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

[RickshawFan]

Updated photo of Kevin Mitchell from Seeking Alaska Missing FB page

That guy seems broader and shorter than our hiker, even accounting for weight loss.

 

[RickshawFan]

Hiker knew he was ill, told others he was ill. So far, COD is not public information.

Did he pick Bilemy as a twist on Bile? Did he have a terminal condition of the gall bladder, bile ducts? IDK what else is involved in bile production or storage.

Did anyone hear him say it, or was this only on hostel registers that required a surname? BILL-uh mee, bi lee MI, even more Bellamy like The Bellamy Brothers?

Guessing, of course. Any gastroenterologists on here???

sloppy handwriting department, how about Dilema? de la mi?

YMMV LRR JMHO

If there was a liver issue, he would have had a yellow cast to his skin?

 

[RickshawFan]

If you're creating a timeline and trying to project how far our hiker might have walked in a given day, try an average of 14 miles, or the average distance two shelters away from your morning start. Shelters are approximately every 7 miles. If 14 miles doesn't work, try 21 (less likely).
The other variation is to log 100 miles a week.

 

[RickshawFan]

...based on his statement to several others that he was averaging 10 mile days....

If he was only doing 10 miles a day (which would be very low for a thru hiker), he very well may have been ill already.

It does seem as though he's moving slowly....

 

[RickshawFan]

I was hoping to pinpoint which shelters he was likely to have stopped at and when he would have reached the next major cities with hostels/stores available.

I doubt he was staying at hostels much. They'd have had to be freebies if he was short on cash.
In several states, e.g. NY, you'd come across a deli every day. Further south, you'd be resupplying maybe every 4 days. You'd hitch into town or get a ride from a hostel owner.

 

[RickshawFan]

No one seems to have met him prior to NY (June 2017). At that time he was already slimmed down, well packed, and had a trail name.

He evidently got his trail name, Denim, when he hit the trail in jeans in NY. He had to have been only a day or two into his hike, since jeans are a death trap, and other hikers would have persuaded him to get different pants, like, ASAP. Also, you generally get your trail name within a few days of starting your hike.

 

[RickshawFan]

Was the hiker's pack listed when his body was found in Florida? Someone might have stolen his pack?

 

[LeenC]

Was the hiker's pack listed when his body was found in Florida? Someone might have stolen his pack?

I believe the police have stated that the items that are listed are the only things that were found with him, meaning there was indeed no pack found at the scene. So either someone took it, or he got rid of it himself (I’m leaning towards the latter).

I suppose it depends on exactly what kind of work he did but do you think he would have needed some sort of degree to work in IT? I know it’s a long shot but would it be worth looking at graduation pictures of around the time he would have graduated from university? I’d start in the New York area and gradually broaden the search.

 

[Gardener1850]

I doubt he was staying at hostels much. They'd have had to be freebies if he was short on cash.
In several states, e.g. NY, you'd come across a deli every day. Further south, you'd be resupplying maybe every 4 days. You'd hitch into town or get a ride from a hostel owner.

JMO, I don't think he was short on cash, at least not for most of his journey. We know he stayed at hostels at least 4 times, possibly more than that. LE said he signed into hostels in Virginia, Georgia and Florida as Ben Bilemy. We know two of the hostels he stayed at by name and they are both in Virginia and not free. There are photos of him at Mountain Home Hostel in Front Royal, VA and Woodchucks Hostel in Damascus, VA. He also went out to eat at a pizza place while in Damascus. One of the hikers he was eating out with said he paid in cash. I was hoping to find the names and locations of additional hostels he would have passed by to see if anyone posted about seeing him there or if there were more photos of him on hostel social media pages that have not been discovered yet.

 

[moonriverfarm]

Who are you, Denim?
I watched Return to the Wild last night - a follow up to the Chris McCandless story. He had not spoken to his family for two years. They weren't "looking" for him because they had no idea where to look. Maybe this man has few family members, or is estranged, or has been gone so long they have stopped looking for him or never did. Maybe we are the only ones who care who he is.

 

[Nancy Drew RN]

Surely they would know very quickly if he had terminal cancer, for example? It would be impossible to miss on autopsy. My suspicion would be that he had exhausted himself and run out of cash, or that he had gotten ill and was unable to get help--more Chris McCandless. If he had started somewhat impulsively, without arranging to have himself sent supplies along the route, he must have been carrying all of his cash from the beginning--no one describes him with credit or ATM cards, and none are mentioned as being found with his body. I suppose he could have been withdrawing cash along the way, then either run out or lost or had the cards stolen.

 

[carbuff]

One place to check would be the Tea Horse Hostel. I think it's in Maryland. That's where Mr. Carbuff and his friends stayed when they section hiked that part of the trail.

Many hostels and other places that offer trail accommodations will let people stay and/or eat for free in return for work (things like cleaning up after supper, hauling garbage to a compost pile, that sort of thing). You can even stay at some of the pricey White Mountains huts that way.

 

[Gardener1850]

JMO, I don't think he was short on cash, at least not for most of his journey. We know he stayed at hostels at least 4 times, possibly more than that. LE said he signed into hostels in Virginia, Georgia and Florida as Ben Bilemy. We know two of the hostels he stayed at by name and they are both in Virginia and not free. There are photos of him at Mountain Home Hostel in Front Royal, VA and Woodchucks Hostel in Damascus, VA. He also went out to eat at a pizza place while in Damascus. One of the hikers he was eating out with said he paid in cash. I was hoping to find the names and locations of additional hostels he would have passed by to see if anyone posted about seeing him there or if there were more photos of him on hostel social media pages that have not been discovered yet.

Wanted to add to the above-- he also purchased maps at the Mountain Crossings store in GA. The pizza purchase was 8 Oct 2017 and the Maps were purchased 4 Dec 2017. IMO that indicates he still had money or he had found a way to earn money somewhere. But if he had been so hard up for cash that he was begging or working for it along the way, would he have really used that money to buy maps to keep on going? IDK. I'm not sure if he would have had time to earn it either. And it seems like he would have been identified by someone that helped him by hiring him for odd jobs or giving him some cash but we don't see anyone like that coming forward. Only other hikers and "trail angels" remember him which seems to indicate he stayed on the trail for the most part (JMO).

 

[carbuff]

I notice in this photo that's apparently from his early hiking in Florida (? I think? I can't find an exact date or place) that his beard looks almost reddish.

 

[carbuff]

Wanted to add to the above-- he also purchased maps at the Mountain Crossings store in GA. The pizza purchase was 8 Oct 2017 and the Maps were purchased 4 Dec 2017. IMO that indicates he still had money or he had found a way to earn money somewhere. But if he had been so hard up for cash that he was begging or working for it along the way, would he have really used that money to buy maps to keep on going? IDK. I'm not sure if he would have had time to earn it either. And it seems like he would have been identified by someone that helped him by hiring him for odd jobs or giving him some cash but we don't see anyone like that coming forward. Only other hikers and "trail angels" remember him which seems to indicate he stayed on the trail for the most part (JMO).

People who work for meals or accommodations along the trail aren't necessarily down to their last dime. They may be trying to stretch a limited budget but sometimes they're just cheap.

 

[Gardener1850]

One place to check would be the Tea Horse Hostel. I think it's in Maryland. That's where Mr. Carbuff and his friends stayed when they section hiked that part of the trail.

Many hostels and other places that offer trail accommodations will let people stay and/or eat for free in return for work (things like cleaning up after supper, hauling garbage to a compost pile, that sort of thing). You can even stay at some of the pricey White Mountains huts that way.

I was just looking at them last night. Here's their website: Harpers Ferry lodging - C&O Canal lodging - Teahorse B&B / Hostel
And they have a few reviews on Tripadvisor-- which got me looking at several hostels reviewed on trip advisor to see if I could find reviews left the same time he was in certain places or photos there that might include him...Nothing yet but I'll keep looking.

 

[Gardener1850]

I found this tool for calculating hiking distances on the AT that might be helpful: Appalachian Trail Distance Calculator

According to that it is 470.1 miles between Damascus, VA and Springer Mountain, GA.
We know he left Damascus Oct 9th and reached Springer Mountain on Dec 6th.
That's 59 days of hiking. It's an average of close to 8 miles per day. He said he was doing low mileage days and only hiking around 10 miles. Figuring in that he might have stopped for a day or two, that could average out to about 10 miles per day. Or he might have only been hiking to the next AT shelter each day. Some shelters are only 7 miles apart and some are 16 miles apart.

Side note-- I wonder where he was for Thanksgiving?

 

[Satchie]

Who are you, Denim?
I watched Return to the Wild last night - a follow up to the Chris McCandless story. He had not spoken to his family for two years. They weren't "looking" for him because they had no idea where to look. Maybe this man has few family members, or is estranged, or has been gone so long they have stopped looking for him or never did. Maybe we are the only ones who care who he is.

When comparing them, I'm struck by how McCandless still wanted to communicate. He left a final message to everyone who he cared about, including his family. What is so odd in this case is the deliberate anonymity. And yet, Mostly Harmless seems to have been more social than McCandless.

When I go camping, I never leave my cash and ID in my backpack outside my tent, I always keep them in the tent.

 

[Gardener1850]

When comparing them, I'm struck by how McCandless still wanted to communicate. He left a final message to everyone who he cared about, including his family. What is so odd in this case is the deliberate anonymity. And yet, Mostly Harmless seems to have been more social than McCandless.

When I go camping, I never leave my cash and ID in my backpack outside my tent, I always keep them in the tent.

Perhaps Mostly Harmless did not expect to die there? Even if he was sick with a chronic illness he might have been in denial or the death might have been sudden from something like heat stroke or heart attack. Some hikers pointed out how he had left his shoes outside the tent with the insoles standing up to dry. That may indicate he planned to use his shoes the next day to keep on hiking. I wonder if perhaps he ran out of food and was weak and overheated. Perhaps he laid down for a while thinking he would wake up when someone came by and ask them for food. But no one came by for several days. And he never woke up again.

 

[HelenaRigby]

This is the first time I’ve joined a site like this and the first time I’ve ever posted on this type of case. I’m in the UK and saw this story in a National newspaper and it struck a chord with me. Denim looks just like my partner and he too lost a substantial amount of weight through walking/hiking. Like 10 stone and he’s only 5ft7ins. This case has been on my mind since I first read about it over a month ago.
I’m not sure really if I can be of any help but there’s one thing that really makes me wonder with this case and that’s that he wasn’t found until 23rd July yet there have been 2 separate people mention on Facebook threads that they seen his tent at the campground as early as 1st June and 3rd June. I’d hate the think he’s been unwell in there for weeks before being found but the amount of weight lost by him would make me think that’s the case.