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

[Narkj]

I may not be the first to propose this theory, but with him being from New York and an alias that's somewhat? biblical (Maybe it's the Ben) I've wondered whether this guy was a former member of Twelve Tribes, a religions, somewhat-culty group that operates throughout the country. They are pretty prominent in NY. It could explain a number of things, particularly if he was born into it and his family never reported him missing when he left the group. Twelve Tribes is very into hiking and often recruit on trails. Perhaps, in Twelve Tribes, his name really was Ben Bilemy or some variation of that.

 

[UnlicensedPI]

I may not be the first to propose this theory, but with him being from New York and an alias that's somewhat? biblical (Maybe it's the Ben) I've wondered whether this guy was a former member of Twelve Tribes, a religions, somewhat-culty group that operates throughout the country. They are pretty prominent in NY. It could explain a number of things, particularly if he was born into it and his family never reported him missing when he left the group. Twelve Tribes is very into hiking and often recruit on trails. Perhaps, in Twelve Tribes, his name really was Ben Bilemy or some variation of that.

Twelve Tribes operates along the trail, so I think other AT hikers would have encountered him there at some point. I'm not sure how much hiking they do themselves. I don't think MH was very exposed to hikers before he started walking since we know he came unprepared.

 

[Cinnalauda]

Bumping for Denim

 

[Nocturnal 911]

Unionville has NEVER been contacted by LE, or anyone besides me. I gave them the names Denim, Mostly Harmless, and the real names of two hikers that stated they overnighted in Unionville with him. I also tried contacting a few hikers.... nothing.
I speak to every AT hiker I come across about MH.

Unionville NY? Or??

 

[Nocturnal 911]

I don't believe in God, but I do believe in the wonderful people showed in this video. Making this world a little better. X

HOLY CRAP!! That is 100000% him. like I'm a gazillion % sure. I'd bet my kidney

 

[SugarQueen]

Unionville NY? Or??

Yes, Unionville, NY

 

[Nocturnal 911]

Yes, Unionville, NY

Ok- I went through Unionville in 2016 on a section hike- don't remember having to sign anything anywhere?
Was just searching #NoblesCampsite on Twitter. It lead me to an Instagram profile and some pics, posts from a guy that was there in the area literally DAYS b4 his body was found. Don't want to post hikers name, but this is a link to his blog if allowed?
I msgd him on Instagram, Twitter, FB w links & info to contact Collier County SD if has any info. I also sent them links to his pics, posts, social media. He literally stayed at Noble Campsite on 6/27 or 6/28th 2017 according to his blog? h

//dvkoutdoors.wordpress.com/2017/06/27/florida-trail-i75-to-lake-okeechobee/

 

[SugarQueen]

In Unionville, NY if you camp overnight they ask that you get a free permit. It’s just their way of having an idea of how many campers they get per season.

 

[Nocturnal 911]

And I'm also off by one year on my blog lead duhhhh. Should have gone to bed 3 hours ago ughhh. Was going by the year he left not the July he was FOUND

 

[Bit of hope]

And I'm also off by one year on my blog lead duhhhh. Should have gone to bed 3 hours ago ughhh. Was going by the year he left not the July he was FOUND

@Nocturnal 911 Thank you very much for thinking with us and trying to help.

 

[Mouth]

Missing man from Louisiana named Jimmy Dean Johnson

 

[Rockfarmer]

Wow! JDJ has been missing so long and what to tie Denim’s case to him? Do you have a source?

 

[Bit of hope]

Wow! JDJ has been missing so long and what to tie Denim’s case to him? Do you have a source?

The Doe Network: Case File 3354DMLA
Jimmy Dean Johnson – The Charley Project

 

[Bit of hope]

Missing man from Louisiana named Jimmy Dean Johnson

Hi Mouth, welcome. He could be fitting, 5"10 (Mostly Harmless 5"8) would be 50 in 2018, brown hair, blue eyes and from the looks very nice teeth. Couldn't find much of a story about Jimmy. His burned car was found...could he have gone of the grid...yes, he could have.

 

[Gardener1850]

Missing man from Louisiana named Jimmy Dean Johnson

Welcome, Mouth. Jimmy Dean Johnson has a WS thread here: LA - LA - Jimmy Johnson, 30, Tallulah, 22 Sept 1998

I'd like to see more photos of Jimmy to compare but it doesn't seem like there are any more. His case says his truck was found burned which sounds more like foul play to me. But since there is so little info available, anything is possible. I don't think Denim was as old as 50 but that is within the possible age ranges. It wouldn't hurt to send him in. Thanks for posting.

ETA: Jimmy's thread says he has DNA in NAMUS. While we never heard an update on Denim's DNA being complete and entered, I think they would get an automatic match if he was someone in NAMUS with DNA. MOO.

 

[fred&edna]

I found obit for JD Johnson's father (died Nov 2017) which includes a photo - and even he resembles Denim quite a bit. ETA: Not sharing the details simply because I don't know if it is within WS rules.

It appears there are additional living relatives,so obtaining DNA seems possible - if this hasn't been done previously.

Jimmy Dean Johnson "looks" like a good possibility but... Where was he in the interim (between last seen AND Appalachian Trail)??

 

[Bit of hope]

I found obit for JD Johnson's father (died Nov 2017) which includes a photo - and even he resembles Denim quite a bit. ETA: Not sharing the details simply because I don't know if it is within WS rules.

It appears there are additional living relatives,so obtaining DNA seems possible - if this hasn't been done previously.

Jimmy Dean Johnson "looks" like a good possibility but... Where was he in the interim (between last seen AND Appalachian Trail)??

@fred&edna Hi, I found one, the person resided in Baton Rouge....Somehow, if I dig real deep in my memory....wasn't there somewhere mentioned that Ben had connections with Baton Rouge...or am I totally off track?

 

[Mouth]

I too found very lil info on JDJ. And it is some what of a long shot. But my thought process was this...as i started looking for a possible id for MH i limited my searches to ppl missing from around 2015 and on. Considering he had allegedly just been employed in New York before his initial hike i saw no reason to look farther back than tht reasonably. But it seemed a dead end as time went on. I then considered Canada. But as tht turned up limited results i thought a lil outside the box. I don't know if most hikers do the trails with absolutely no form of id but tht seemed a lil odd to me. I considered tht maybe he didn't want to be found. If thts the case, there is no telling when he could have made the choice to disappear. Tht opens up the time frame to many possibilities. It could explain why no one has id'd him. Maybe no one looked far enough back. Also, if he disappeared by choice initially....any exact details he gave may have been false. I think it's worth considering tht new york may not be relevant, just as the Florida tie to a sister may not be relevant. Those may be two places tht are absolutely dead ends if MH had by choice disappeared. He would keep the true details of origin and family to himself.

 

[Mouth]

JDJ additional comparisons. Not sure about Dna on JDJ, but it says his dental records are available.

 

[fred&edna]

@fred&edna Hi, I found one, the person resided in Baton Rouge....Somehow, if I dig real deep in my memory....wasn't there somewhere mentioned that Ben had connections with Baton Rouge...or am I totally off track?

Yes, Gardiner1850 post #473 has info that he may have ties to Louisiana!

The Johnson family members I found were in ... Texas (which is where JD was born). (Lufkin was where his father & mother resided)