- [Narrator] What is up EWU Crew, For two and a half years, this mystery stumped police and the greatest internet sleuths alike, gaining worldwide attention. Even though he left
behind a trail of clues in the form of photos leading
up to his disappearance, no one could figure out
who this man really was. People became obsessed with the case, dedicating their lives to uncovering his identity to no avail. For years, it appeared
that the real identity of the man called Mostly Harmless, would never be uncovered,
that is until now. So sit back and pay attention because this is a weird one. Our story begins in 2017. When many hikers began
having chance run-ins with a mysterious stranger in the woods around in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Georgia, and Florida. The mystery man had embarked on a long distance hiking journey often called thru-hiking. That would span more than a year and cover hundreds of miles, but no one knew his real identity. He was described by those
who met him as friendly and being between the ages
of 35 to 60 years old, with blue-gray eyes, brown
hair and a graying beard. He was often seen wearing his signature gray Columbia hat. Those who saw him often remarked that the enormous
backpack he lugged around seemed far too big and heavy for simple hiking excursions. Little did these hikers know that later, these encounters would leave
a trail of cryptic clues that could solve a mystery. He is referred to as Mostly Harmless, a moniker he gave himself,
but also on occasion he introduced himself to others as Denim, and he used the alias, Ben
Bilemy at cabins and hostels. Though these names may
sound odd to our ears most experienced hikers use something called a trail names. Often silly or fun nicknames
that they either take or are given by other hikers. They are often descriptors,
such as Mostly Harmless as first trail name Denim, which had described the fact that he began his journey wearing jeans. There are a few stories about where he got the
name Mostly Harmless, his trail name, he would
later be immortalized with. - [Mike] There's a story of somewhere that they said the Mostly
Harmless part of the name. I think he made some comment or so or maybe it was around
campfire or a gathering. I can't remember what
situation was for sure. He said well I'm just,
I'm just Mostly Harmless. - [Narrator] Many of those
fascinated with the case have assumed that he chose the name as a shout out to the book, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to
the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams. In the book, the earth
is described as harmless which is later expanded to the more accurate
portrayal of Mostly Harmless. From what we can piece together, it appears that Mostly Harmless began his thru-hiking journey
somewhere in New York, then along the Appalachian trail, hiking South to Pennsylvania,
and then in to Maryland. Along the way he met many people, usually other hikers and
explorers some of whom we'll actually speak with in this video. With each encounter, he
revealed pieces of himself. While in Virginia during
the summer of 2017, he traveled for about a hundred miles with 66-year-old hiker, Obsidian. The unlikely pair soon found
themselves to be quite similar. Both had to hike slowly
due to their bad knees and as they traveled
together, he snacked on M&M's and shared that he wanted to see a bear out in the wilderness. Although some hikers had
given Obsidian bad vibes Mostly Harmless was different. She said, "He made her feel safe." She later taught him an
important survival skill, how to make a proper fire
to ensure he would be able to continue his
undesignated hiking journey. Despite how the pair
grew close on the trail, the two never shared their real names something common within
the hiking community. She only knew that he went
by the alias Ben Bilemy when they signed in at hostels and that he claimed, he was
from Louisiana and New York. Just before they eventually parted ways, they had this picture taken as they ate a meal
together at Mountain Home, a hiker friendly overnight cabin in Front Royal Virginia. Continuing his trek
through Virginia alone, Mostly Harmless met another
hiker Reddit user Fazzig. Who we actually interviewed. He shared his encounter with us and told us his thoughts
about the mysterious man. They had met at the Fulhardt Knob Shelter outside of Daleville,
Virginia in mid-September. They were both headed south and Fazzig hadn't run
into many other hikers. One of the reasons he
specifically remembered his encounter with Mostly Harmless. Fazzig was running low on water and Mostly Harmless offered him a liter of the extra water he
was carrying himself. At the time, he had introduced
himself to Fazzig as Denim. - [Fazzig] You know we
chatted a little bit. I think he introduced himself as Denim because I think he started hiking in just straight denim
clothing which I found funny but you're on the Appalachian trail, so everything's a little off. - [Narrator] Though they were only in the same area for two days, Fazzig remembered him well enough to remark on his impression
of Mostly Harmless. - [Fazzig] He was pretty normal. I mean, I didn't get any
weird vibes from him. You know that being said, I only got weird vibes from
like two or three people the entire time I was hiking or so. - [Narrator] By early December, the mysterious man had made his way along the Appalachian
trail in Northern Georgia, where he stopped inside the outdoor outfitting shop, Mountain Crossing. There he met Matt Mason working inside and the two struck up conversation. Mason was an experienced hiker and Mostly Harmless asked him for a route to key West Florida. When Mason informed him
that there was a map he could download to his phone to follow. Mostly Harmless informed him that he actually didn't have a phone. Mason recalled thinking,
oh this guy's awesome. Before he offered to print him 60 pages of maps in exchange for $5. He later recalled that Mostly Harmless paid for the maps from
an inch thick wad of cash he had produced from his pocket. Before he continued his adventure Mason asked to take a
photo of Mostly Harmless. At first he hesitated, before
finally saying it was okay. The photo shows him appearing
to be in good spirits slightly smiling and
posing with a map titled, "Guide To The Pinhoti Trail In Georgia." Mason shared the photo on Facebook. Unknowingly revealing clues internet sleuths would
eventually pour over, desperately trying to
match the face to a name. This is Denim, he worked in the tech world for the last decade. In June, he went for a two-week hike on the Appalachian Trail in New York. Today he passed through the shop. Hiking over half the Appalachian Trail wasn't enough for him. He printed data and purchase maps to hike the Pinhoti Trail in Alabama. He has sights for Key West
Florida, Bon voyage Denim! Others in the comments, shared their encounters
with the man on the trail. I met him when he first started
in New York, posted Chris. We camped at the visitor
center in Unionville, That's awesome. Two weeks later, one of
his friends in Alabama reached out to him to say that he had seen Mostly
Harmless in the area, trekking through a snow storm. Despite the harsh weather Mason said, "He was out there with a smile
on his face, walking south." His next sighting was over a month later, all the way in Northern Florida. He was spotted by the known
trail angel Kelly Fairbanks. Fairbanks frequently stopped on Highway 90 near where she lived, to offer hikers, food or showers. She was out on Highway 90 looking for an entirely different hiker when she saw Mostly Harmless
walking alongside the road. And she pulled over to say hi and check to see if there
was anything he needed. During their chat Fairbanks said, that she noticed that he
looked rugged and tired. She said, "He had very kind eyes. I saw the huge beard first and thought it's an older guy. But his eyes were so young and he didn't have crow's feet. I realized he was a lot younger." The equipment he carried was both high end as well as generic gear. Fairbanks noted his worn black and copper colored trekking poles. Though Mostly Harmless claim to be fine Fairbanks recalled being worried for him, because the trail he was on has a reputation for being confusing. Especially when the Florida weather turned and became hot and muggy. She was also concerned
because he had informed her that he didn't carry a phone with him and couldn't use a
satellite map to guide him. Mostly Harmless had shown
her the paper map he carried with a crude line, drawn over it, where the trail should have
been for him to follow. Fairbanks believe that
going through the trail half blind was naive, but she wished him well. Mostly Harmless was officially
seen for the last time by Mike Gormley on April 15th, 2018 on the Florida National Scenic Trail in the swampy reservation
area of Big Cypress. He shared his encounter with us in an exclusive interview describing how he
hitched a ride into town. He recalled that his
encounter with Mostly Harmless had been a complete chance, when his driver noticed him
on the side of the road. - [Mike] I had told my
driver what I was doing and he sounded a little interesting, and he happened to see Mostly Harmless as we were driving down the road. I didn't 'cause my
attention was the other way. And he says, "Well there's
a hiker right there, you wanna go talk to him?" I said, "Yeah." So we turned around and when we came back, Mostly Harmless was actually taking a nap. - [Narrator] Mike met
Mostly Harmless only a week after having heard of
him for the first time. At this point, Mostly Harmless had already made a name for himself while hiking through Florida. Mike often acted as a trail angel, leaving water caches out along the trails as kind gesture for the other hikers. It was during a discussion
of the water caches with another hiker that he first heard, Mostly Harmless' his trail name. The other hiker had remarked that she would tell Mostly Harmless about the clean water source as he was hiking just behind her. When he met Mostly Harmless, Mike described his character similarly to many of the other hikers
who he happened upon. - [Mike] His demeanor was
a quiet guy, friendly, open and open to us being there. Answered questions if we
asked them or whatever. - [Narrator] The two talked about where Mostly Harmless was headed, and looking back, Mike
offers some speculation about Mostly Harmless'
motivation for his trek. - [Mike] Well, I mean his goal was to go all the way to Key West, he told me that. I don't really remember
exactly what he said as to why he was out there. I mean, the hikers are out
there for the adventure and to get away from it all sometimes. - [Narrator] Before the two parted, Mike took two photos of Mostly Harmless. That explained why there
later was a trail of photos tracking Mostly Harmless as movements. As a last bit of kindness, Mike attempted to help Mostly Harmless before he continued on. - [Mike] Well, I noticed that
he had an awful large pack and of course, when you're
walking long distances the lighter your pack the easier it is on your physical body. And I asked him how much his pack weighed, and he says, "I don't know probably between 50 and 60 pounds." I asked him if he'd let
me pick it up and I did. I'm guessing it was probably 60 pounds. It was really heavy. I said well, "What do you got
in there for that weight?" And he says, "Well, blah, blah, blah and I got winter clothes." And here we are in the middle of April, and the temperature of
that day was like 85. I said, "Do you want
me to take him from you and I can send them back home?" And he says, "no it's all right I'll just keep them a
little longer or something." - [Narrator] Some people now speculate that the reason Mostly
Harmless declined Mike's offer to send his winter clothing home was because he didn't want his family or friends to know where he was and to keep his identity a secret. Mike was the last person to see, speak to, and take a picture of Mostly Harmless. Just 99 days later at 10 miles away, Mostly Harmless would be seen again and it was this time that
he would make headlines. Two hikers, Nichalaus
Horton and Logan Beuhler were tracking their way through the Big Cypress National Preserve, When they found themselves deep within the oppressive territory. Struggling their way through
heavy and thick humidity, weighing down their steps
through swampy marsh that was home to snakes and alligators. As they trudged through the swamp the pair had no idea
the disturbing discovery they were about to make would shock and captivate the internet
in the years to come. Pausing to rest at Nobles Camp, the hikers noticed a putrid
smell hanging in the air. They began to follow it, tracking it source down to a yellow tent. It was only up close that they saw boots sitting just beyond the tent flap. Thinking the man within
the tent was asleep, Beuhler shouted hello,
but received no reply. At first, the two hikers
left the campsite alone and took some time to recover from their treacherous journey. Curious to meet whoever was camping nearby Beuhler approached the tent and through the windscreen saw something he would never forget. Beuhler had commented
to Horton that quote, "I don't think this guy's doing too well." Mostly Harmless was
found on July 23rd, 2018. He had died in his yellow tent. The two horrified hikers
discovered his emaciated body before they called for emergency services. (beep sound) - [Announcer] Collier County 911. What is the address of your emergency? - [Nichalaus] I'm at the Big
Cypress National Preserve. - [Announcer] And what is your name? - [Nichalaus] I'm Nick
Horton, Nichalaus Horton. - [Announcer] Thank you so much and did you need the
police, fire, or medical? - [Nichalaus] We just found a dead body. - [Announcer] Are you on the trail? - [Nichalaus] Yeah I'm on the trail and the dead body is that
the Noble Camp Noble Side. - [Narrator] Horton later
recalled being freaked out after coming across the dead body, saying quote, "It was
scary, it was freaky. All the pain in my feet
from walking went away like from adrenaline it disappeared. Since then I've been
curious about who he was, how he died and what
he was doing out there? Those kinds of things. It didn't look like he'd been there long. There was no sign of a campfire. There were barely any
signs he had been there." There was no ID on Mostly Harmless' body. No credit cards or even a wallet. There was nothing to reveal
what his real name was. If the police were
hoping to find more clues about Mostly Harmless' identity through his autopsy results, they were surely disappointed. He had no strange scars to
identify him and no tattoos. The only hint of a scar was a faint thin line across his stomach, something that appeared
to be from a surgery. Not only did the post-mortem
not reveal a single clue that could help to find his identity, it also didn't determine
a specific cause of death. Surprisingly, there were also no signs that he had died from foul play and the only substances
found in his system were ibuprofen and anti-histamines. His death was ruled an
inconclusive, undetermined. Even his DNA and
fingerprints were a dead end as they didn't show up in any system, not Missing Persons or
CODIS the FBI database. A post-mortem sketch of his face was also placed in a
facial recognition system but it was another dead end. Within his tent, investigators found a backpack with $3,500 in cash, as well as a handwritten
notebook where Mostly Harmless wrote about an online
programming game called Screeps. His trademark gray Columbia
hat was inside the tent as well as his hiking poles. He was found wearing a beige
shirt with green shorts, his tent left in disarray around him. As you can see in the photos, garbage was strewn about and plastic bags were left in piles. Mostly Harmless was incredibly thin at the time that he died, and being just five foot eight
he weighed only 83 pounds. Strangely there was food
kept just beyond his tent. It appeared as if he had just wasted away but if he had been in distress
there was no indication. In fact, he had been only five miles from the nearest highway and could have sought
help if he needed it. The evidence seemed to
point to Mostly Harmless simply laying down in
his tent before dying. After his body was found, a sheriff detective called Mike Gormley as they had tracked down his connection to Mostly Harmless through the pictures that
he had posted to Facebook. - [Mike] When the sheriff
detective called me I think it was like two
days after they found him. They traced me down and wanted information
in their investigation, and I was surprised to even see something like that had happened, because he seemed quite healthy to me and everything and no
signs of having problems physically or of any kind. - [Narrator] The Sheriff,
detective revealed to Mike that they were trying to
trace Mostly Harmless' steps and they were having difficulty. - [Mike] When I was talking
with the sheriff detective, like two days after they found him, they said that they had trail cameras on the Florida National Scenic Trail, and his image did not show
up on those trail cameras. So they have no evidence that he went any further
than the campsite. - [Narrator] Mike had actually
stayed in Noble's camp where Mostly Harmless was found dead. A few days before he had
met him 99 days earlier - [Mike] Noble's Camp
is where he was found. I stayed two days prior
before I ran into him. Noble's Camp was about
five or seven miles away from the point where I ran into him. - [Narrator] As the camp was so close, Mike postulates that Mostly Harmless did one of two things. He could have gone all the way to Key West as was his goal and then returned to Noble's Camp where he was discovered. As it was possible to travel that distance in the time that he was unaccounted for, or he could have gone to Noble's Camp right after talking to Mike and stayed there for
the two to three months by himself before he was found. It is unknown which he did and a complete loss of where
to begin an investigation as law enforcement had very few concrete clues to build from. They publicly released the post-mortem sketch of Mostly Harmless. Though at this time he was not
even identified by that name. The slightly disturbing image shows him with his mouth gaping open in rictus with eyes wide. His gray and dark brown beard is significantly longer and scraggly compared to the images of him in the photo with hiker Obsidian. Investigators took note of
how healthy and straight Mostly Harmless as teeth were, indicating that he had received frequent dental care since his youth. His bright, white teeth are evident in the police sketch as well. Desperately seeking answers investigators also released photos from his campsite in the hopes that someone would recognize the neon yellow tent, his black and copper
hiking poles or his boots. It wasn't long until trail
angel Kelly Fairbanks spotted the image of Mostly Harmless and his campsite on her Facebook feed while she was at work. She panicked instantly recognizing him as the man she had stopped and talked to six months prior on Highway 90. From his eyes, beard, and hiking poles she knew it was the same man. Fairbanks quickly contacted the Collier County Sheriff's Office through their Facebook page
and they soon called her seeking any information she had that would lead them to
the identity of the man. She sent them her two
photos of Mostly Harmless and told them every small
detail she knew about him but none of it was enough
to identify who he was. Knowing that it wasn't enough, Fairbanks went one step further after speaking to the police and realizing that there
was still so much unknown about the man who went by
the name of Mostly Harmless. She shared the post about him on Facebook. It garnered dozens of responses. She also included her own pictures of the smiling Mostly Harmless. In this one, Mostly Harmless is holding the sticker she had given him. Most of the responses
were from other hikers who had happened upon the kind stranger, exchanged some pleasantries and maybe even gathered
a few fleeting details about the mystery man. Soon, a timeline was constructed of where Mostly Harmless had been built from stories from other hikers. Though there were month long gaps here and there where no one saw him, through guesses and piecing
information together it is now believed that Mostly Harmless started his trekking journey in Harriman State Park
in Sloatsburg New York. Though that lead never resulted in uncovering his name. With other cases of unidentified bodies found in the woods, internet sleuths can often hunt down who they are with only a few pieces of information. And at first it seemed like that was going to quickly
happen for Mostly Harmless. People were happily helping each other out sharing what they had learned from Mostly Harmless when they met him and even a few more photos, all trying to work together
to find his true name. Soon more details were revealed, small things he had mentioned to people he encountered along his journey that later became massive clues. He told Fazzig about how his hiking began and Fazzig speculated
about his preparation for the enormous hiking
adventure he undertook. - [Fazzig] And he told
like we'd always ask where did you start thru-hiking and that sort of thing? And he mentioned, he
just like took the bus or the train from New York City to where it meets the Appalachian Trail and just started hiking South. Which is like really weird for people who are not
into hiking the trail, but you know if you
meet people on the trail you're like, yeah that sounds
like a really good idea. Yeah I know I get that, I get that. You know most people will do like a little bit of
planning before their hike. Get their gear together but you know, if you get the nickname Denim because you're hiking in jeans you probably didn't do that much prep. It sounds like this
was his first hike ever so he was just going for it. - [Narrator] Apparently
he had a preference for ketchup and sticky buns. He told someone he lived in Brooklyn and that he had started hiking in New York in April of 2017. In June, 2017 he did a two-week hike on the Appalachian Trail in New York. He stopped at Mountain
Crossings in North Georgia before going through Hiawassee Georgia. He told someone else that
he had come from Baton Rouge that he had started his hiking as a way to detox from his life, working in the tech industry and to get away from the digital world. Fazzig recalled that Mostly Harmless had talked about his work in IT. - [Fazzig] I do remember,
I remember talking to him and he said he was in the
I'm gonna say IT industry. I don't exactly know what he worked on but he was pretty disgruntled with that. I don't know if that's the right word but he just had enough of that. You know, people hike
the trail for all reasons but his seemed like he
was just kind of done with the nine to five. - [Narrator] Another hiker
recalled that he had said he put his stuff in
storage before leaving, while in Blue Ridge he talked to a hiker and revealed that his dad was abusive, and that he no longer spoke to either of his parents but had a sister. Another person who had met him added that he said his sister lived in either Sarasota or Saratoga. He told someone he liked Dr. Who and another that he had
issues with his health and had wanted to take his
planned extensive hiking trip while he was still able to. Though these pieces of
Mostly Harmless' story build a picture, the small details did little to reveal his identity. Even beyond those who had met him the mystery of an unidentified
hiker appealed to many despite the countless photos he had taken with other hikers along his journey. No one could figure out
who the man truly was. With so many pictures, it seemed it should
have been easy to solve and yet it wasn't. His uncrackable name led to the creation of multiple Facebook groups, all dedicated to sharing
information and theories. And the theories ran rampant. One explored the possibility
that Mostly Harmless could have possibly been
a missing child from 1982, whose story had appeared
on the "Dr. Oz" show. Others thought that he
could have been on the run in Arkansas as a suspect for murder. Another considered that
the trail named Denim hadn't come from the jeans he wore to hike but rather that he had
named himself Denholm, which is often pronounced similarly and alludes to a geek
reference on a British series with a cult following "IT Crowd." However, none of these
theories panned out. A thread on Reddit devoted itself to understanding Mostly
Harmless' notes on Screeps. Some of the words in his
notebook the thread focused on were creep, spawn, and algae pond. Web sleuths had multiple active threads dedicated to Mostly Harmless. Here an annotated timeline was constructed mapping where Mostly Harmless was spotted along his track. Some speculated that Mostly Harmless died because his knees gave out as he was often seen wearing knee braces and carrying enormous backpack. - [Fazzig] Like he would normally hike I think he said like
eight to 12 miles a day because he had some knee issues. - [Narrator] This theory surmises that he became effectively
trapped in his tent unable to get help before
he starved to death. So far, this theory
appears the most logical as his body was practically
hollow when he was discovered. And the autopsy didn't reveal that he had suffered
from a terminal illness, cardiac arrest, or anything
else that may have killed him. Others speculate that he may have suffered from a cancer diagnosis and went out to complete his goal hike while he was still healthy enough to be able to do so
before finally succumbing to the illness in his tent at Nobles Camp. One branch of Web sleuths was convinced that Mostly Harmless' real name was Daniel Charles Steen, a missing man from Schenectady New York. He was 42 and he vanished
on March 20th, 2017. Though the timing and
place of his disappearance correlated with Mostly Harmless Steen is reported as being five foot 10 and wore glasses which Mostly Harmless was never pictured wearing. Though many were sure that Steen was the true Mostly Harmless others dismissed the slight
resemblance between the men. Many of those who became
enthralled with the hunt for Mostly Harmless' true name were women. Some even commented that they were eager to help identify someone
they found so attractive. Fairbanks had described
him as a good looking dude, while another woman on Facebook compared him to Brad Pitt
earning the response, "Actually I think Mostly
Harmless looks better," from another user. The mystery soon consumed people's lives and they were determined to uncover Mostly Harmless' true identity. Jason Nark became invested in the Mostly Harmless
case for an entire year which isn't hard to do when
the case is so intriguing. He chased leads, assembled a timeline, and talked theories over with others. His findings were published on the website Adventure Journal, filled with everything he had found out about Mostly Harmless. Even with all the
information Nark collected he never discovered his name. Another theorist who was
pulled into the mystery of Mostly Harmless, was Natasha Teasley. Teasley currently runs the Facebook group Unidentified Male Hiker Ben Bilemy 2018. Finding more free time with
coronavirus quarantine, Teasley took the clues that the Facebook groups that collected and started to send flyers about the mystery case of Mostly Harmless to every city where he
may have been associated. Her flyers went to the
Chambers of Commerce in Saratosa Florida and
to Saratoga New York, but she found no new leads. She frequently checked
missing person databases waiting to see his picture pop-up. She even looked into the cars that were towed out of Harriman State Park believing that if he started
his adventure at the park he would have likely left a vehicle there, which could be matched to Mostly Harmless. Her ongoing interest in Mostly Harmless came from the fact that she felt for the people in his life who knew him, claiming he's got to be missed. Someone must miss this guy. Despite how easily similar
mysteries were solved especially in the world of the internet, no one discovered Mostly
Harmless' true name. Not the thousands of internet
sleuths and not the police. The Collier County Sheriff's Office created a podcast to discuss
the details of the case in an attempt to garner a wider audience, so that Mostly Harmless
would be identified. The podcast did succeed in bringing attention to the case but it brought little
clarity to who he was. The Sheriff's office eventually released a GoPro video that had
been submitted to them. It shows Mostly Harmless standing in the corner of the shot with a bright red backpack
almost bigger than him, with his customary gray baseball hat. The hope was that the
video of Mostly Harmless would spark recognition
at someone, but it didn't. The next course of action was a DNA analysis of Mostly Harmless, aiming to uncover any
concrete details about him. The geneticist David Mittelman became interested in the intriguing case, especially as he had commented that his work can get a little boring, and that he likes to help solve mysteries. He had worked on the
original human genome project and then founded Othram Labs which partners with law
enforcement agencies to help solve cold cases. He believed that his research
could shed some light on who Mostly Harmless really was. When Mittelman offered to help aid the Collier County Sheriff's Office he told them that it
would cost around $5,000. Expensive DNA analysis
like that was far too much for the Sheriff's office
to spend on a single case. However, it only took eight days for crowdfunding on
Facebook to raise the money. It was Natasha Teasley who
organized the fundraising for the Othram DNA test. It astounded the Sheriff's office that's so many strangers were
willing give their money, to the cause of identifying
Mostly Harmless. After the donations poured in Othram Labs was sent a piece of his bone. It wasn't until mid-August
that the sequence of the DNA test results finally finished. For the months that it took, those who donated to the cause worried that the fragment wasn't enough, or that something had gone
wrong with the sequencing which happens on occasion. But Mostly Harmless as DNA was found and immediately compared against others, using the same technique that had brought the Golden State Killer
to justice after 42 years. Yet despite the expected breakthrough no statement was released
in the following months. All that they knew was
Mostly Harmless' DNA sequence was placed in the GEDmatch database. No leads were shared
for those who gave money in the hopes of finding Mostly Harmless they were left disappointed
and frustrated. So many people had dedicated time, energy, and worry to find
Mostly Harmless' name. Often there were remarks that people could relate
to Mostly Harmless' desire to abandon the hustle and
bustle of the modern world, and his job in tech. Though few could do it themselves they admired him for it. Others commented that they didn't want someone to be left without a name or feeling like they hadn't
existed in the world. It appeared that so far, all attempts to identify Mostly Harmless had turned up nothing. Most people were left wondering why he hid his identity in the first place, and why after years of being missing no one who knew him had come looking and with a no known cause of death. It isn't clear what went wrong. Jason Nark, who dedicated a year to try to uncover Mostly
Harmless' identity, put it best in a Facebook post saying, after all this work, it's
only more of a mystery to me and then just like that,
the case broke wide open. - [Mike] On the Facebook group called, "Unidentified Male Hiker Ben Bilemy 2018," the news today is that
we are mostly certain that we are at an ID. We will not give the name and photos until the information is 100%
confirmed by authorities. - [Narrator] Natasha Teasley
was the one to announce that Mostly Harmless' identity had finally come up with a match. As she wanted to ensure accuracy. Teasley waited for a full confirmation before revealing his true
name to the thousands of anxious and excited
Facebook group members. Finally, after the two and a half years of searching and waiting Mostly Harmless' identity was released. Although it hasn't yet been
confirmed by authorities his real name was Vance Rodriguez. These photos supplied by a friend show Vance in his younger years, and as you can see by comparing the images the resemblance is undeniable. One shows a young Vance
posing in a restaurant, another wearing a top hat with rabbit ears and his alleged ex-girlfriend who chose to be identified
by the nickname Tuggy posing behind him. The last photo is a selfie
as he sits alone in his room. Other photos from Shopper's Choice his previous workplace
clearly show the similarities, when you compare the photos side by side. In a twist, it appears that his DNA was not the definit%ive clue that cracked the case of
Mostly Harmless' identity. Instead, the case was solved thanks to those who continued to share his photos on Facebook. There are conflicting
reports of who exactly was the first to
positively identify Vance. - [Mike] The thing that was
mentioned on the Facebook page was a friend that used to live with him, recognized the pictures or whatever and then got ahold of authorities. That's all in the threads so it's not the official
announcements or anything but. - [Narrator] Some claim a friend who used to live with Vance recognized him from the Facebook page first, while others believe
it was an ex-girlfriend who first recognized him. Either way both the friend
and ex-girlfriend agree that Mostly Harmless was Vance Rodriguez. Even though his family is very much alive no one ever reported him missing. Vance's alleged ex-girlfriend Tuggy claims to have had a
five-year relationship with him that ended in 2010. After finally seeing some
of the many trail photos others had taken of Mostly Harmless, she has said that she is 100% sure that it is Vance in the pictures. Tuggy has said that the
reason she came forward and is speaking about Vance is because she wants to
help put his identity and who he was to rest
and she did just that. Soon friends of Vance also came forward and contacted the Collier
County Sheriff's Office to confirm the identity of Mostly Harmless as Vance Rodriguez. The Sheriff's office has
yet to release a comment on the conclusion of the case, but it has mostly been universally agreed that this is his actual identity. Once his true name was revealed, more pieces of his past began to surface. Vance was originally from Louisiana and had Cajun ancestry and
would have been about 42 at the time of his death. He had been living in Brooklyn, New York before beginning his hike. He suddenly left his apartment in Brooklyn behind in a hurry, leaving his wallet, credit card, New York State ID, driver's license, and passport. Food was still in the kitchen and his clothes left behind
as if he simply walked out with plans to return
but he never came back. His swift abandonment of the apartment appears to match Fazzig's story. That Vance had boarded a train and just started hiking
without much preparation. Vance's landlord revealed
that his apartment had been unpaid for a year and a half, and when they finally entered
after obtaining a warrant it was left as if Vance had
vanished out of thin air. What was most apparent was
Vance's interest in technology as his one bedroom
apartment held computers, monitors, and quote video game things. But what wasn't apparent was why Vance would so suddenly leave his life behind. The only clue hinting toward a possible motivation to leave was revealed by his landlord. Who said Vance had been
living in the apartment with a woman he described as a girlfriend, until the couple got into an argument. When the landlord reached out to the girlfriend for answers, she stated she didn't know how to get in contact with Vance and refuse to take his
abandoned belongings for reasons that are unknown. Still despite the abandoned
apartment and belongings it seems no one reported Vance as missing. A few of Vance's family members have since joined the
Facebook group run by Teasley once his identity was announced but she has reported that so far strangely they have yet to like
or comment on any posts. They have also refused to respond to any requests for comments about Vance or the mystery surrounding him. Vance's alleged former roommate Randall from Baton Rouge, cryptically clarified his family's choice not to speak about Vance by saying, "There's a reason no one
reported him missing." Despite the many stories that those interested
in Mostly Harmless' case may have told themselves, such as him being a kind and shy man with thoughtful eyes and a sad expression. The true picture of who Vance was, has only just started to reveal itself. There appears there may have
been another side to Vance one much darker and troubled. This unsettled side of him helps explain why he may have sought the
wilderness in the first place. Adding to the complicated tapestry of who Vance really was includes the stories of him from the perspectives of his friends. Vance's friends have
shared that he frequently had troubled and turbulent relationships, with both his family members and friends. As he was often hot and cold. A friend from Baton Rouge named Marie described that Vance would occasionally have depressive episodes, which she described as outages. During these times, he
was reportedly cruel to those in his life and would refuse to talk to them. Marie even said that he was deeply kind, and caring, and a bit of. One thing that appears consistent in all the statements from
the people who knew Vance is that none were particularly surprised to hear that he had
abruptly given up his life and work in Brooklyn
to disappear and hike. With his name finally revealed his past online presence
was quickly uncovered. An alias he allegedly
used online was, Vaejor. And according to Adventure Journal Vance posted one very telling remark at the end of January, 2017. Just three months before he kicked off his hiking adventure. "I'm Mostly Harmless for now, and then even darker
turn that begins to paint a possibly disturbing image of the man, Facebook posts by Tuggy in 2010, seem to document a turbulent
relationship with Vance as she moved out of
their shared apartment. One reads standing up to the monster that beat you up emotionally and physically for five years, priceless. Another done with the move, the only thing left in the old apartment is an empty feeling,
where my room used to be and I'll let Vance clean that up. Her mother corroborated these claims telling her side of the
story on a Facebook post about Mostly Harmless'
identity being revealed. Her message reads, "My daughter was Vance's girlfriend of five years. This man was so abusive to my daughter. He changed her. She could not spend any quality time with her family the whole
time they were together. She said he had Schizoaffective disorder. He did not like me. I called him down for
not answering the door when I went to check on my daughter. I was so relieved when
they finally broke up he had the gaul to kick her
out of her own apartment. My daughter is convinced
he wanted to end his life. Even with breakthrough of finally knowing Mostly Harmless' true identity, the mystery still remains. How exactly did he die? And what truly motivated Vance to leave everything behind and begin his hiking adventure. Though, the mystery of his death has yet to be definitively solved, his friends have revealed
that the scar down his abdomen was from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in an attempt to take his own life. None of the hikers he
met during his journey ever reported that he appeared to be struggling with his mental health. Yet Tuggy has said that she believes his death was an intentional
plan from the beginning. Teasely has weighed in her thoughts regarding the second mystery about what exactly sent
Vance into the woods. Teasley claims that
many of the discussions on her Facebook page revolved around who, or what he had been running from when he started his hike. She says now, Turns out what he might've been
running from is himself." Although bittersweet, the mystery of Mostly Harmless has been solved. Thanks to the efforts of
those who refused to give up. Sharing his face far and
wide on social media. One single share caught the attention of people from his past, cracking the so-called
unsolvable case wide open. It goes to show in the age of the internet solving a mystery can be
just a single share away, and you could be the one
who makes that difference.
Lose that watermark! Distracting.
I thoroughly enjoyed this.
Mostly stock footage, but well written and good narration. Enjoyable.
okay but whats up with the tampons @ 24:16??
Ugh super cheesy end line Took a long time for me to tolerate the narrator's voice, idk why i found it so unpleasant.
Very well put together and presented in a very entertaining way. Would recommend