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

[gfinale]

I was reading about the survivors in concentration camps that were liberated by the Russians and other allies. According to the Holocaust Museum, many of those liberated died within a week. Here's an excerpt from the link.

"British, Canadian, American and French troops also freed prisoners from the camps. The Americans were responsible for liberating Buchenwald and Dachau, while British forces entered Bergen-Belsen. Although the Germans had attempted to empty the camps of surviving prisoners and hide all evidence of their crimes, the Allied soldiers came upon thousands of dead bodies "stacked up like cordwood," according to one American soldier. The prisoners who were still alive were living skeletons.

Bill Barrett, an American army journalist, described what he saw at Dachau: "There were about a dozen bodies in the dirty boxcar, men and women alike. They had gone without food so long that their dead wrists were broomsticks tipped with claws. These were the victims of a deliberate starvation diet..."

Allied troops, physicians, and relief workers tried to provide nourishment for the surviving prisoners, but many of them were too weak to digest food and could not be saved. In spite of the liberators' efforts, many camp survivors died. Half of the prisoners discovered alive in Auschwitz died within a few days of being freed."

Liberation

Wow

 

[psych-nurse]

Please forgive me because I know this was covered before but I can't find it: How was Michael Austin Davis determined not to be MH? I can't get over the fact that they look alike (when you age Davis and add facial hair), were the same height and Davis even worked in computers. The resemblance is uncanny and I can't find how or by whom he was determined not to be MH.
Thanks everyone.

 

[gfinale]

Yeah, that's a terrible account. And I know it is true. But, that was a report from the battlefield, in horrendous conditions. We have learned a lot since WWII, specifically how to avoid refeeding syndrome. I am guessing MH, had he been found alive, would have been transported to Ryder Trauma Center at Miami Jackson, a level 1 center a little over an hour away (by car) from where he was found. If anybody could have fixed him up they could. They see patients from all over Florida and the Caribbean and I am told they've dealt with starvation before after the Haiti earthquakes.

Like you said above, he's such an enigma.

I need to make it out to Noble Camp, I want to see it for myself. I can't get out there before next weekend. I am so curious how he could be out there for months and not encounter one person who realized he needed some help.

I read somewhere that there are not many hikers in that area during the hot summertime which maybe accounts for June and July, his worst and last 2 months alive?

 

[gfinale]

I find it even more awful that he could have been just days away from being found alive. How terrible. One thing that really hit me when looking at the mess in his tent, was after all he was going through he still put his garbage up in a tree to avoid littering.

Could there be another reason such as keeping the animals away?

 

[gfinale]

Random thoughts:

1. He was visiting a deceased sister in Florida. Her grave maybe.

2. His family knows this is him. Maybe he was sick or maybe this was an accidental/unexpected death, but his family knew there was a chance they’d never see him again and everyone was “okay” with that. He could have left his life behind and not told anyone his plans but, for reasons we aren’t aware of, there was an agreement for his family not to claim him if ever he were found like this.

3. Unlikely, but could we be looking for a long missing child? DNA probably wouldn’t be available and of course visual comparison would be difficult, but it’s something I’ve not entirely ruled out. Again, unlikely.

4. I think he was on the lower end of the estimated age range.

5. I think his online presence was just that, online only. Take this forum for example. Many of us “know” one another and would very easily notice if one of us seemingly disappeared from the site, but would we necessarily be able to identify that person based off of a post mortem reconstruction and a few vague details? No, not in most instances. I think the extent of Denim’s online presence will prove to be similar.

6. I’ve tried reading back through to when it was first discussed and couldn’t find anything, but was anyone able to extract anything of value from the Go Pro footage?

My 2 cents FWIW. Coming up on two years unidentified, I feel like we could have answers soon. Thanks to everyone working tirelessly to try to identify our handsome hiker!

1. But he said he was staying with his sister.
3. Others have gone there and presented possible missing people if you care to look back 300 pages ago :O
5. I agree that it's likely Demin kept himself well shielded, possibly even vpn, in any internet he did. I also get the impression he did minimal internet other than games.

The longer it is, the more chance someone who knows him finally realizes he's missing.

 

[GatorFL]

@GatorFL I really appreciate your thoughts and comments throughout. Great detail and fully logical (I posted my agreement and reasoning for a possible eating disorder a few weeks ago).

I still believe that an eating disorder/psychological disorder is the most logical conclusion based on the information we have at this time. Of course, there's quite a bit we don't know, so it may be incorrect.

Two things came up. There was a recent post on the Facebook group (post now deleted, perhaps because it included real names) that seemed to prove anecdotally that two sets of hikers came upon Nobles campsite in early June 2018, saw his tent during the daytime, called out or at least tried to make content, and received nothing in return. This has led to reasonable speculation that, if those accounts are true, he was already seriously incapacitated by that time. Many are throwing out suggestions of poisoning by water supply, or an attack of rheumatoid arthritis, or something that would have immobilized him and thus caused him to starve.

However, my immediate reaction to that was: he was eating according to the autopsy. If he was eating and drinking, he should have been mobile to some degree. Secondly, if on the off chance he was gravely disabled, and immobile AND eating (because we know he was eating), his clothes and his tent would be..."soiled" would be a polite way of putting it, and there was no evidence to that. Thirdly, if he was suddenly rendered immobile, that makes the disappearance of his wallet, ID, and his credit card/gift-card (which we know he had from the hiking store), all the more strange. It does not seem logical that he, after safely hiking with wallet, presumed ID, cash, and card, for hundreds of miles and many months, that it goes lost when he was considerably more experienced as a hiker.

All true, of course, that none of that brings us closer to his identity. That said, @NickandNora4ever's mention of the recent Screeps post was very interesting. That Screeps player, after analyzing the notebooks, immediately began asking if MH was homeless or in dire financial straits. Because, to him, his notebooks suggested a backdoor application that used cryptocurrency on the Screeps servers (if I read that right). If more Screeps players corroborated that presumption, that might be something to look into. Maybe that $3,600 was all he had, and indeed, he was calculating calories and counting cash, as well. But, again, maybe not - I seem to remember a famous Sherlock Holmes quote about truth, "however improbable."

Thanks @wardo27 !

I agree, the evidence that we have at this time points towards some kind of ED/mania/mental health issue.

I have heard about the other hikers encountering his tent. There are other reasons he may not have replied. He could have been out, albeit not very far at that point, from camp. He could have been passed out and unable to respond at that time. Or he could have been so embarrassed at his condition, he did not call out. I discount that whole alleged event though because it is really easy to see if a tent is occupied, or not. The hikers that found him knew the tent was occupied and went to check it out after MH did not reply.

Watching this case, it is funny how simple things snowball out of control. I saw a post on FB the other day. "In this photo it looks like he has arthritis on one finger! Gasp! OMG it incapacitated him!" I'm being sarcastic here but that is where that conversation went. Funny thing, we saw his hands in the postmortem photo, his joints were fine. He also underwent radiology and RA would have shown up there, especially if it were bad enough to kill him.

I'll say this, I think we have fantastic evidence here. It is a shame people pull the wildest theories out of thin air, misconstrue or completely ignore facts, to push forward some inane theory on who he is or how he died. In so many missing cases we don't even get a body. In this case we have the body, we have fingerprints, we have DNA, we have the people who interacted with him, we have the autopsy, and we even have the detectives actively engaging the public. We have a huge amount of people interested. We have all the evidence we need to solve this.

Why he wasted away may always be a mystery. I am hopeful his family can shed some light on the whys if they are ever identified.

 

[GatorFL]

Please forgive me because I know this was covered before but I can't find it: How was Michael Austin Davis determined not to be MH? I can't get over the fact that they look alike (when you age Davis and add facial hair), were the same height and Davis even worked in computers. The resemblance is uncanny and I can't find how or by whom he was determined not to be MH.
Thanks everyone.

I hope @Narkj posts the case file, the answer is in there.

 

[GatorFL]

I read somewhere that there are not many hikers in that area during the hot summertime which maybe accounts for June and July, his worst and last 2 months alive?

The hiking population goes way down in South FL in the summertime. I live here. It is just too hot. For most of us. There are some hardcore hikers though.

The area he was camped is 5 miles off I-75 and is frequently used for recreational sightseeing. I find it hard to believe he was not encountered for the 3 months he is believed to be there. I was on a trail less than 20 miles west of Nobles earlier this year. There was one car in the parking lot but I encountered several late groups looking for panthers.

Where he was offers a myriad of wildlife spotting including alligators, panthers, bear and lots of different bird species.

 

[GatorFL]

How would have gotten out of the tent? He wouldn't have been able to crawl let alone walk?

He was obviously getting water from the pond or he would have died of dehydration long before he died of malnutrition. Isn't that obvious?

 

[K9Enzo]

Please forgive me because I know this was covered before but I can't find it: How was Michael Austin Davis determined not to be MH? I can't get over the fact that they look alike (when you age Davis and add facial hair), were the same height and Davis even worked in computers. The resemblance is uncanny and I can't find how or by whom he was determined not to be MH.
Thanks everyone.

Post # 83 in this link gives some info on why he was ruled out according to this poster.

FL - FL - Big Cypress National Preserve, Male hiker, "Denim" and "Mostly Harmless", 23 July 2018 #2

 

[gfinale]

The hiking population goes way down in South FL in the summertime. I live here. It is just too hot. For most of us. There are some hardcore hikers though.

The area he was camped is 5 miles off I-75 and is frequently used for recreational sightseeing. I find it hard to believe he was not encountered for the 3 months he is believed to be there. I was on a trail less than 20 miles west of Nobles earlier this year. There was one car in the parking lot but I encountered several late groups looking for panthers.

Where he was offers a myriad of wildlife spotting including alligators, panthers, bear and lots of different bird species.

Maybe these sightseeing types are different than the hikers. Maybe they don't converse with others as much and don't take pics of them? I mean, if he was quite sick and weak, he may have been hidden in the tent much of the time which would account for not running into as many but trying to think of why none for so long.

 

[branmuffin]

What is ED? I feel like I'm missing a legend somewhere that explains all the acronyms you guys use!

Abbreviations and Acronyms LIST ONLY NO DISCUSSION

 

[Valiant]

1. But he said he was staying with his sister.

I had always heard it was said he was going to visit his sister, not that he was staying with a sister.

 

[Tilker33]

Just some interesting thoughts on the coding found in his notebook.... It appears he was planning to mine cryptos (similar to Bitcoin) using the Screeps servers. Also planning an android game. It seems like he could have been looking for fast ways to make money.

 

[ballads1]

Random thoughts:

1. He was visiting a deceased sister in Florida. Her grave maybe.

2. His family knows this is him. Maybe he was sick or maybe this was an accidental/unexpected death, but his family knew there was a chance they’d never see him again and everyone was “okay” with that. He could have left his life behind and not told anyone his plans but, for reasons we aren’t aware of, there was an agreement for his family not to claim him if ever he were found like this.

3. Unlikely, but could we be looking for a long missing child? DNA probably wouldn’t be available and of course visual comparison would be difficult, but it’s something I’ve not entirely ruled out. Again, unlikely.

4. I think he was on the lower end of the estimated age range.

5. I think his online presence was just that, online only. Take this forum for example. Many of us “know” one another and would very easily notice if one of us seemingly disappeared from the site, but would we necessarily be able to identify that person based off of a post mortem reconstruction and a few vague details? No, not in most instances. I think the extent of Denim’s online presence will prove to be similar.

6. I’ve tried reading back through to when it was first discussed and couldn’t find anything, but was anyone able to extract anything of value from the Go Pro footage?

My 2 cents FWIW. Coming up on two years unidentified, I feel like we could have answers soon. Thanks to everyone working tirelessly to try to identify our handsome hiker!

Not sure why but this comment got me thinking about the possibility that he was in the foster system. If he aged out of it, that would mean he had no family and no people to notice he was missing/recognize him.

 

[GatorFL]

Not sure why but this comment got me thinking about the possibility that he was in the foster system. If he aged out of it, that would mean he had no family and no people to notice he was missing/recognize him.

Yeah, especially if he was a work-from-home freelance programmer.

He told another hiker his father was abusive and fostered kids often deal with abuse.

One thought I've had is the girlfriend and MH parted ways and he went on walkabout afterwards. If he had no family and his relationship fizzled it is easy to see why he disconnected.

 

[gfinale]

Just some interesting thoughts on the coding found in his notebook.... It appears he was planning to mine cryptos (similar to Bitcoin) using the Screeps servers. Also planning an android game. It seems like he could have been looking for fast ways to make money.

I have looked at the transcriptions for all of his notes I believe and I am a long time computer software expert. Where in his notes did you see these ? Can you name the sections and describe where he says or codes that about cryptos or an android game?

 

[lonewanderer]

Not sure why but this comment got me thinking about the possibility that he was in the foster system. If he aged out of it, that would mean he had no family and no people to notice he was missing/recognize him.

I am terribly conflicted on this. I am 32, and if it wasn’t for my wife and kids, I could very very well be in the same situation as MH.

I am also in IT, but my parents and brother do not use FaceBook, social media, etc. I have a FaceBook, but I do not use it. My parents don’t even have internet.

I didn’t have a falling out with my parents or brother, but we simply do not talk very often. I left my home when I was 17, was in the army for a long time, and have now worked several overseas jobs. None of them have ever lived any more than 20 miles from our family home.

The point is, if I was MH (living the exact life I live now) my parents and brother, cousins, etc may wonder what I am up to or what I do now, but have a very, very low likelihood of seeing a flyer (On any platform) for a somewhat obscure deceased man. I also doubt they would try (or remotely know where to start) actively looking for me on the internet.

People also have odd behaviors. As mentioned in an earlier post, my dad thought I may have died in a helicopter crash, and instead of just texting me, he waited for me to contact him. I have a son of my own now, and I would have been trying to get a hold of him the moment I heard about the crash.

MHs case just goes to show how the complexity of human nature and existence can never be fully explained or predicted based on information that can only be highly suggestive as to how the person and his loved ones lived their lives.

 

[wardo27]

I have looked at the transcriptions for all of his notes I believe and I am a long time computer software expert. Where in his notes did you see these ? Can you name the sections and describe where he says or codes that about cryptos or an android game?

I'm not sure we can post the link - but if you search Mostly Harmless on the Screeps forum, you will find the Screeps player/programmer/user that has recently suggested this, with some additional detail.

 

[Laughing]

Not sure why but this comment got me thinking about the possibility that he was in the foster system. If he aged out of it, that would mean he had no family and no people to notice he was missing/recognize him.

We did talk about this earlier. If you have any contacts please work'em!