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

[Tssiemer]

Oooooh world of Warcraft. I recently took a break from that game. It’s like a full time job man.

 

[SugarQueen]

Hmmmm, has anyone come across hikers posting they hiked with him prior to June/ July 2017?? ( this case is driving me crazy! And I seriously need sleep. Lol)

 

[liona]

Random early morning thoughts:
I do wish there was a little more info on where Lake George came from.
Working in the tech field could mean a tech company OR the tech dept. of just about any larger company.
The Facebook post from Mtn Crossing at Walasi-yi states he hiked the AT for 2 weeks in NY. A hikers comment says he camped with him in Unionville “ when he first started out”.

I’m not a hiker. I am more of a go to the AT, do a non serious hike for a few hours, try to stay out of real hikers way, kind of hiker. Lol
Hikers please chime in..... if it’s said Unionville NY was when he first started, and it’s said he hiked the AT in NY for 2 weeks, and I read hikers saying he only did about 10 miles a day, does that give you any idea where he may have started from?? ( I’m sure Unionville wasn’t the very start. More likely just the early part of his hike)
When I first read he was in Tech I thought NYC. Lots of folks commute from my area to NYC. Obviously you wouldn’t want to commute if you lived too far. Lake George has thrown me a curveball. Lol

Maybe he was trying to keep his trail cold? And used a well known NY town as his HT. The town of lake George is extremely touristy from Memorial Day to Labor Day. And a pretty small town (population) otherwise. Surely he will be recognized if everybody is sharing as much as I’ve seen. Unless he had elderly parents that aren’t tech savvy and he was a loner type.
We also have Global Foundries not too far, close enough for a commute from LG. They also did a mass layoff in August 2018.

 

[Gardener1850]

Random early morning thoughts:
I do wish there was a little more info on where Lake George came from.
Working in the tech field could mean a tech company OR the tech dept. of just about any larger company.
The Facebook post from Mtn Crossing at Walasi-yi states he hiked the AT for 2 weeks in NY. A hikers comment says he camped with him in Unionville “ when he first started out”.

I’m not a hiker. I am more of a go to the AT, do a non serious hike for a few hours, try to stay out of real hikers way, kind of hiker. Lol
Hikers please chime in..... if it’s said Unionville NY was when he first started, and it’s said he hiked the AT in NY for 2 weeks, and I read hikers saying he only did about 10 miles a day, does that give you any idea where he may have started from?? ( I’m sure Unionville wasn’t the very start. More likely just the early part of his hike)
When I first read he was in Tech I thought NYC. Lots of folks commute from my area to NYC. Obviously you wouldn’t want to commute if you lived too far. Lake George has thrown me a curveball. Lol

He told people he started at Bear Mountain State Park. There is a loop trail at Bear Mountain that connects to the AT. He was supposedly living in the park for 2 weeks before deciding to head south on the AT. So perhaps he hiked the trail in the park for a couple weeks. It's about 40 miles on the AT between Bear Mountain and Unionville. Here is a map*: Google Maps

On the timeline I had two dates for when he started because at least one person said they thought he started in April 2017. Other hikers have said it was June 2017 when he started in NY. June fits better with his pace on the AT (He said he averaged 10 miles per day) but perhaps April was when he first left his home? Or the one person who said April could have been mistaken. Here is the timeline for a refresher: FL - FL - Big Cypress National Preserve, Male hiker, "Denim" and "Mostly Harmless", 23 July 2018

*ETA: Actually I think Google maps is not following the AT. And the trail route changes slightly from year to year. Here is the AT distance calculator: Appalachian Trail Distance Calculator
From the Bear Mountain Bridge to the Lott Rd in Unionville was 58.7 miles in 2017.

 

[Gardener1850]

Sorry, the AT distance calculator link is not going right to the results. Here is a screen shot of the mileage:

Select 2017 for the year and then select any two points to find the distance: Appalachian Trail Distance Calculator

 

[SugarQueen]

Gardener, I agree that timeline fits. I’m still leaning towards him being from the Bear Mtn area, and possibly working in the city. It feels simple, not a lot of extra travel to get where we “ know” he has been. Idk, it just feels right.

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

I was looking for information on academic and employment opportunities in and around Warren County and came across this Wikipedia article:

“Tech Valley began as a marketing name for the eastern part of the U.S. state of New York, encompassing the Capital District and the Hudson Valley. Originated in 1998 to promote the greater Albany area as a high-tech competitor to regions such as Silicon Valley and Boston, the moniker subsequently grew to represent the counties in New York between IBM's Westchester County plants in the south and the Canada–United States border to the north, and has since evolved to constitute both the technologically-oriented metonym and the geographic territory comprising most of New York State north of New York City.

Warren county is listed as one of the 19 counties that make up the region.
Tech Valley - Wikipedia

More on Warren County:

“The county contains the highest concentrated area of medical manufacturers in New York state ....”

“One of the primary manufacturers AngioDynamics Inc., which is located in Queensbury, and is a producer of medical devices used in minimally invasive, image-guided procedures to treat peripheral vascular disease.”
Warren County, New York - Wikipedia

SUNY Adirondack, located in Queensbury, offers an associate degree in Computer Science “for those pursuing baccalaureate degrees in areas like:

[SBM]

• Game Development and Programming

[SBM]”

The college also has several two-year degree programs in Information Technology.
Degree Programs | SUNY Adirondack

Lake George Region:

“Although the year-round population of the Lake George region is relatively small, the summertime population can swell to over 50,000 residents, many in the village of Lake George region at the southern end of the lake.”
Lake George (New York) - Wikipedia

Glens Falls:

“Glens Falls is also a principal provider of medical services for a vast 2,600-square-mile (6,700 km2) region ....”

“These services are centered around the Glens Falls Hospital ....”

“The hospital is now the area's biggest employer. A VA outpatient facility serves veterans' medical needs.”

“Danfoss Flomatic Corporation is headquartered on Pruyn's Island in Glens Falls.”

“Also on Pruyn's Island is Umicore, a Belgium-based company manufacturing silver-based contact materials.”

“Finch Paper LLC, headquartered at the base of Glen Street hill, is a major regional employer and a manufacturer of specialty paper and forest products.”

“The Glens Falls Cement company, established 1893, is now a part of Lehigh Northeast, itself a division of HeidelbergCement, one of the world's largest cement producers.”

“Arrow Financial Corporation, headquartered downtown, is a publicly traded multi-bank holding company for Glens Falls National Bank & Trust Company (1851) and Saratoga National Bank and Trust Company.”
Glens Falls, New York - Wikipedia

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

Also, I always found Denim’s use of a close Turkish equivalent of “I dunno” (“Ben bilemiy” with an extra i) as an alias fascinating. Personally, I can’t dismiss it as a coincidence.
FL - FL - Big Cypress National Preserve, Male hiker, "Denim" and "Mostly Harmless", 23 July 2018

Then I remembered when @EllieGato first posted about it (thank you so much for sharing!), @Gardener1850 mentioned SUNY’s “Study Abroad in Turkey” program.
FL - FL - Big Cypress National Preserve, Male hiker, "Denim" and "Mostly Harmless", 23 July 2018

I looked a little more into it, and apparently, it is SUNY’s Albany campus that is affiliated with Bahcesehir University, which is located in Istanbul.
Study Abroad - SUNY

The UAlbany exchange program also receives students from their “partner” universities, one of which is Bahcesehir University.
International Exchange & Visiting Students – UAlbany Study Abroad

According to Google Maps, Glens Falls is about an hour drive from SUNY Albany. So even if he attend UAlbany or didn’t visit Turkey himself, he might have had friends who were from there.
Google Maps

All MOO

 

[SugarQueen]

You all realize now I want to go hiking right? Note to self: buy new footwear.

 

[SugarQueen]

I’m still stuck with him being from an area close to Bear Mtn. Unless he took some type of transit to the park. I can’t imagine he was hiking prior to that and no one came across him.

 

[Gardener1850]

I’m still stuck with him being from an area close to Bear Mtn. Unless he took some type of transit to the park. I can’t imagine he was hiking prior to that and no one came across him.

There is a regular bus from NYC that drops off at the park. He could have been from almost anywhere and taken the bus to the park. JMO.

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

According to Google Maps, Glens Falls is about an hour drive from SUNY Albany. So even if he attend UAlbany or didn’t visit Turkey himself, he might have had friends who were from there.
Google Maps
All MOO

Sorry, meant to say “... even if he *didn’t* attend UAlbany ....”

Gotta get some Z’s .

 

[SugarQueen]

There is a regular bus from NYC that drops off at the park. He could have been from almost anywhere and taken the bus to the park. JMO.

That bus is part of what makes me think he lives in the Bear Mtn area and works in NYC. I’m thinking maybe he took that bus back and forth to work.
Hopefully they are close to getting an ID.

 

[UnlicensedPI]

That bus is part of what makes me think he lives in the Bear Mtn area and works in NYC. I’m thinking maybe he took that bus back and forth to work.
Hopefully they are close to getting an ID.

That would be a really long commute though, right? I've seen posts from other hikers saying he told them he lived in New Jersey and worked in Brooklyn.

I also saw a comment on one of the new posts from a woman saying she thought he might have been a guy she spoke with. He was looking for a ride and she gave him a bottle of water. He said he just went through a divorce and his ex took everything. I don't really think this sounds like him, and most people have poor facial recognition, but there is a chance Denim hitched a ride to the park.

 

[SugarQueen]

Bus or train to NYC would be about 1 1/4- 1 1/2 hours. Lots of people up here make the trek every day. ( definitely not something I’d want to do)

 

[LeenC]

I know this is going to sound very selfish and deep down I know the most important part of getting MH identified is so he can go back to his family and they can have some closure, but I’m going to be really disappointed if they end up witholding his name.. I feel so invested in this case. It’s stupid but I almost feel like I “know” him after all these months of trying to crack the mystery that is this man. He really looked like such a nice guy.

 

[eucalyptuz]

The Collier Co Sheriff’s office is asking for a commenter to get back to them about their information, but I can’t see the original comment that would have triggered this request...did anybody catch anything?

 

[SugarQueen]

The Collier Co Sheriff’s office is asking for a commenter to get back to them about their information, but I can’t see the original comment that would have triggered this request...did anybody catch anything?

Where did you see that?? Is it a newer post? (I swore I was staying off here today)

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

Where did you see that?? I swore I was staying off here today but that has me very interested!!

Like eucalyptus, I only see CCSO’s comment asking DO to contact them.

It’s under this post. From 1 hr. ago:
Collier County Sheriff's Office

ETA: @eucalyptuz, I hope I’m talking about the same comment you are talking about this time !

 

[Suglo]

The Collier Co Sheriff’s office is asking for a commenter to get back to them about their information, but I can’t see the original comment that would have triggered this request...did anybody catch anything?

I just went through hundreds of comments looking for the person’s comment but no luck. I have a feeling the Sheriff’s person either hid or deleted said comment. Darn