Identified! FL - Big Cypress Natl Preserve, Male hiker, "Denim" & "Mostly Harmless", Jul 2018 - Vance Rodriguez

[GatorFL]

Big question is though; have these leads been followed up on? The case wasn’t classified as murder or homicide, so I question the depth of the resources that have been used by officials to identify him.

Are these even really leads? If he was a US citizen, which guessing from where he said he was from, and the fact that he had no accent, are these even leads? You are not fingerprinted to get a passport. You're not fingerprinted upon arrival to the USA if you're a citizen. CCSO would have nobody to ask. This is just noise.

 

[GatorFL]

I don't think you get fingerprinted for domestic flights but I get fingerprinted when I travel to Panama. I've traveled to many countries and Panama is the first one that always asks for fingerprints.

Well, that's a Panamanian thing. CCSO is supposed to send an unknown's fingerprints all over the world? Cmon, that's not happening. That would be an FBI thing, not a deputy from a Florida county.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Right, there's not a centralized database with most people's fingerprints or dental records or anything like that.

Even the genealogy work that's in progress for this case may or may not identify him. But I have faith that it will.

 

[UnlicensedPI]

Just chiming in to say I applied for a passport this year and was not fingerprinted. In fact, the only time I've EVER been fingerprinted was for a voluntary event as a child and for a forensics class in high school.

 

[GJKJR]

Sorry if I've missed a lot here, I'm not particularly in the loop, but was William Paul Faries (The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)) ever ruled out conclusively? I know he was mentioned upthread as well, but the conversation about that seemed to have fizzled out. Something about the eyes for me just seems really similar to Denim's... not to mention his savvy with computers and intelligence.

 

[suspicious89]

Hi. I am new here. I'm new to forums in general.

<modsnip>

I just want this case solved. I'm thinking about this dude all day everyday feeling so sad at the pit of my heart for how he died lonely.

 

[Mind your biscuits]

I definitely had my finger prints electronically taken when returning from overseas.
If you go to the department of homeland security the info is right there.
I can't get it to link from my phone.
They also do face scans. Moo.
ETA
Biometric screening at airports is spreading fast, but some fear the face-scanning systems

 

[Hoss569]

His fingerprints not being on file for LE’s search tells me the following:

-he’s never been arrested for a crime
-he’s never been in the military
-he’s never been a federal employee

Feel free to add...

IMO

Never worked in healthcare, in anyway shape or form, from dietician to chiropractor.
Never worked in veterinary type of work.
Never worked with children
Never applied for a Real estate license or home inspection license
Never worked with hazardous materials
Never worked with investments or federal taxes
Never applied for a medical marijuana permit
Never applied for public housing or assistance
Never applied for a real ID or national ID

Just a few I am aware of

 

[iamnotagolem]

Since were talking about fingerprints. I’ve only been fingerprinted for background checks. Once for a job, once to volunteer at a school.

Are these fingerprints kept on file? If they are, then why the need to get fingerprints more than once?

Never been printed for passport or any travel.

Also wanted to comment on the humidity situation in Florida. I grew up in a humid climate, after not living there for 5 years I went back one summer for a funeral (wanted to clarify it wasn’t a voluntary summer trip) and it was intolerable. I was absolutely miserable. I can’t even imagine how brutal Florida is during the summer months, I can’t breathe just thinking about it.

 

[MichelleBlue]

Since there seems to be a lot of discussion regarding fingerprints, I thought I would share what I learned through some reading. In 2015 the FBI began keeping a data base that included both criminal and civil fingerprints. Prior to 2015, if someone was fingerprinted for a noncriminal reason, the prints would have been cross-checked with the criminal prints on file & then possibly discarded. However, prints obtained as of 2015 for civil reasons (jobs, background checks, licensing) are now saved in a fbi biometrics data base .

IMO this is what I understand of the process & can be found at the link below:

Next Generation Identification (NGI) - Retention and Searching of Noncriminal Justice Fingerprint Submissions — FBI

 

[iamnotagolem]

Since there seems to be a lot of discussion regarding fingerprints, I thought I would share what I learned through some reading. In 2015 the FBI began keeping a data base that included both criminal and civil fingerprints. Prior to 2015, if someone was fingerprinted for a noncriminal reason, the prints would have been cross-checked with the criminal prints on file & then possibly discarded. However, prints obtained as of 2015 for civil reasons (jobs, background checks, licensing) are now saved in a fbi biometrics data base .

IMO this is what I understand of the process & can be found at the link below:

Next Generation Identification (NGI) - Retention and Searching of Noncriminal Justice Fingerprint Submissions — FBI

Thank you! I was just about to go searching to see if there was any info on this.

 

[Curious_in_NC]

I have not been out of the US for a couple of years but had traveled to over a dozen other countries within the past dozen years or so. Never was I fingerprinted coming or going.

That said, it looks like fingerprints are required if you want to go the TSA Precheck route. But I don't see anything requiring fingerprints for a Real ID. Maybe that varies by state.

 

[MichelleBlue]

Thank you! I was just about to go searching to see if there was any info on this.

You are welcome. I actually found it to be very interesting info. Here is a quote from the fbi link:

"For many decades, federal and state agencies and other authorized entities have collected and submitted civil fingerprints to the FBI for criminal background checks for noncriminal justice purposes, such as employment and licensing purposes. Due to technological capacity limitations, IAFIS did not retain most of the civil fingerprints submitted; once processed, the fingerprints were destroyed. IAFIS did retain certain civil fingerprints, such as those associated with military service or immigration benefits, but did not retain the fingerprints of those applying for licensing or employment as permitted under Public Law 92-544.[1] Moreover, the civil fingerprints that were retained in IAFIS were not readily accessible or searchable."

In my reading, I did discover that some groups were opposed to this change in 2015 for privacy reasons. In relation to this case, IMO we can reasonably conclude that MH was not a veteran or a legal immigrant. However, even that is not completely conclusive as the database prior to 2015 was not easily searchable.

 

[Hoss569]

I have not been out of the US for a couple of years but had traveled to over a dozen other countries within the past dozen years or so. Never was I fingerprinted coming or going.

That said, it looks like fingerprints are required if you want to go the TSA Precheck route. But I don't see anything requiring fingerprints for a Real ID. Maybe that varies by state.

I believe the real id is state level, sorry, in in my state it is required. I believe California requires a fingerprint for drivers license also.

 

[UnlicensedPI]

In MA, was not fingerprinted for a Real ID. It must be state-to-state

 

[branmuffin]

Sorry if I've missed a lot here, I'm not particularly in the loop, but was William Paul Faries (The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)) ever ruled out conclusively? I know he was mentioned upthread as well, but the conversation about that seemed to have fizzled out. Something about the eyes for me just seems really similar to Denim's... not to mention his savvy with computers and intelligence.

I think we ruled him out because he was 6 inches shorter than MH and had a scar over his eye. We've gone round in circles with a few suggestions. At this point in time I can't remember if LE excluded him. We don't know all exclusions.

 

[branmuffin]

Never worked in healthcare, in anyway shape or form, from dietician to chiropractor.
Never worked in veterinary type of work.
Never worked with children
Never applied for a Real estate license or home inspection license
Never worked with hazardous materials
Never worked with investments or federal taxes
Never applied for a medical marijuana permit
Never applied for public housing or assistance
Never applied for a real ID or national ID

Just a few I am aware of

With all these exclusions we should be able to identify him soon!

 

[mitzy]

I definitely had my finger prints electronically taken when returning from overseas.
If you go to the department of homeland security the info is right there.
I can't get it to link from my phone.
They also do face scans. Moo.
ETA
Biometric screening at airports is spreading fast, but some fear the face-scanning systems

European here,
I’ve had my prints and photos taken at SFO upon arrival as a tourist. My s/o has been to Cali on business several times and had to give prints every time (even with a business visa).

I’ve been reading about MH here and there because I’m fascinated with this case. He started as an amateur and somehow survived more than a year on the trail only to die in the end.

Can someone tell my why everyone thinks he could be foreign??

I read two articles about how he was found, one stated he was found lying on his back with a hand behind his head, relaxed. The other that he was found sitting with eyes open?! Wish I could find them again. Does anyone know the truth?

I hope this case gets solved. I’m really interested in his story. I somehow think he was estranged from his family, private at work, no romantic relationship. Maybe lost his job and just decided to hike, to experience nature, a challenge different from your stressful 9-5. Maybe he was overworked and fed up and decided to grab some cash and literally just walk onto the trail and figure things out as they happen. It worked for a year.

MOO thank you for listening.

 

[GatorFL]

Sorry if I've missed a lot here, I'm not particularly in the loop, but was William Paul Faries (The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)) ever ruled out conclusively? I know he was mentioned upthread as well, but the conversation about that seemed to have fizzled out. Something about the eyes for me just seems really similar to Denim's... not to mention his savvy with computers and intelligence.

No, not yet. But he was quite a bit taller and the hairline was very different. I don't think it's him.

 

[GatorFL]

I definitely had my finger prints electronically taken when returning from overseas.
If you go to the department of homeland security the info is right there.
I can't get it to link from my phone.
They also do face scans. Moo.
ETA
Biometric screening at airports is spreading fast, but some fear the face-scanning systems

Previously only foreigners were fingerprinted upon entering the USA.

The facial recognition stuff is probably having a hard time w COVID and masks.