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

[amytothekate]

State and federal buildings/offices have enormous IT/tech teams. Database mgrs, report developers, programmers, analysts etc. Many non IT/tech offices also have a small team of IT people. These usually tend to be stable jobs but entry level has a high turn over so sometimes fairly easy to slide into. I have no knowledge of how state govt runs in NY but I think it’s another possibility. Sorry to add more to the list.

The NYS government runs by taxing us to within an inch of our lives.

Don't apologize, those are great ideas! I still have IT contacts from my former lives in non-profit and government, I will chat with a few to see if they have any ideas or additional ways/places to circulate the flyer.

 

[Coffee56]

Thanks Gardener1850. I have been so impressed; truly in awe of your work. Hat's off to you!

At RIT, in IT, we use Slack messenger, and have a "general" channel that is widely read, and a free-for-all in terms of subject matter. I will post the UID poster there, and add the info about code regarding gaming found in his notebook. We also have an enterprise-wide message-center - I'm going to check to see if I can share the information there, as well.

I completely agree that this gaming code may be entirely related to a hobby and not pertaining to his actual work. I do think it is likely his work involved some coding language, though.

Welcome!!
Denim/MH is the case I have followed the closest. He just tugs at the heart strings.
I agree with the coding language helping in at least identifying the job he might have had. In my office the database group uses one, developers another. I hope he got to use his video game programming skills. It was obviously something he loved.

 

[Traymar]

If MH was really planning on only hiking for two weeks, then why did he have so much money and such a heavy pack? Maybe he went off trail to get his things/cash when he got a taste for the trail. I wonder if he used an ATM/debit card to get his money, or if he got it from a savings account at a physical bank. I think he must have lived somewhat close to Unionville if he did go off trail and get back on.

Also, if he borrowed phones at certain points, I wonder if it's possible to figure out what numbers he called.

I think these are good ideas. Re the phone borrowing, if he used someone's cell I would think it would be fairly easy to check old phone records for outgoing calls during that time that the phone owner doesn't recognize. It's easy to sort your bill by phone number, so I would think it would be a quick check. This is assuming the person either still has the same carrier or maybe saved old phone bills. Did people say they had lent him their phone, or are we speculating? Sorry, I can't recall right now.

All MOO.

 

[Gardener1850]

I think these are good ideas. Re the phone borrowing, if he used someone's cell I would think it would be fairly easy to check old phone records for outgoing calls during that time that the phone owner doesn't recognize. It's easy to sort your bill by phone number, so I would think it would be a quick check. This is assuming the person either still has the same carrier or maybe saved old phone bills. Did people say they had lent him their phone, or are we speculating? Sorry, I can't recall right now.

All MOO.

I don't recall anyone saying he borrowed their phone to make any personal calls. I only remember something about him possibly asking other hikers with phones to make reservations at a hostel for him. Hostels fill up fast during the busy seasons and sometimes you have to call a shuttle or hitch a ride into the nearest town to get to one. But now I'm not sure if that was only speculation or if it is confirmed info that he asked others to use their phones for making reservations. I recall for sure that the hikers he met in Damascus VA said he did NOT have a phone with him at all and he claimed he did not have facebook nor did he have any social media "due to hackers". Ironically, the computer I had when I made the timeline for this case crashed. I lost my notes and only have what is in the thread as a guide to look for info again. I'm leaning towards it being speculation only that he used other people's phones.

 

[Traymar]

I don't recall anyone saying he borrowed their phone to make any personal calls. I only remember something about him possibly asking other hikers with phones to make reservations at a hostel for him. Hostels fill up fast during the busy seasons and sometimes you have to call a shuttle or hitch a ride into the nearest town to get to one. But now I'm not sure if that was only speculation or if it is confirmed info that he asked others to use their phones for making reservations. I recall for sure that the hikers he met in Damascus VA said he did NOT have a phone with him at all and he claimed he did not have facebook nor did he have any social media "due to hackers". Ironically, the computer I had when I made the timeline for this case crashed. I lost my notes and only have what is in the thread as a guide to look for info again. I'm leaning towards it being speculation only that he used other people's phones.

Oh no, sorry to hear about your computer! Now that you mention it, I remember the same way you do: that he borrowed phones from others (or had others call on his behalf) to make hostel reservations. So, probably not a viable path to run down.

 

[MaryFromFla]

There are several comments made about MH working on some kind of hiking/tracking app as well as some sort of game. Dont know if the coding is done differently for each thing. Several comments were made about MH being in the tech field for the last decade, tech in general seems broad and vauge.
I am intrigued by several comments that he had family (sister) in Fl...I find it unseemly that he would have family right here and no one has come forward.
As a Florida Native there are several things about this case that are amazingly odd. Hiking such a distance at the Height of summer heat/storm season. He would have had to choose a path around Orlando, do we know which way he chose. Okeechobee would be the same with chosing a pathway..Either would have been a good option for temp work or lodging. That there hasn't been any chatter about sightings specifically in these areas is just odd. There are some spots on tail where there are just. no. options for food re-up...some 85 miles of NO OPTIONS. Having cash and food he had to go off trail and purchase food...even if he still had cash and didnt need work....I remember the sister comment being on a FB post/page and vaugely remember It was a sister in Sarasota...Seems she would have noticed some of the media unless a snow bird situation and she had moved on by summer months...

 

[amytothekate]

[SBM]
I am intrigued by several comments that he had family (sister) in Fl...I find it unseemly that he would have family right here and no one has come forward.
[SBM]
I remember the sister comment being on a FB post/page and vaugely remember It was a sister in Sarasota...Seems she would have noticed some of the media unless a snow bird situation and she had moved on by summer months...

I found a screen shot of the comment, I'm not sure where the original comment was made, and the first part is cut off. It is from FB, so I don't think I can post it (correct?). It alludes to a sister in Sarasota or Ft. Myers. The poster says they came across MH on 2/24/2018 near Panama City Beach, and that on that day, he headed for the FL trail. This person also mentioned he had been staying with his sister and he talked about health problems.

The thing about mentioning health problems, is a supposedly reliable source that spent a lengthy period of time hiking with MH, contradicts this information. So I am not sure what to think of all the information provided by this poster on FB. There's a chance she could be misremembering some details. I'd be surprised he would share this info with a stranger and not Obsidian. JMO!

 

[carbuff]

I found a screen shot of the comment, I'm not sure where the original comment was made, and the first part is cut off. It is from FB, so I don't think I can post it (correct?). It alludes to a sister in Sarasota or Ft. Myers. The poster says they came across MH on 2/24/2018 near Panama City Beach, and that on that day, he headed for the FL trail. This person also mentioned he had been staying with his sister and he talked about health problems.

The thing about mentioning health problems, is a supposedly reliable source that spent a lengthy period of time hiking with MH, contradicts this information. So I am not sure what to think of all the information provided by this poster on FB. There's a chance she could be misremembering some details. I'd be surprised he would share this info with a stranger and not Obsidian. JMO!

Unless he developed the health problem after he parted ways with Obsidian and before he talked to the person in Florida?

 

[Gardener1850]

I found a screen shot of the comment, I'm not sure where the original comment was made, and the first part is cut off. It is from FB, so I don't think I can post it (correct?). It alludes to a sister in Sarasota or Ft. Myers. The poster says they came across MH on 2/24/2018 near Panama City Beach, and that on that day, he headed for the FL trail. This person also mentioned he had been staying with his sister and he talked about health problems.

The thing about mentioning health problems, is a supposedly reliable source that spent a lengthy period of time hiking with MH, contradicts this information. So I am not sure what to think of all the information provided by this poster on FB. There's a chance she could be misremembering some details. I'd be surprised he would share this info with a stranger and not Obsidian. JMO!

JMO, I think that person who thinks he met him in Panama City Beach is mistaken and perhaps met someone else who looked similar to him. The info about a sister and him being ill has not come from anyone else who met him nor have I read that info from anyone who has photos of him. And we know that he was hiking the Florida Trail already before Feb 24.
This photo was taken in January 2018:

He was hiking near Crestview at the time according to the Trail Angel who took the photo.

There's a map at this link that gives a visual of the Florida Trail in relation to Crestview:
Hiking in Crestview | Florida Hikes!

He would have had to have veered far off the FT to go to Panama City Beach. Also, I don't think that there is physically enough time for him to have hiked to Sarasota or Ft Myers where this sister supposedly was and then end up back in Panama City Beach at the end of Feb. And the story is that he had been staying with a sister for a while who nursed him back to health. IMO this story does not fit with our mystery hiker's timeline.

Map showing there are over 500 miles between cities (remember he had a pace of about 10 miles per day): Google Maps

The Florida Trail also does not go anywhere near Sarasota:

 

[EllieGato]

I am going to go back through trail blogs and diaries and sightings again to look for certain comments and their sources and see if the source had photos or a mention of MH in a real time diary. I would also like to see all of the photos in order again, as it has been said. More photos are out since the last timeline I believe. A lot of this stuff is in Gardener1850 's beautiful timeline which helps.

Specific comments I will look for that I remember...
-MH spent 10 years working in New York in IT.
-He had lived (or was born) in Louisiana. Maybe Baton Rouge. (I think this is EarlyRiser71, not MH But let's look again for validity).
-He said he thought he should do this hike while he still could.
-He mentioned an ex girlfriend or wife
-He'd had a difficult relationship with his dad at times.
-His friends put his stuff in storage for him.
-He was sorry he left behind (or lost for good) 3 "big" hard drives. (Said in FL)
-He worked as a "computer programmer" before he quit his job and decided to hike the trail.
-He had been at the Unionville, NY Campground for a while until he got kicked out. (Maybe 2-3 months) help me here, SugarQueen...
-He went to Bear Mountain Park where he hiked for 2 weeks before getting on the trail.
-the first photos of MH are in Damascus VA (still current?)
-He had hiked for a while with Obsidian
-he might have bought a spiral notebook from Dollar Tree or Family Dollar in Western NC. He used this notebook to write plans for a game in code with players that move or gain and lose power. He also had been writing an app for thru hikers to find water and also recipes for trail/energy bars with analysis of macro nutrients (protein, carb, and fat).
-MH had Trail Angels make calls for hostel reservations.
-MH had a burner phone that he used for a while and then finished and disposed of either at the Salem Church Rd hostel or church basement (just east of the Alabama/Georgia Border)or maybe it was Crestview Florida.
-He started the Florida trail in Blackwater
-He was spotted in Panama City beach. (another EarlyRiser71 I think, let's check)
-He had a sister that the hiker reported was in either Sarasota or Ft Myers but he couldn't remember. (Pensacola?)
-he was going to stay with his sister in Florida to rest (Separate from the above comment).
-His southern terminus was Key West. Mixed comments on if his intentions were to stay or hike back.
-Between the last reported sighting and his death, there had been enough time for him to make it to Key West and back to Nobles Camp (Any journals and pics now to contradict that possibilty?)
-He used the term in Florida "go off the grid."
-Someone in IT in Warren County thought they recognized him.
-We heard Brooklyn mentioned as a possible place of prior residence.


Feel free to add any comments you want me to look for specifically from the hiking forums etc. Let's compare the sources.

ETA : I see some now.

 

[EllieGato]

I think we are ready for a second thread. How do we get one? Contact a mod?

 

[carbuff]

JMO, I think that person who thinks he met him in Panama City Beach is mistaken and perhaps met someone else who looked similar to him. The info about a sister and him being ill has not come from anyone else who met him nor have I read that info from anyone who has photos of him. And we know that he was hiking the Florida Trail already before Feb 24.
This photo was taken in January 2018:

He was hiking near Crestview at the time according to the Trail Angel who took the photo.

There's a map at this link that gives a visual of the Florida Trail in relation to Crestview:
Hiking in Crestview | Florida Hikes!

He would have had to have veered far off the FT to go to Panama City Beach. Also, I don't think that there is physically enough time for him to have hiked to Sarasota or Ft Myers where this sister supposedly was and then end up back in Panama City Beach at the end of Feb. And the story is that he had been staying with a sister for a while who nursed him back to health. IMO this story does not fit with our mystery hiker's timeline.

Map showing there are over 500 miles between cities (remember he had a pace of about 10 miles per day): Google Maps

The Florida Trail also does not go anywhere near Sarasota:

Yesh, but he didn't have to walk those segments. He could have bummed a ride, taken a bus, had his sister pick him up or drop him off.

If she's that far from where he was found, then it wouldn't be surprising if she didn't see anything about his death.

Also, that's an awfully warm coat for Florida.

 

[coffeeandacig]

Can't shake the feeling that it's possible that he was visiting a sister in Sarasota County that may have predeceased him. In other words, he went to her grave site to pay his respects.

 

[Gardener1850]

Yesh, but he didn't have to walk those segments. He could have bummed a ride, taken a bus, had his sister pick him up or drop him off.

If she's that far from where he was found, then it wouldn't be surprising if she didn't see anything about his death.

Also, that's an awfully warm coat for Florida.

That's true that he could have been picked up in a car. But it still doesn't really make much sense to me that he would be picked up, driven 500 miles to Sarasota for a week or two and then taken back to Panama City Beach to continue his hike South again. As for the coat, historic temperatures for Crestview in January 2018 show some days with lows in the teens and 20s and highs only in the 50's or 60's:
Crestview Month Weather - AccuWeather Forecast for FL 32536
He would have needed the coat in January. The Trail Angel who took that photo was also interviewed on the podcast, so I find her to be a credible source of info. MOO.

 

[EllieGato]

Ok.... Path through Florida
Pics and possibilities:

Panama City, Ft Myers, and Sarasota could be worked in if they needed to be. They are off the trail, but if a relative/friend was there... sure he could get there.

One thing to note, there is a day ferry from Fort Myers to Key West and back. Explorers will take it and make their way back to mainland by road for fun. Or vice versa.

I need to listen to the Podcast again... the guy in Florida who offered to mail back his stuff... last sighting... place of sighting and date.... north or south of Ft Meyers and or Sarasota?

If he ferried from Ft Myers to Key West, does the last sighting fit in before he would do this? Maybe?

If he hiked to Key West and then ferried to Ft Myers he would have had to go South, again to get to BCP, Nobles Camp. So no.

Sarasota? Could he have meant Pensacola?

It snowed in the Southeast in Janary 2018 for the first time in over 100 years in many places. It was unusually cold.

The Google map starts at Salem Church, to Blackwater, to Crestview, to Panama City Beach, back to trail, west around Orlando, and then to Ft Myers. Sarasota is just south of the last point and still north of BCP. For comparison.

MOO

 

[UnlicensedPI]

I wonder if he had been visiting a sister in SARATOGA. It's in NY right next to Lake George/Glens Falls. Maybe that's why/how he went from Brooklyn/New Jersey to that area of New York.

If someone misheard Saratoga for Sarasota, we could be playing a huge game of telephone.

 

[SugarQueen]

@EllieGato its said he camped in Bear Mtn for a few weeks BEFORE hiking to Unionville and camping overnight. I read he was in Bear Mtn April/ May. I think the comments about him hiking in NY for 2 weeks are probably the time spent hiking around Bear Mtn area to Unionville back on the AT until he hit NJ?

 

[EllieGato]

@EllieGato its said he camped in Bear Mtn for a few weeks BEFORE hiking to Unionville and camping overnight. I read he was in Bear Mtn April/ May. I think the comments about him hiking in NY for 2 weeks are probably the time spent hiking around Bear Mtn area to Unionville back on the AT until he hit NJ?

Thanks! I'm without old notes as well!
ETA: found them...Yes 2-4 WEEKS total.

 

[amytothekate]

I'm working on a spreadsheet that captures the following regarding statements made about MH:

• User ID/Initials
• Source (e.g., Blog, podcast, Instagram, reddit, Facebook, etc.)
• Comment
• Comment Date
• Parent Comment/Thread (if applicable)
• Interaction Date
• Interaction Location
• Associated Photos

When I've finished compiling this information and anything additional I can find, largely using the timeline by @Gardener1850 , I'm planning on quantifying the "facts". For example:

• Worked in tech/IT: # source(s)
• Had a sister in Sarasota/Ft. Myers: # source(s)
• Born in Baton Rouge: # source(s)
• Etc.

Once I have a rough working copy of the spreadsheet, I'd like to plot a mapped timeline with corresponding photos.

 

[carbuff]

That's true that he could have been picked up in a car. But it still doesn't really make much sense to me that he would be picked up, driven 500 miles to Sarasota for a week or two and then taken back to Panama City Beach to continue his hike South again. As for the coat, historic temperatures for Crestview in January 2018 show some days with lows in the teens and 20s and highs only in the 50's or 60's:
Crestview Month Weather - AccuWeather Forecast for FL 32536
He would have needed the coat in January. The Trail Angel who took that photo was also interviewed on the podcast, so I find her to be a credible source of info. MOO.

I'm not questioning the photographer's accuracy. But a New Englander would only need a jacket during the day, if that, and I wouldn't expect somebody who had been hiking in the southern Appalachians through November and December to feel that cold even if temps were in the 40's that day.

Things I can think of:

it's the only coat he had with him so even if it was warmer than he needed, that's what he put on.

he's ill and felt cold all the time--he kind of looks ill in that photo, like it's taking all his energy just to smile.

he's from a warmer climate and feels cold at temps I would consider fairly warm

Or most likely some combination of the three.

It's probably not significant. It just struck me as odd.

As for the distance, yeah, kind of a long drive, but if my brother called me from 500 miles away and said he needed a place to stay for a couple of weeks while he recovered from the flu/a bout of giardisia/whatever, I'd go get him, and then take him back to his trail. I'd probably complain loudly, but I'd do it.