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

[UnlicensedPI]

Thank you UnlicensedPI. Yes. I stated about his allegedly being heard from and about the tattoo..He was reported missing Dec 2018 according to the Houlton Police Department Facebook page...Interestingly the comparisons being done on Harmless, for the most part, have tattoos.

Houlton Police Department
December 15, 2018 ·
***UPDATE***

Stephen has made contact with his family. Thank you all.

The Houlton Police Department is seeking your assistance in locating Stephen Jewell of Houlton. He has not been seen or heard from in over 18 months. His father is concerned for his safety and welfare. If anyone knows where he is please let us know 207 532 2287 or have him call his father. Stephen is 5' 11" tall, 170 lbs., slender build, blue eyes and brown hair.

He's been reported missing/found multiple times. Someone mentioned "he goes missing every year around this time." You mentioned the tattoo on his wrist but not the large flower on his hand (visible in his Facebook profile picture). All of these missing and founds have been after MH's death. There is no way Stephen is MH.

 

[Classito]

He's been reported missing/found multiple times. Someone mentioned "he goes missing every year around this time." You mentioned the tattoo on his wrist but not the large flower on his hand (visible in his Facebook profile picture). All of these missing and founds have been after MH's death. There is no way Stephen is MH.

Thank you UnlicensedPI
To my knowledge he was only reported missing once...In 2018. More than 18 months after his disappearance. For some reason his missing report was updated again in 2019 by the Sheriff's department but it was the same missing report from 2018. Someone commented on that post as you may have read that this was an old article.

His disappearance (18 months prior to the report) would have been around the time MH hit the trail. We do not know when someone would have put out a missing report on MH...Maybe when he disappeaered..or maybe 18 months after..so we cannot rule out reports after the fact..especially when the report was 18 months after...As I stated in my post..He had a tattoo and it may rule him out...It may not be MH..But it was worth a look...As also stated and as you can see below, they are comparing profiles that do not match height, eye color, scars, tattoos etc..From their comparisons, we are looking for someone with scars on arms, tattoos, ear piercings, brown eyes, maybe British and possible schizophrenic


Rule Outs-Doesn't match HM
Scott Kurland-Date of last contact November 26, 2017 -Eye color-Brown
David Broad-both ears pierced, Height 6 ft., wore glasses, possible reddish beard
Michael Austin Davis-Wears contacts, Deep Dimples on both sides - Old Scar on Right Cheek to Lip
James Soren Johansen-Brown eyes, hair color-black, receding
Anthony Daniel Medearis-eye color-brown, paranoid schizophrenia, possibly eye patch
Alexander Glenn-No information
Sean Nooney-left ear pierced, hooked shaped scar on arm-Ruled out twice
Shaun Steward-Scar on left arm
Roger Temple-British, schizophrenia, mole on left side of nose
Eric Smith-Height 6' 1" - 6' 2"-eye color-brown
Scott Godsey-Date of Last Contact-July 9, 2018, Tattoo's-Right Shoulder Dragon with wings, left Shoulder Rose with Stem Tattoo, mostly gray hair
David Whitehurst-Date of Last ContactApril 17, 1992, Scar left eye, eye color-brown
Valentino Malloggi-hair-bald spots-ear piercings, scar on his right wrist, scar on back of head, tattoo of cross on inside right ankle, teeth are broken
Paul Glova-Hair color-Blond/strawberry, age 18, tattoo skulls on right hand
Glen Oldfield-Scars on right arm and healed fractures from motorcycle wreck, possibly wears glasses or contact lenses

 

[Coffee56]

Additional info at link

James Mark Shumaker – The Charley Project

• Missing Since10/20/1995
• Missing FromTampa, Florida
• ClassificationEndangered Missing
• SexMale
• RaceWhite
• Date of Birth12/25/1964 (55)
• Age30 years old
• Height and Weight5'9 - 5'11, 150 - 160 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry DescriptionA green, purple and black vest, green surgical pants, black Reebok sneakers and a silver neck chain.
• Distinguishing CharacteristicsCaucasian male. Blond hair, hazel eyes. Shumaker may go by his middle name, Mark, or use the name Marcus.

Details of Disappearance
Shumaker was last seen at the Parthenon Cafe (now called The Garage), a bar in the 800 block of Whiting Street in downtown Tampa, Florida, on October 20, 1995. He has never been heard from again. He was reported missing a few days later. He'd been dropped off at the bar, and left his vehicle behind at home.

Investigators have looked into the possibly that a serial offender may be responsible for Thompson's disappearance and the disappearances of David Rhodes, Barry Block, Mark Jackson, Mark Thompson and Bradley Williams, as well as the murder of Michael Wachholtz and the presumed murder of Jason Galehouse.

 

[Legally Bland]

Additional info at link

View attachment 222616

James Mark Shumaker – The Charley Project

• Missing Since10/20/1995
• Missing FromTampa, Florida
• ClassificationEndangered Missing
• SexMale
• RaceWhite
• Date of Birth12/25/1964 (55)
• Age30 years old
• Height and Weight5'9 - 5'11, 150 - 160 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry DescriptionA green, purple and black vest, green surgical pants, black Reebok sneakers and a silver neck chain.
• Distinguishing CharacteristicsCaucasian male. Blond hair, hazel eyes. Shumaker may go by his middle name, Mark, or use the name Marcus.

Details of Disappearance
Shumaker was last seen at the Parthenon Cafe (now called The Garage), a bar in the 800 block of Whiting Street in downtown Tampa, Florida, on October 20, 1995. He has never been heard from again. He was reported missing a few days later. He'd been dropped off at the bar, and left his vehicle behind at home.

Investigators have looked into the possibly that a serial offender may be responsible for Thompson's disappearance and the disappearances of David Rhodes, Barry Block, Mark Jackson, Mark Thompson and Bradley Williams, as well as the murder of Michael Wachholtz and the presumed murder of Jason Galehouse.

There's a slightly larger picture on Namus.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[moonriverfarm]

I think about Denim a lot. And I really hope his identity will be found someday.

 

[neesaki]

Just started reading here so apologies if this has already been asked and answered... Was an autopsy performed and cause of death determined? I read he had health problems and wanted to hike the trail while he still could. Just curious I guess, and trying to get a feel for the case.

And I read he had been staying with his sister in Florida, I guess she hasn’t reported him missing? TIA

 

[nannymo]

neesaki, I am going to answer as best I can. I believe it has only been suggested he might have had health problems and he only mentioned to others he had a sister in Florida he might visit. No truth really to either of those questions.

Also, if an autopsy has been performed (which I am assuming it is the law in an unattended death) I don't THINK it has been released to the public.

All just from memory and sometimes mine ain't too good! LOL

Hope that helps.

 

[neesaki]

neesaki, I am going to answer as best I can. I believe it has only been suggested he might have had health problems and he only mentioned to others he had a sister in Florida he might visit. No truth really to either of those questions.

Also, if an autopsy has been performed (which I am assuming it is the law in an unattended death) I don't THINK it has been released to the public.

All just from memory and sometimes mine ain't too good! LOL

Hope that helps.

Any little bit helps! Thank you for responding

 

[neesaki]

Don’t know if this has already been posted, hope it’s ok.
True Crime Society - Unidentified and Mostly Harmless

 

[Ursamajr]

5'8" and only 83 pounds. He must have been starving for weeks. I think a lot about what happened in those last 3 months. I doubt he could have moved around very much after dipping below 110 pounds. Baffling.

 

[coffeeandacig]

Reading the link above with the discussion of his childhood, I got the impression of the movie "The Great Santini".
Makes me wonder if he was a military child? Of course...pure speculation.

Also, if MH had a sister in the Sarasota/Ft. Myers area, she would've been very upset seeing his weight loss. I hardly think he'd have visited her, then left without her fattening him up a bit. Any sister would've had him Baker Acted so he didn't starve to death.

 

[neesaki]

5'8" and only 83 pounds. He must have been starving for weeks. I think a lot about what happened in those last 3 months. I doubt he could have moved around very much after dipping below 110 pounds. Baffling.

I agree, like he was purposely starving himself. Or did have some kind of illness that caused such weight loss. This is so horribly sad. In the previous link he allegedly told another hiker that his father had been abusive and he doesn’t speak to his parents. But does claim to have had a sister he stayed with. Still, I get the feeling he may have not had anyone. So sad.

 

[Owutatangledweb]

In the one picture he seems to have an extended belly, like malnourished people do, or people with liver disease.

 

[janewall]

In the one picture he seems to have an extended belly, like malnourished people do, or people with liver disease.

I know someone with severe Crohn's disease, who also had an ostomy for cancer, with an abdominal protrusion that looks similar from years of intestinal inflammation and scarring. Although I can't imagine someone with severe Crohn's hiking the AT.

 

[Gardener1850]

Just started reading here so apologies if this has already been asked and answered... Was an autopsy performed and cause of death determined? I read he had health problems and wanted to hike the trail while he still could. Just curious I guess, and trying to get a feel for the case.

And I read he had been staying with his sister in Florida, I guess she hasn’t reported him missing? TIA

You might be interested in listening to the Collier County Sheriff's office podcast on this case. It's the first 3 episodes at the bottom of the page here (Trailer and episode 2 &3): CCSO Media Relations

Or if you can't listen, read our discussion of the podcast info in thread #1 starting here: FL - FL - Big Cypress National Preserve, Male hiker, "Denim" and "Mostly Harmless", 23 July 2018

 

[MadMcGoo]

I sometimes forget that even though some of us have known Denim since June 23, 2018, others are just now meeting him. Just a few things I’ve learned about him. I won’t list every source as their are dozens, but most, if not all, can be found in one of the threads here on WS.

Please note that for the most part this information has not been verified as factual - it comes from second hand accounts by people he encountered along the trails. I will do my best to separate the facts - the 2nd part of the list are details released or confirmed by Collier County Sheriff’s Department. Either by their Facebook page or media publication.

———————————​

- He was born and/or grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- He had an abusive father and was estranged from his family; other than his sister
- He was divorced
- He had a sister living in Ft. Meyer or Sarasota, Florida with whom he may have stayed at some point during his hike
- His destination was Key West, Florida
- He was living with friends in New Jersey before his hike
- His friends had put his stuff in storage
- He was held up for 2-3 days at a hostel in Damascus, Virginia during Hurricane Michael (October 2017)
- He worked in the computer information technology industry (IT or ‘tech’ for short)
- He has experience in computer programming
- He was living/working in Brooklyn, New York for about 10 years prior to the hike
- He camped in Bear Mountain State Park (New York) for 2 weeks (April-May 2017) before deciding to hit the Appalachian Trail (June 2017)
- He was asked to leave Bear Mountain Park
- The first alleged encounters with him were at a Visitors Center at the start of the AT in PA? NY? (I forget now)
- He talked about “Doctor Who” and enjoyed Sci-Fi
- He had the trail name “Denim” by the time he started (he was wearing denim jeans)
- He also went by the trail name “Mostly Harmless”
- He was terminally ill or was in bad health (the hiker who spent the most time with him doesn’t believe this to be true)
- He was significantly heavier sometimes in his life
- He was working on creating an App or small/lightweight piece of gear that could be used to track someone’s hike
- He paid for everything in cash and worked odd jobs along the way
- He did not have social media accounts “because of hackers”
- He was not using maps or GPS during his hike

———————————​

- He is a Caucasian male
- He was approximately 35-50 years old
- He had brown, salt & pepper hair with a beard and mustache
- He had blue/gray eyes
- He was about 5 feet 8 inches tall
- He weighed 83 pounds at the time of his death
- His teeth were “perfect” and he had no signs of dental work
- He had no tattoos
- He had no signs of previous surgeries
- He had 1, fine, linear, superficial scar on his abdomen
- His death is not “criminally suspicious”
- He had $3,640 USD in cash when found but no identifying information
- He used the name “Ben Bilemy” to register at several hostels along the Appalachian and Florida trails
- He purchased the $300, 2-person tent in Georgia during his hike (in cash)
- He did not have a cell phone
- He worked on some sort of coding while hiking the trail (he had “a bunch of handwritten code in his backpack” that pertained to gaming - specifically, a game character gaining and losing strength)
- He may have lived in the Lake George/Glen Falls area of New York

———————————​

*I would suggest that anyone who hasn’t listened to the 3-part “Sworn Statement Podcast“ released by the Collier County Sheriff’s Office to do so! It was very informative, IMO.*

True Crime Society - Unidentified and Mostly Harmless

 

[neesaki]

The

In the one picture he seems to have an extended belly, like malnourished people do, or people with liver disease.

I noticed his abdomen seemed pudgy for the rest of his thin body. But IMO, I think he looks quite healthy otherwise, has good color, etc., for it to be liver disease. Jmo though.

ETA: I’m going back to re examine that photo.

 

[neesaki]

I guess the report is correct about his weight of only 83 pounds? I only bring this up because in the photos I’ve seen, although he is fairly thin, he is also a small guy overall, not big bones, and not tall.
Although he looks quite thin, I don’t see him as emaciated or anything, which is what I would expect him to look like if only 83 pounds at 5’8”.
That would be bone rail sickly skinny, unlike the photos I’ve seen.

I’m guessing if the weight is correct then, it might have been quite a while from the last photo to his death.
I wonder if he may have had anorexia nervosa, or could he have been so neglected and abused during his childhood he just didn’t learn to care for himself.

ETA: It looks like the last photo of him was 4 months before he was found deceased, so it’s very possible he did lose that much weight. This is so sad.

 

[MadMcGoo]

Not long after Denim was discovered, I was reading through just about every hikers’ blog site or page dedicated to trail Angels or Facebook page for all the small businesses along the trail - I was sure there had to be some trace of him prior to this hike. I found nothing! However, I was able to put together a mental image of what occurred during the year or so that Denim was hiking.

I found a couple of hikers who mentioned in their “hikers’ journals” that they had to cut their thru hike short that year for whatever reason. One young girl in particular described becoming ill from a parasite of some sort. I’m 87% positive it had something to do with the water she drank. The only reason I remember her story is because she was on the same trail as Denim and at the same time he would have been in Florida, I think it was.

I have no clue which site I found this on. I tried looking for any other hikers who may have experienced something similar but came up empty. It’s always been in the back of mind though and seeing it here again made me wonder again if this could be what happened to Denim.

I agree with everyone who says he did not look anywhere close to 83 pounds in any of the photos we’ve seen of him. Some photos he definitely looks worn out and even weakly at some points but IMO, he never looked “ill”. That’s a very subjective opinion but he just didn’t strike me as being someone who was suffering from a long term, terminal condition.

I noticed the distended abdomen too and at first glance thought he had something tucked inside his waistband and underneath his shirt. Maybe a bag of goodies he picked up at one of the trail angel drop places. It almost reminded me of someone who had a colostomy bag, if that makes sense. But it was hard for me to determine, those were just my immediate observations.

Another crazy thought to cross my mind a couple of times...what are the chances that the man found dead in that tent is not actually the man we see in all of these photographs??? It seems that no sooner than the composite drawing was released did every media outlet begin reporting this unidentified hiker who, all of a sudden, several people recalled meeting and even photographing - yet he still could not be identified?

I admit that I don’t believe the chances of that being the case are very likely at all, but other than the more common reasons why people go unidentified for long periods of time, I couldn’t help but add that possibility to the list.

This probably doesn’t add anything of value to our search but I can’t help but think of Denim all over again. Someone is undoubtedly missing him, wherever they may be.

 

[neesaki]

Not long after Denim was discovered, I was reading through just about every hikers’ blog site or page dedicated to trail Angels or Facebook page for all the small businesses along the trail - I was sure there had to be some trace of him prior to this hike. I found nothing! However, I was able to put together a mental image of what occurred during the year or so that Denim was hiking.

I found a couple of hikers who mentioned in their “hikers’ journals” that they had to cut their thru hike short that year for whatever reason. One young girl in particular described becoming ill from a parasite of some sort. I’m 87% positive it had something to do with the water she drank. The only reason I remember her story is because she was on the same trail as Denim and at the same time he would have been in Florida, I think it was.

I have no clue which site I found this on. I tried looking for any other hikers who may have experienced something similar but came up empty. It’s always been in the back of mind though and seeing it here again made me wonder again if this could be what happened to Denim.

I agree with everyone who says he did not look anywhere close to 83 pounds in any of the photos we’ve seen of him. Some photos he definitely looks worn out and even weakly at some points but IMO, he never looked “ill”. That’s a very subjective opinion but he just didn’t strike me as being someone who was suffering from a long term, terminal condition.

I noticed the distended abdomen too and at first glance thought he had something tucked inside his waistband and underneath his shirt. Maybe a bag of goodies he picked up at one of the trail angel drop places. It almost reminded me of someone who had a colostomy bag, if that makes sense. But it was hard for me to determine, those were just my immediate observations.

Another crazy thought to cross my mind a couple of times...what are the chances that the man found dead in that tent is not actually the man we see in all of these photographs??? It seems that no sooner than the composite drawing was released did every media outlet begin reporting this unidentified hiker who, all of a sudden, several people recalled meeting and even photographing - yet he still could not be identified?

I admit that I don’t believe the chances of that being the case are very likely at all, but other than the more common reasons why people go unidentified for long periods of time, I couldn’t help but add that possibility to the list.

This probably doesn’t add anything of value to our search but I can’t help but think of Denim all over again. Someone is undoubtedly missing him, wherever they may be.

That same thought about him possibly getting ill from parasites in the water occurred to me in the wee hours of the morning. I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of it before.

I was wondering if he might have a money belt around his waist underneath his shirt.

I don’t think your “crazy thought” is crazy at all. I was thinking the same thing last night. How do they know it’s even the same person?

Weird how we’re thinking some of the same things!