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

[Suglo]

I wonder if they can do an autopsy without a next of Kin to grant permission to do an autopsy on an unidentified person ? I guess I can google that question

Almost every single Jane and John Doe on this forum has had an autopsy done so I think that’s a yes

 

[Bit of hope]

Almost every single Jane and John Doe on this forum has had an autopsy done so I think that’s a yes

yes, I agree...unless they had something with them or on their body what says...no autopsy....like the red headed lady 1996 Jane Doe ....(but still they examined some things)

 

[LibbyinTexas]

Almost every single Jane and John Doe on this forum has had an autopsy done so I think that’s a yes

Hopefully we will be able to see the report and atleast know what happened to him. It would be dreadful if he starved to death.

 

[Suglo]

Hopefully we will be able to see the report and atleast know what happened to him. It would be dreadful if he starved to death.

It’s just horrible to think that. Poor guy. At least he died doing what he liked - he has a genuine smile in each picture I’ve seen of him on the trails.

 

[Satchie]

What is most odd, IMO, is that he had no ID, no bank card, not even a piece of paper with some phone numbers. That seems to me to be very unusual, like he never intended to go back to normal life.

I think if he'd asked for help, fellow hikers and hostellers would have supplied whatever he needed.

ETA, also he left no note, which others who died from hunger did do. Altho too weak to walk, you can scribble something.

 

[LibbyinTexas]

What is most odd, IMO, is that he had no ID, no bank card, not even a piece of paper with some phone numbers. That seems to me to be very unusual, like he never intended to go back to normal life.

I think if he'd asked for help, fellow hikers and hostellers would have supplied whatever he needed.

ETA, also he left no note, which others who died from hunger did do. Altho too weak to walk, you can scribble something.

I am not familiar with hiking but I guess that you do not typically see hikers that you might of previously shared the trail with ? They move
on... it seems if a hiker who had met him before would of noticed he was very skinny and not doing well but I haven't read where anyone has posted about seeing him more than once.

 

[FlossyMay]

It's possible he was running from something. I can't think of many other reasons to use an alias.

 

[q64ceo]

Neo Babson Maximus has been submitted by me

 

[RickshawFan]

Oh, oh and also an alias used. This raises an eyebrow or is this normal in the hikers-world?

I didn’t know anyone’s name except onein 6 months on the AT, and the same person knew mine. No one used real names. Mine sounded very strange to me when I got off!

 

[RickshawFan]

Found a very interesting article about a fugitive that basically hid while hiking the Appalachain Trail. He was only known by his trail name "Bismarck". Nobody knew his real name. Very interesting.

Fugitive Spent Years Hiding on the Appalachian Trail

Then there was Iditrod who didn’t know how to spell Iditarod, but claimed he was a sledder from Alaska. He got turned in by a been-around-the-block-a-few-times minister. Wanted.

 

[RickshawFan]

It’s possible he drank untreated water, got very sick, became incapacitated, and couldn’t help himself. Judging from his equipment (usually long-distance hikers have some nice stuff), he didn’t have a whole lot of money. Maybe he didn’t have the money for a phone and didn’t exactly lose it. He could very well have cut corners and not treated his water. He might not even have known it was important.

 

[LeenC]

This case is so intruiging and yet so sad. To actually have people recognize him and even have pictures of him from before his death and yet he remains unidentified.. It kind of reminds me of the Grateful Doe case.

There’s no doubt in my mind that there are people out there who know his real name. It’s just a matter of his picture reaching the right people.

Maybe I missed it in this thread, but is it known when people first met him in this area? It could give us an idea of how long he has been wandering around.

To me his story sounds like he had many misfortunes in the “normal” world and decided to break with it all and live a simpler life. Back to nature, with no possessions except the bare minimal to survive, working for food instead of for money. I think he could very well have been married once. I don’t think anyone is actively looking for him because they might not know he’s missing and (like in many of these cases) his family may have just accepted that he wanted a different life without them in it.

His eyes are so kind. I can’t imagine him not having had friends or loved ones in the outside world.

 

[LibbyinTexas]

This case is so intruiging and yet so sad. To actually have people recognize him and even have pictures of him from before his death and yet he remains unidentified.. It kind of reminds me of the Grateful Doe case.

There’s no doubt in my mind that there are people out there who know his real name. It’s just a matter of his picture reaching the right people.

Maybe I missed it in this thread, but is it known when people first met him in this area? It could give us an idea of how long he has been wandering around.

To me his story sounds like he had many misfortunes in the “normal” world and decided to break with it all and live a simpler life. Back to nature, with no possessions except the bare minimal to survive, working for food instead of for money. I think he could very well have been married once. I don’t think anyone is actively looking for him because they might not know he’s missing and (like in many of these cases) his family may have just accepted that he wanted a different life without them in it.

His eyes are so kind. I can’t imagine him not having had friends or loved ones in the outside world.

I agree Such kindness in his face. From what I have pieced together he began about a year and a half ago on the trails... some have said he mentioned having a good job and quit - some have said he mentioned health issues and some said he mentioned a sister --- of course it could all of been a made up identity he used even while talking about himself --- its difficult to comprehend someone is not recognizing him --- but when you look at very early pics of him from over a year ago and compare to the pic of him now - does not look the same - I wish they would heavily circulate the early pics- if he was a clean cut computer guy ( and hand written code was found in his pocket) then it would be difficult for a co worker to recognize the face they are circulating to the public - at first glance you would not think it's the same guy.

 

[DakotaMayi]

If you recall Into the Wild, Chris McCandless survived just over 3 months in Alaska, he started with a 10 lb bag of rice, and was able to shoot squirrels and such, but weighed 67 lbs when he died. There's some controversy about whether he ate poisonous plants, but I don't know whether that really made a difference. Once he realized he couldn't survive off the land, he tried to retrace his steps to the highway but found the river he'd easily crossed in early spring was swollen with summer melt and he had no maps/strength to explore for an alternate route out.

Ah, Into the Wild. It reminds me of poor Lee Cutler

 

[Gardener1850]

It's possible he was running from something. I can't think of many other reasons to use an alias.

I thought this too, but what throws me off is that he allowed so many people to take his photo that I don't think he was in hiding or a fugitive. In most of the photos he is looking right at the camera and posing/smiling so he had to be aware that his photo was being taken. If he was running from something, however, I expect that none of the info he gave people would be true.

 

[DakotaMayi]

It was originally a book by Jon Krakauer, he was able to trace McCandlesses wanderings thru the western US during the 2 years before his death. He had stopped communicating with his family, but they hadn't filed a missing person's report. It's on many high school/college reading lists, it really speaks to the craving many young people have to be free, and is quite poignant if you can empathize with him (some people just criticize him as naive). Fabulous film version, as well.

ETA I can't help but assume someone is going to write this man's story, as well, since the book Wild, about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, was also a huge success.

Sorry, mentioning Lee Cutler again. But if anyone hasn't read up on his case. Do so. He disappeared in the middle of nowhere (near enough) with a copy of "Into the Wild" in his possession. Such a sad story.

 

[LibbyinTexas]

I thought this too, but what throws me off is that he allowed so many people to take his photo that I don't think he was in hiding or a fugitive. In most of the photos he is looking right at the camera and posing/smiling so he had to be aware that his photo was being taken. If he was running from something, however, I expect that none of the info he gave people would be true.

And if he was wanted for anything serious it seems they would have his fingerprints or something on file.

 

[DakotaMayi]

This case is so intruiging and yet so sad. To actually have people recognize him and even have pictures of him from before his death and yet he remains unidentified.. It kind of reminds me of the Grateful Doe case.

There’s no doubt in my mind that there are people out there who know his real name. It’s just a matter of his picture reaching the right people.

Maybe I missed it in this thread, but is it known when people first met him in this area? It could give us an idea of how long he has been wandering around.

To me his story sounds like he had many misfortunes in the “normal” world and decided to break with it all and live a simpler life. Back to nature, with no possessions except the bare minimal to survive, working for food instead of for money. I think he could very well have been married once. I don’t think anyone is actively looking for him because they might not know he’s missing and (like in many of these cases) his family may have just accepted that he wanted a different life without them in it.

His eyes are so kind. I can’t imagine him not having had friends or loved ones in the outside world.

Yes, grateful doe and Lyle Stevik come to mind. I can't get this case out of my mind.

 

[Gardener1850]

And if he was wanted for anything serious it seems they would have his fingerprints or something on file.

Good point, but only if he had been arrested-- some fugitives flee before they get arrested-- this seems to be especially true of people who embezzle money from their employers IMO as they usually know right away when they have been discovered. I still don't think he was a criminal because of all the pictures of him but it's possible he was accused of something and never charged/arrested or perhaps hiding from something-- like child support or unpaid debt? IDK.

 

[DakotaMayi]

This seems like one of those that should be solved overnight, but I guess if the right people don't see the right post - it's a waiting game.