Later that summer, the agency posted a composite photo to Facebook. While these descriptors seem to hold true, the darker side of Vance Rodriguez’s personality takes some reconciliation. Through our investigation we learned that Mr. Rodriguez set out to hike the Appalachian Trail in 2017. :) Welcome to my channel and the next episode of #TheDoeFiles! Since then, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office has made the identity confirmation official with DNA analysis. Today we know that Mostly Harmless was a man by the name of Vance Rodriguez, an IT worker in New York with roots in Louisiana. He was estimated to be 5’8, weighing about 83 pounds. The family then agreed to provide a DNA sample for comparison. A few months later, his body and his belongings were found in a tent at Noble’s Camp Ground in Ochopee, near mile marker 63 of Interstate 75. To learn more, please visit the About This Site page. His emaciated body was discovered in a tent, just a few miles from a major Florida highway. We can now confirm that Mostly Harmless was Vance Rodriguez, a technology worker originally from Louisiana but in recent years based in Brooklyn, New York. Online sleuths poured over the details of his time on trail and desperately attempted to connect the dots. In April of 2017, Rodriguez left his New York apartment for the last time and spent the next 15 months hiking south. Hey everyone! Both these pictures were taken by Kristin Ernst Vanpelt and posted in the comments section of the Collier County Sheriff’s Office post. The buyer pays the same price as they would otherwise, and your purchase helps to support The Trek's ongoing goal to serve you quality backpacking advice and information. The group, called “Unidentified male hiker Ben Bilemy 2018,” is one of several that was dedicated to discovering Mostly Harmless’s identity, including Reddit pages and online sleuthing forums. Wired referred to this case as “the case the internet can’t crack,” Facebook groups and Reddit Threads have discussed it in excruciating detail, analyzing nearly every conceivable possibility, and responsibly continue to keep the case alive alongside their thousands of captivated readers. Multiple hikers and travelers have encountered a nameless hiker, who only introduced himself as a ‘mostly harmless’ hiker before he was found dead in a tent. I wrote twice recently about a search for the identity of a deceased man, known as "Mostly Harmless." Through DNA, they identified Mostly Harmless as Vance Rodriguez, and his family is in Lafayette. Or puts together clues that have eluded everyone else. This website contains affiliate links, which means The Trek may receive a percentage of any product or service you purchase using the links in the articles or advertisements. (Disclosure: I became a moderator in In 2020, the sheriff’s department had partnered with Othram, a private DNA lab in Texas, to identify the hiker through forensic genealogy. FL FL - Big Cypress National Preserve, Male hiker, "Denim" and "Mostly Harmless", 23 July 2018 #3 Discussion in 'The Unidentified' started by Gardener1850, Aug 3, 2018. While searching for the identity of Mostly Harmless, the online community that had come together to solve the case created their own image of who they thought he was: probably lonely, possibly depressed, and searching for something in the woods. Othram has made a positive identification based on that DNA. We understand that the family and friends of “Mostly Harmless” have been notified (in an effort to confirm); our hearts go out to them during this difficult time and, out of respect, Missing NPF will not update the "Mostly Harmless" listing until that information is first released to the public-at-large via law enforcement. Upon the discovery, the body weighed a startling 83 pounds. Mostly Harmless (hiker) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Mostly Harmless (also known as Denim and Ben Bilemy) is an unidentified male hiker whose body was found on July 23, 2018 in Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida. Posted today, January 12, 2021 by Collier County Sheriff’s Office: Kevin Rambosk is pleased to announce that after more than two years, thanks to the great work of our detectives, tips from the public and the use of DNA technology, we now know the identity of the deceased hiker who went by the trail name Mostly Harmless. But in July of 2018, two … The discovery of Mostly Harmless in Big Cypress National Preserve On July 23, 2018, at 8.27 pm, hikers, Nichalaus Horton and Logan Buehl, found a male body in a yellow Brooke-Range 2-person tent. For two years the identity of the dead man in the tent remained unknown, apart from his trail name was "Mostly Harmless". In the sketch, his mouth is open wide, and his eyes too. Our story begins in 2017. The bottle, discovered between near the fireplace flue, had a curious note inside: Tom Ford 6 … Mostly-harmless Cicada killer wasps that emerge in Texas every summer are being confused for so-called Asian "murder hornets" that have caused panic in the United States, an entomologist has said. This is further corroborated by his love of Doctor Who , which he shared with another hiker. For years, it appeared that the real identity of the man called Mostly Harmless, would never be uncovered, that is until now. An online search for clues involved hundreds of Internet users, … Mostly Harmless was well known to hikers on the trail, many of whom shared food or resources with him on his journey. Collier County officials began searching for information regarding the death of this John Doe. Thread Status: Not open for further replies. I wrote twice recently about a search for the identity of a deceased man, known as "Mostly Harmless." Rodriguez was born in 1976 and was an IT worker in New York with roots in Louisiana. An online search for clues involved hundreds of Internet users, law enforcement personnel, and others. We interviewed the hikers, pieced together a timeline and looked into dozens of tips submitted by members of the public. We are glad to have solved this case. Today we know that Mostly Harmless was a man by the name of Vance Rodriguez, an IT worker in New York with roots in Louisiana. :) Welcome to my channel and the next episode of #TheDoeFiles! Here's a … Both these pictures were taken by Kristin Ernst Vanpelt and posted in the comments section of the Collier County Sheriff’s Office post. 1 Background 2 Case 2.1 Identification 3 Characteristics 4 Clothing … Within minutes, fellow thru hikers had sent dozens of photos of Mostly Harmless and reported meeting him along the trail. The coworker provided us with Mr. Rodriguez’ name and photos. Investigators tried to identify the unknown man, but his fingerprints didn’t show up in any law enforcement database, and his DNA did not match any entry in the national DNA databases. As journalists received word that the case may be solved, they worked to confirm the identity of Mostly Harmless by talking with old friends, girlfriends, and coworkers of Rodriguez. 'Mostly Harmless' is identified: After more than two years, the hiker is identified as Vance Rodriguez. To date, nobody has been able to confirm the man’s identity. Anyone with information about Mostly Harmless' identity is asked to call the Collier County Sheriff's Office at 239-252-9300. The mysterious hiker dubbed 'Mostly Harmless' whose body was found in a Florida campground in 2018 has been named as 44-year-old Vance Rodriguez; ... where no one needed to know your true identity. November 22-26, 2017 – Hiawassee, GA. Mostly Harmless checked into Top of Georgia Hostel & Hiking Center under the name “Ben Bilemy”, which was more than likely an alias since hikers were not allowed to check in under their trail names.