Who Was Hiker Vance John Rodriguez?

Disclaimer: The article contains mentions of death. Reader discretion is advised.

Max recently released a documentary titled They Called Him Mostly Harmless, showcasing the fascinating story that emerged from a unique investigation. According to TIME, two hikers stumbled upon the dead body of another hiker on July 23, 2018. Besides the deceased hiker’s mysterious identity, a medical examiner even failed to determine his cause of death.

Furthermore, The Collier County Sheriff could not find identifying features like tattoos, after which they posted a sketch of his face on Facebook. This post received thousands of shares, and the story progressed. Eventually, people who had seen him began sending his photos and revealed that the deceased hiker would introduce himself as “Mostly Harmless.” However, his real name was Vance John Rodriguez.

TIME reported that according to DNA analysis, Rodriguez had roots in southern Louisiana. People close to him described him as “a deeply troubled man.” Moreover, the outlet reported that women who dated him described him as “abusive.” An old roommate of his stated that he suffered from mental health issues. Shockingly, he had a huge scar on his stomach because he once tried to take his own life.

Vance John Rodriguez‘s story is now available to see in Max’s latest documentary. As per IMDb, the synopsis of They Called Him Mostly Harmless reads, “A hiker found dead in Florida wilderness is identified by internet sleuths after 2 years. His identity triggers more questions as multiple hikers claim to have met him, but he never revealed his name.”

They Called Him Mostly Harmless: When did Mostly Harmless’ journey begin?

According to TIME, it is speculated that Vance John Rodriguez, aka Mostly Harmless, started his journey in April 2017. He headed south on the Appalachian Trail from New York and didn’t bring anything with him that could be used as an ID.

Hikers who met him stated that he never revealed his real name and carried an overstuffed backpack and a notebook. Interestingly, this notebook contained codes that were later discovered to be designed for the online programming game called Screep.

As per the research conducted by NamUs, they state that the US has more than 600,000 people going missing yearly. Among them, about 4,400 unidentified bodies are found every year in the USA.