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

[Bit of hope]

Thanks BOH! I did not find any mention of a book or code he had with him. If you find those comments and can link or direct me on how to get to them, please do so. I can add that info to the timeline. I did see one person comment who thought they had met him and said he had a computer code tattoo on his arm. However, the Sheriff commented that the UID had no tattoos at all and they are sure of this. So the person who thought he had a code on his arm must be confusing him with someone else they met. JMO. I agree with you about the backpack. I think he might have given it away or possibly it was stolen. Several people asked the Sheriff about his backpack and why it was not included on NAMUS and the Sheriff fb page replied that everything found with the UID was on the list.

if I find it again I will let you know.

 

[Classito]

Donald Phillips
5'10-5'11 -a few inches off from Harmless but most likely Donald's is an estimate
Brown hair
Blue eyes
54 to 55 yrs old (current age)-a little older than estimated for Harmless-Police report on Donald says 54 when missing-family report says 53
Heavier set than Harmless--estimated weight for Donald was 240
Donald has traveled to LA and has connections to NY and FL.

It is believed Donald disappeared sometime in April 2017 Last seen by his supervisor on 4/18/2017. His car was found at the Lone Star Hiking Trail a few miles north of Willis TX between 4/20-4/23. He was reported missing by his family on May 5, 2017. A few of his items were found by hikers on the trail, he last used his phone in the same area the items were found. His phone, medication etc was left behind. He had a brain injury and was on daily medication. In looking up his sister-there are two that matched..both from NY...one from Brooklyn NY and living in Sunrise FL.

Everyone that has shared information about Harmless has said he reported he had started hiking in April 2017. (same timeline Donald disappeared) None of the people reported he was overweight at the time of meeting him but have reported he stated he was overweight when he started hiking. All photos of Harmless are in June or after, none of him when overweight (first started hiking).

Donald's sister posted about her brother in July 2017 (link below) Some of the information he has on the gofund me conflicts with the original information Donald's sister posted back in July 2017 (link below). Approximately 6 months ago, Donald's son started a gofund me account to raise money to hire a private investigator.The gofundme account however, adds new information about the contents of the the trunk of Donald's car; found was his wallet, 3-4 days of clothing, his sheets, bedding and other personal items. The police believe he left on his own accord. The son believes he was murdered and feels like the police did not do their job. The son was living in CT at the time.


Donald Phillips missing from Montgomery County Texas – Missing Persons of America
Go Fundme
Click here to support Justice For Don Phillips organized by David Phillips

 

[thesensitivechild]

Gardner. Absolutely outstanding and committed work. You should be on payroll. Seriously.

This case bothers me. Because there is some overlap. Location wise I’m an hour from bear mountain. I think he’s younger than they ate assuming. At least under 46. No way over 50. Just not happening. I personally think he is 35-43. I think he looks like some we may no, he’s handsome, looks friendly, it’s off putting. Who was he and why did he allow himself to die alone? Even at 110 pounds he would have known he wasn’t well in regard to BMI (I just do t understand how he would have even gotten to 110- which of course wasn’t his low weight at death). I find this so so odd. I’m amazed he even lasted to the weight he was found at. So many odd things...

 

[thesensitivechild]

The man above is far too old in my humble opinion... just not in realm of possibility, regardless of any shared features.

In regard to the Phillips gentleman listed above.

 

[thesensitivechild]

Delete

What can I do to help look. I am based closed to his starting out location and possible city.

 

[Classito]

I work with seniors and you would be surprised at how young some of them look. Some people just do not age as fast as others and changing ones lifestyle from overeating, drinking, drugs etc to exercise, drinking more water and eating less can do some amazing transformations on a person

 

[Gardener1850]

Delete

What can I do to help look. I am based closed to his starting out location and possible city.

If you have social media post the latest Sheriff's fb update link to your local news station pages (if they have not covered the story yet). If you live near a large city, maybe you could print out some of the flyers from their page and tack them up at bus stations/bus stops or hiking/outdoor equipment stores? You never know, he could be from your area.

 

[Gardener1850]

One thing that I keep thinking about is that the tent he had is not available in stores on most of the East coast/Southern states. (see the "store locator" map here: https://www.brooks-range.com/ ) Someone earlier in this thread said the tent looked like a 2013 model. He most likely had that tent before starting out on the AT (JMO). Since it's an expensive tent, maybe he even bought it long before quitting his job. I know he could have ordered online or got it second hand, but I suspect he has ties to a city where the tent brand is sold or he previously took a hiking vacation someplace where the tent was sold. There is only one store in New York that sells Brooks Range brands and it is in Keene Valley, NY: Home - The Mountaineer
That store also sells the brand of hiking boots he had: SALOMON : Running shoes, trail running, hiking, ski and snowboard
If he was from NYC, my theory is that he took a hiking/camping vacation to the Adirondacks sometime around 2013 and while he was still employed. JMO. If we knew what brand his missing backpack was I suspect it would be a brand sold in that same Keene Valley store as well. The other items are less expensive and available in more locations (The trekking poles are sold at Walmart, for example).

 

[Gardener1850]

The Navy Blue puffy coat which he is wearing also seems to be Brooks Range Brand. You can see the BR logo in the photo of him holding the Maps:

And no mention of his coat being found with him... Perhaps he traded his things for food toward the end? He would have no use for the coat in July in Florida anyway.

 

[Gardener1850]

Here's a challenge-- can anyone identify the brand of bandana/handkerchief hanging from his shoulder here?

At first I thought it might be the Mountaineering Store's bandana. They have a lot of pictures on their Instagram of people holding up the bandana to show where they hiked with it: The Mountaineer (@mountaineerbandana) • Instagram photos and videos

But the edges seem to be different. The Mountaineering Bandana has mountains and the UID's bandana has some stars.

 

[RickshawFan]

Silly question. What actually means term thru hiker? Is it crossing state lines or being hiking for over a year or?

A thru-hiker should properly be spelled "through hiker". They are hikers who hike the whole length at one time of a very long trail like the Appalachian Trail (AT). They are different from "section hikers" who only hike a section of a long trail.
The AT runs along the ridge of "mountains" (maximum about 6 thousand feet, so not very high) from Georgia to Maine. It generally takes 4-6 months to hike the whole thing.
"Denim" evidently got on the AT in NY or somewhere and headed south.
If he wore jeans to hike in, he was an extremely inexperienced hiker. Jeans are a death trap.

 

[Yokota-Red]

Hi, I just want to apologize for my posts recently, I really didn't think about what I was doing...Sorry! I do think this may be our john doe, Timothy Jackson-U.S. Army Veteran Namus MP#39119 His pictures are in with missingveterans, I would post them but I don't know how.

 

[Gardener1850]

Hi, I just want to apologize for my posts recently, I really didn't think about what I was doing...Sorry! I do think this may be our john doe, Timothy Jackson-U.S. Army Veteran Namus MP#39119 His pictures are in with missingveterans, I would post them but I don't know how.

Timothy Jackson

Per the above link he has tattoos on his fingers and a large scar on his upper chest. The UID has no tattoos and no scars except a faint line on his lower stomach. Sorry, I think those things rule Timothy out.

 

[Yokota-Red]

There is mention of a tattoo, it is really light you can barely see it in one picture, the 1st picture on the post that have his pictures grouped look on the right hand you have too look really close, but it is there. I hope I am able to help out here, I'm trying my best.

 

[turanna25]

Hi, I just want to apologize for my posts recently, I really didn't think about what I was doing...Sorry! I do think this may be our john doe, Timothy Jackson-U.S. Army Veteran Namus MP#39119 His pictures are in with missingveterans, I would post them but I don't know how.

Hi Yokota, I respectfully disagree. Mainly because Timothy Jackson had tattoos on his fingers and altho they were faded.. our UID clearly has no markings on any of his fingers. I also believe their noses and eyes are different. It was a good suggestion though. thank you for sharing.

 

[RickshawFan]

Thanks for the additional photos and info. Everyone knows him but no one knows who he is. This one has had me since he was found. Someone must be missing him.

This would not be exactly unusual on the AT, especially for someone in midlife. Young folks have often left worried moms at home. The newly retired often have families. But the midlife folks generally (operative word here) are needing a break from life circumstances. There are actually not that many thru hikers in this category. Most are young adults or newly retired, both of these categories being in transition and with responsibilities changing.
So, most thru hikers don't know a whole lot about fellow thru hikers. They may hike together for a week or so, then someone leaves the trail for a day and doesn't catch up.

Only one person knew my real name on the AT. And no one knew anything about me or where I came from. That stuff really doesn't come up in conversation. Conversation is mostly about adventures on the trail and FOOD. You reach your night time destination, get water, fix dinner (i.e. boil water), and go to bed. This might be 8-8:30! No chance to shoot the breeze a whole lot about where you came from.

I don't remember a single significant conversation during 6 months on the AT. Seriously. But I do remember the demeanor of thru hikers I met. When you only hear about how other thru-hikers remember "Denim" and liked him but don't know anything about him.... this is exactly what I am describing.

 

[RickshawFan]

@FlossyMay @Coffee56 whew...glad it's not only me!

Wonder if the Sheriff's Dept. looked into the possibility that he is a former gamer. Mostly Harmless is also a multi-game MMORPG guild, and Denim may have been his player name?

Denim was his trail name.

 

[RickshawFan]

Items found: Beige Shirt/neon green (w/gray accents) Shorts/Gray Russell Performance Underwear size M Columbia baseball hat, very dirty possibly gray and white Yellow two man tent – Manufacturer: Brooks-Range Mountaineering, Model: Foray Yellow sleeping bag Two walking poles, black and copper color. Brand Outdoor products One yellow and gray Isobutane 110 G fuel cartridge Bluegreen Nalgene water bottle


I don't see his blue coat and his red backpack listed (or is that just me) I suppose they were in the tent. If not that is strange. I noticed that he is wearing a black watch with a greenish (neo? Kelly green?) number plate.

The red thing on his pack is a pack cover. You put it on when it rains. It's like a gigantic version of those old-fashioned shower caps they used to issue you in motels.

I'm not convinced the tent is the Foray model. I'm not looking at the photo right now, but it didn't look like a 2 person tent, nor one that has a separate fly. The roof is very low. You'd crawl into this thing backwards. If it is a Brooks Range, it might be a Propel.

I also saw a photo of his stuff (must have been at his last resting place) where his shoes were staged tidily and the insoles pulled out and standing in the shoes. This is to dry them. At any rate, I doubt he was in that spot very long. For some reason, the way he left the shoes suggests he wasn't in extremis.

There doesn't seem to have been any animal activity in and around his campsite. This also strikes me as very unusual. You'd think raccoons would have got into it.

 

[Yokota-Red]

JD also had an issue with his knees, may be the reason he is wearing the braces, was being treated with chemo but stopped before he went missing. The scar on the upper chest, may not show because of decomposition.

 

[Gardener1850]

I just figured out his backpack brand-- From this photo you can see the logo on the part that goes around his waist:

That logo is Gregory brand: https://www.gregorypacks.com/
This is also a brand sold by the Mountaineer store in Keene Valley.