The disturbing death of the unknown hiker, Mostly Harmless, in Cypress National Preserve
Vance Rodriguez - Trail names “Mostly Harmless” / “Denim”, Alias - Ben Bilemy. Body found July 23, 2018, Noble’s Camp, Big Cypress National Preserve, Collier County, Florida.
Updated February 2021 - Vance Rodriguez was identified as Mostly Harmless
Warning: The article contains some disturbing images
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 at Noble’s Camp in Big Cypress National Preserve (Collier County, Florida). Horton said, “His body was kind of twisted. His eyes were wide open, and he was looking right at me.” Nichalaus and Logan quickly called 911.
The investigation to discover the identity of the body in Big Cypress National Preserve
What happened next involved a huge number of man hours and DNA testing to try and discover the identity of this mystery man, who was quickly established to be hiking under the names “Mostly Harmless” and “Denim” along the Florida Trail (FT). He previously hiked from New York along the Appalachian Trail (AT).
Authorities did not consider that the camper’s cause of death was suspicious. It was thought that he probably died a few days before being discovered by the hikers. The deceased weighed just 83 pounds, with signs of profound starvation. However, his identity was a complete mystery. There was nothing in the campsite that could reveal who he was. There were no cellphone, ID, or credit card and apart from his hiking gear, just two notebooks (with coding notes) and, critically, $3,640 in cash. So he had enough cash to buy supplies if needed.
The big questions were, how did he starve to death in his tent, and who was he?
Medical examination and autopsy
A medical exam was done on the remains on Wednesday, July 25, 2018, by Deputy Chief Medical Examiner, Manfred D Borges. The examiner recorded the cause of death as “undetermined”. There was nothing significant in the report, but it seemed that the male had previous surgery at some point. There were no signs of drugs or excessive alcohol use. It was interesting to note the discolouration and abrasion of the shaft and glans of the penis in addition to wasting (cachexia).
Further investigations into the identity of Mostly Harmless
Investigators tried to match the body’s fingerprints to those in national databases, but no match was found, and then missing persons cases in the area were checked, again with no result. They then widened their search to surrounding areas. All attempts to identify the man came to nothing.
They then issued a bulletin seeking information from the public, including a composite sketch and said that the man had been between 35 and 50 years old, was 5’8”, had salt and pepper hair and beard, and his teeth were in excellent condition. He was wearing, a beige shirt with green shorts and black Salomon hiking boots.
The man called himself “Mostly Harmless” because it was said he enjoyed the work of Sci-Fi Writer Douglas Adams and the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series.
Police were able to confirm that he had also used the alias “Ben Bilemy” to register at several hostels while hiking.
He told trail angels and other hikers that he was coming from Brooklyn and that he spent a decade in the tech industry and was working on a hikers’ app. He may have been born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana but no one mentioned a strong accent.
The timeline of Mostly Harmless on the AT and FT
The following timeline was established based on feedback from the public:
April 2017 – New York
Mostly Harmless told people along the way that he started hiking in New York in April 2017, Initially, Denim was his trail name because for his first two weeks of hiking he wore denim jeans.
October 7-8, 2017 – Damascus, VA
While in Damascus, he went out to eat at Damascus Pizza Co Bar & Grill on the 7th with several other hikers. He stayed at Woodchuck’s Hostel for two days because a hurricane was making its way to the trail.
Photo taken at Woodchuck’s Hoste, Damascus, VA October 7-8. 2017
November 22-26, 2017 – Hiawassee, GA
He 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. He checked out the next days since the hostel was closed for Thanksgiving on the 23rd. He came back the next day and stayed from the 24th until the 26th. Before he left, he bought the 2-person tent he was found in.
December 2, 2017 – Blairsville, GA
A picture was taken of Mostly Harmless at Mountain Crossings.
December 4, 2017 – Blue Ridge, GA
A comment on the Mountain Crossings post said that Mostly Harmless had made it to Springer. Another hiker met him, who he knew as Denim, at a shelter at Springer Mountain. He said they were the only two there, so they talked pretty late into the evening, and the conversation got pretty deep. Denim said that his dad was abusive, and he didn’t speak to his parents but talked about a sister, and he mentioned that he had an ex-girlfriend. They also talked about Sci-Fi, specifically Doctor Who.
December 29, 2017 – Salem Church Road
A man took a picture of Mostly Harmless when they met at Salem Church Road, which is the first road crossing on the Pinhoti south of the AL/GA state line.
January 24, 2018 – Crestview, Florida
Kelly Fairbanks, 47, was the first person to match the composite sketch to a hiker she had met in Florida on January 24, 2018. She is a trail angel—someone who helps thru-hikers by offering them showers, meals, or anything else they can for hikers. She knew him as “Mostly Harmless,” his trail name. Kelly gave a sticker, which said “FT thru-HIKE,” to him and took a picture of him with it.
He told Kelly that he had started in New York and was heading down to Key West. When she asked him if he was using the Florida Trail (FT) Guide app, he said no because he didn’t have a phone since he was wanting to disconnect. He pulled out a piece of paper with a map of Florida on it and a line drawn where the trail should be.
Kelly said she was worried about Mostly Harmless because he seemed new to hiking. Not having a phone and carrying an unnecessarily enormous tent were “rookie mistakes.” He also declined her offer of a shower and a place to stay. "He just seemed like a super nice person; he had such kind eyes. To go through the trail blind was naive. I thought that was a bad decision. We just wished him happy trails and sent him on his way. He died doing something he loved."
February 22, 2018 – Monticello, FL
Two women who were hiking the FT met Mostly Harmless. Snapper and Sugar Rush were walking down 98 and entering the Aucilla Wildlife Management Area. They were walking a flooded trail when they came upon Mostly Harmless, who was walking southbound. They said he was doing the trails without the GPS or even a detailed map, so they exchanged trail information—making sure to go into greater detail than usual to help him out the best they could.
February 24, 2018 – Pine Log State Forest, FL
A camper at Pine Log State Forest said she met Mostly Harmless at the Sand Pond Campground. She said he told her he had been staying with his sister in Sarasota or Ft. Meyers in the Florida area before starting the FT. She said he told her about working in the tech field. He also told her that he had some health issues and needed/wanted to do the trip while he still could.
March 17, 2018 – Near Paisley, FL
Someone else met Mostly Harmless on the FT, near Paisley, Florida. It was only 4 months before he would be discovered deceased. The hiker said that he was looking thin but nowhere near 83 pounds. Mostly Harmless was in good spirits at this time, and he seemed to be enjoying his hike. He again mentioned that he was from, or at least started in, New York. The hiker also took a picture of him. When this man asked someone else, “Who’s that guy?” the reply was “, He’s mostly harmless”, or along those lines, so Mostly Harmless kept the trail name.
July 23, 2018 – Ochopee, FL
Mostly Harmless was found deceased in his tent by Nichalaus Horton and Logan Buehl, at Noble’s Camp in Big Cypress National Preserve.
The Sworn Statement Podcast
In 2019, Kristine Gill’s podcast, Sworn Statement, covered the story over three episodes. Gill is a former Naples Daily News reporter and current Collier County Sheriff's office media relations specialist.
According to the podcast, Mike Gormley, another trail angel, was the last known person to see Mostly Harmless. He told Gormley he was headed toward Key West with a 50-pound pack on his back in Florida's mounting heat, and the Trail Angel became concerned. "I even offered to him to take his winter clothes off him and mail them back to him, but he declined," Gormley says. "If he was trying to stay anonymous, that would be one giveaway."
In the podcast, Gill notes that Mostly Harmless obeyed the cardinal rule of hikers across the nation - he left no trace. Listen to the podcast here
What was the cause of death?
There is some speculation that his knees may have given out on him, effectively trapping him and causing him to starve; he was known to wear braces on both knees and carry an excessively heavy pack. No mention is made of a terminal illness in the autopsy.
The autopsy indicated that there were no signs of cardiac, liver or kidney damage or drug issues.
Was he struck down by illness e.g. giardiasis?
Developments
In July 2020, it was announced that the Collier County Sheriff's Office was working with Othram Inc. to identify the decedent through forensic genealogy.
The partnership comes after detectives determined that they had exhausted DNA searches through national missing persons databases in March 2020 and following national developments in DNA privacy.
Othram Inc. is the first private DNA laboratory built specifically to assist law enforcement using this science. Following widespread public interest, CCSO reached an agreement with Othram to potentially discover a relative for the hiker and close the case.
Launched in 2018, Othram is a relatively new lab whose goal has been to partner with law enforcement agencies to solve cold case crimes and unidentified persons cases. Unlike other commercial testing sites offered to the public for family tree tracing, Othram solicits DNA from members of the public who are also hoping to help solve criminal cases with their personal information through its database DNASolves.com
CCSO detectives first sent samples of Mostly Harmless’ DNA to the University of North Texas. Then, in March 2020, after DNA was extracted and compared to national databases of missing persons, it was determined after several searches that there were no hits, meaning no one had reported that Mostly Harmless was missing and uploaded his information to these databases.
Sequencing' Mostly Harmless’ DNA—a process much different from that done by the University of North Texas—would take about 12 weeks before a genealogist used the sequence to build a family tree using a public database. The process of mapping a family tree can take days, weeks, or months to produce a possible distant relative.
As of July 22, 2020, the identity of Mostly Harmless was still unknown.
Update January 2021 “Mostly Harmless” named as Vance Rodriguez
Vance Rodriguez aka “Mostly Harmless”
The mystery of Mostly Harmless's identity was finally solved in January 2021, thanks to a combination of DNA testing, crowdfunding, and public outreach.
In 2020, the sheriff’s department partnered with Othram, a private DNA lab in Texas, to identify the hiker through forensic genealogy. Through this research, Othram determined that the man was likely Cajun and had family in Louisiana.
Soon, the team was able to pinpoint Assumption Parish as the man’s area of origin. Othram, journalists, and members of the public began running posts and targeted Facebook ads to that area of Louisiana to identify him.
The effort eventually reached a former colleague, who recognized a local called Vance Rodriguez and reached out to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office. He told the
The department said, “The coworker provided us with Mr. Rodriguez’s name and photos. We enlisted the help of the Lafayette Parish County Sheriff’s Office, which made contact with his family. The family then agreed to provide a DNA sample for comparison.”
Othram was then able to make an identification based on that DNA. Rodriguez had not been reported as a missing person.
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Sources
https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/51453
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/3343umfl.html
https://truecrimesociety.com/2019/08/22/unidentified-and-mostly-harmless/
https://patch.com/new-york/brooklyn/can-police-podcast-help-id-mysterious-appalachian-hiker
https://unidentified.wikia.org/wiki/Ben_Bilemy
https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/cyj27g/unidentified_hiker_mostly_harmless/
https://www.colliersheriff.org/news/sworn-statement#ad-image-0
https://www.facebook.com/colliersheriff/posts/3207390245987402
https://www.oxygen.com/crime-news/vance-rodriguez-idd-as-mostly-harmless-hiker-found-dead
