems out of sorts. The dates don't seem to work and that person came out with their story far later than others. If you scroll back in this thread you will see where we talked a lot about it.

I don't think ALS is even a remote possibility, especially through the AT. We actually have evidence against that. One, the length of time he was was hiking. Two, he was hiking. Three, he used trekking poles. Four, he spoke with a lot of people and nobody said anything about slurred speech. MS would have been spotted on autopsy I think. I agree, the autopsy was not as detailed as it could have been.

Lots of hikers use knee braces. There could be a lot of reasons why he needed them. Carrying a 50+# pack is rough on the knees. His legs but he way looked really scrawny to me. Most hikers have pretty muscular legs and his were not all the way back to the earliest photos of his legs.

I don't recall that statement about the sister, which podcast are you referring to?

It seems like the losses of weight can be usual while hiking as hikers who saw him along the way have said. Some said hiker skinny. That doesn't necessarily mean he didn't have an ED though and is an explanation for how he would get himself in such a state as to die there while possibly not recognizing he was in trouble early enough.

That camper is the only one who discussed him saying he stayed with his sister too and Gator has said the timeline doesn't fit. Other hikers have said he mentioned a sister though.

As for his legs, he only hiked less than 10 mi a day and it sounds like he did little before he started the AT. Nutrition including protein is half the equation to building muscle.

 

[gfinale]

I can't get off of the homeless track. It explains almost everything. Most computer guys start off young. He would graduate from university/college between 20 and 25. Worked in IT for 10 years as he said. He could have then run through most of his wealth and been homeless a few years later. After being homeless for some years somewhere like New York city, he goes camping for a better situation. Homeless people often acquire issues with their lower legs and feet. They end up out in the cold way too much. His don't look good in pics. It explains why nobody's looking for him, because everyone forgot about him some years before. It may help even explain why nobody has recognized him, because they don't think about him and it's been years such that he has a different appearance. Maybe he was a different person before he was homeless too. Often that's the case and everybody has given up on the person as well as protecting themselves. Many homeless people, and I have met quite a few in volunteering, are pleasant and quiet, especially if they aren't on something such as alcohol or heavy drugs. Homeless people often have quite a life before they are homeless and fall into it. Everything he said could then be true but was further in his past than we are thinking. If he wanted to fit in he would talk about his previous life, not tell people he was homeless. A person who was homeless for some years could hike trails, end up as he did and be most likely to not be identified.

 

[youcancallmeal]

Gfinale but his teeth would not be in the great shape they were and when he first started he looked very healthy. He had almost 4k on him at death so he most likely started with much more to buy his camping supplies. I dont see him as a homeless person but JMO.
*edited for mistakes

 

[GatorFL]

He definitely died of starvation. It's the underlying cause that was undetermined. I still think he probably had some kind of motor neuron disease which can be hard to diagnose even when a subject is still living. Usually, doctors come to a diagnosis through the process of elimination.

Based on what I've read about motor neuron diseases, I'm leaning toward Kennedy's disease. His DNA will identify it. One of the characteristics of KD is shrinking testicles which was noted on the AR.

All of his organs were about half their expected size, except the brain, due to the malnutrition. Testicles also shrink from this.

 

[GatorFL]

A trail angel, Kelly Fairbanks, who was the first to identify him has said she asked if he had the FT app and he said no, pulling out a piece of paper with a map of Florida on it and a line drawn where the trail should be.

Yes I know this. That does not mean that was his only map. That is just what he showed her.

 

[branmuffin]

All of his organs were about half their expected size, except the brain, due to the malnutrition. Testicles also shrink from this.

Without knowing the size of his organs while he was alive, it's pure conjecture. Here's a list of average sizes of men and women with expected ranges I presume are based on overall height and weight. With the exception of MH's brain which was larger than the average and his kidney's which were definitely within the lower range I don't think we could say ALL his organs were half their expected size. You said you're what 5'10" 215 pounds? I wouldn't expect you to have the same size organs of a man MH's size even when he was the picture of health.

The coroner gave the weight of each organ plus his findings on the visual and physical aspects of each one. He only pointed out his his final comments was the unusual small size of the testes.

The other article is interesting because it's a study based on the very thing we are discussing: the size of male and female organs from autopsies of individuals who died through accidents or violent deaths like murders, etc. Anyone who had died a natural death with comorbidities were excluded since it's understood that disease and illness has a profound effect on organs.

Correlation of Internal Organ Weights with Body Weight and Body Height in Normal Adult Zambians: A Case Study of Ndola Teaching Hospital

Correlation of Internal Organ Weights with Body Weight and Body Height in Normal Adult Zambians: A Case Study of Ndola Teaching Hospital

 

[branmuffin]

I can't get off of the homeless track. It explains almost everything. Most computer guys start off young. He would graduate from university/college between 20 and 25. Worked in IT for 10 years as he said. He could have then run through most of his wealth and been homeless a few years later. After being homeless for some years somewhere like New York city, he goes camping for a better situation. Homeless people often acquire issues with their lower legs and feet. They end up out in the cold way too much. His don't look good in pics. It explains why nobody's looking for him, because everyone forgot about him some years before. It may help even explain why nobody has recognized him, because they don't think about him and it's been years such that he has a different appearance. Maybe he was a different person before he was homeless too. Often that's the case and everybody has given up on the person as well as protecting themselves. Many homeless people, and I have met quite a few in volunteering, are pleasant and quiet, especially if they aren't on something such as alcohol or heavy drugs. Homeless people often have quite a life before they are homeless and fall into it. Everything he said could then be true but was further in his past than we are thinking. If he wanted to fit in he would talk about his previous life, not tell people he was homeless. A person who was homeless for some years could hike trails, end up as he did and be most likely to not be identified.

I don't think he was homeless. At least not in the sense he had no income source or home for years on end. He said he lived in the park in New York State for a couple of weeks before he decided to do the AT through-hike.

Was that because he was jaded and quit his job, sold
his belongings to focus on an idea he'd been toying with for months? Or was he living in the park because he lost his job and subsequently lost his condo or apartment and was mulling over plans for the future for a couple of weeks. He had money, obviously, so he chose to camp in a park rather than stay in a modest hotel. It may have been he was testing his mettle, to see whether his plan of hiking to create a realistic aspect for his proposed video game was viable.

The second scenario of losing his job could mean there's a bank that foreclosed on a condo if he didn't own it outright or a landlord that had to evict a tenant.

Based on all the impressions people have given of MH is that he was a grounded individual, not given to flights of fancy, intelligent and funny, no axe to grind with a former employer, girlfriend or family, other than stating he was estranged from family which sounded like choice to me.

 

[youcancallmeal]

I am hopeful with people placing this information on varying geneology and DNA web sites that there may be an ID soon.

 

[gfinale]

A trail angel, Kelly Fairbanks, who was the first to identify him has said she asked if he had the FT app and he said no, pulling out a piece of paper with a map of Florida on it and a line drawn where the trail should be.

Branny, I think you were questioning my statement about him using a generic Florida map with a hand written Florida Trail, here's the answer...

 

[gfinale]

Maybe because he went and visited his sister?

Well, just saying it's a very long stretch with no sightings of him whereas everywhere else there are sightings until the last 2-3 months. Could have gone off trail, sister or not.

 

[gfinale]

Did LE also tell you they checked every single name in each register and followed up to verify who everyone was?

I'm just responding to someone saying he could have been changing his name along the way as in, use Ben Bilemy once then later use something else then later something else so he wasn't tracked/connected. He didn't do that though. He used Ben Bilemy early, middle and later, from the Appalachian Trial to the Pinhoti trail to the Florida Trail. Now, considering that, there would be little reason to use anything but in between to address your comment

 

[gfinale]

Gfinale but his teeth would not be in the great shape they were and when he first started he looked very healthy. He had almost 4k on him at death so he most likely started with much more to buy his camping supplies. I dont see him as a homeless person but JMO.
*edited for mistakes

Well, homeless can mean sleeping on friend's couches. even if on the street, he could have had a thing about brushing. It is a good point against it though, I do agree. So much of the rest matches though. He could have camped and eaten very well for a few weeks before starting the hiking. 4,000 doesn't get you long in New York. I'm guessing renting a small apartment in the city is probably 4,000/m. One month, poof, gone!

 

[GatorFL]

Without knowing the size of his organs while he was alive, it's pure conjecture. Here's a list of average sizes of men and women with expected ranges I presume are based on overall height and weight. With the exception of MH's brain which was larger than the average and his kidney's which were definitely within the lower range I don't think we could say ALL his organs were half their expected size. You said you're what 5'10" 215 pounds? I wouldn't expect you to have the same size organs of a man MH's size even when he was the picture of health.

The coroner gave the weight of each organ plus his findings on the visual and physical aspects of each one. He only pointed out his his final comments was the unusual small size of the testes.

The other article is interesting because it's a study based on the very thing we are discussing: the size of male and female organs from autopsies of individuals who died through accidents or violent deaths like murders, etc. Anyone who had died a natural death with comorbidities were excluded since it's understood that disease and illness has a profound effect on organs.

Correlation of Internal Organ Weights with Body Weight and Body Height in Normal Adult Zambians: A Case Study of Ndola Teaching Hospital

Correlation of Internal Organ Weights with Body Weight and Body Height in Normal Adult Zambians: A Case Study of Ndola Teaching Hospital

There is a lot of study on organ size out there. All of his organs, and I mean all of them, were small. Roughly 50% of regular size. You can look at the weight in grams of each organ on the autopsy. If only one were small, let's say a small kidney that was diseased, that would be an indication of why a particular organ was small. But when they are all half sized you have to consider the malnutrition as the cause. And remember the ME found no obvious diseases during the internal exam.

Yeah I am 5'10" 215. I work out 3x per week. Getting a little belly but not too bad for my age. If I lived somewhere else I would start running but it's too hot down here.

 

[GatorFL]

OK, so he didn't need to make a fire to boil the water or anything. I guess he would not have had to make a fire for anything then, right? That would explain why LE said it appeared he'd been living in the park but the two hikers who found him, Nichalaus Horton and Logan Buehler, said they didn't think he'd been there long because there was no campfire area or anything.

I meant to reply to this earlier and got busy.

The answer is it depends on the food. Lots of hiker food just needs to be warmed up. Like instant mashed potatoes. Other stuff you can just eat, like Clif Bars. And other stuff needs to be cooked, like Ramen noodles.

Side note, a Ramen Bomb is a fav for me. 1 pack of ramen noodles, cook per usual. Add instant mashed potatoes and extra water. Good stuff.

He had a stove, fuel and pot. But the fuel cannisters don't last long, 3-4 meals. So I don't think he was using it or eating food that needed to be warmed and/or cook. Or he would have needed a lot of them. Also, cooking over a fire is not the easiest. It's not like a stove at home. It takes a lot of practice. I actually have a titanium grill grate I pack if I am not taking a stove. It's super light and I can use rocks to make a base for it if there is no fire ring. I can grill, boil water on a pot, even roast veggies on it.

I think he was eating Clif bars and stuff like that. I wonder how good that is for you long term?

 

[Ursamajr]

It dawns on me, as it has others here, that when he visited his sister it was her grave, not a living relative. With no one else to live for or care about and feeling that no one cared about him, he might have chosen to just drift away. I can understand that. What was left for him?

This right here is a very interesting theory. Depression has serious effects on a body. It is entirely possible to lose 30 pounds in a month or two. Someone told me once, "There are two things that will make you lose weight rapidly: depression and falling in love" She was very correct.