Vance Rodriguez | |
|---|---|
 Rodriguez while hiking | |
| Born | Vance John Rodriguez February 25, 1976[1][2] |
| Disappeared | April 2018 (aged 42) Florida |
| Status | Identified in December 2020 |
| Died | July 2018 (aged 42) Ochopee, Florida, U.S. |
| Body discovered | July 23, 2018 |
| Other names | Vaejor, Mostly Harmless, Ben Bilemy, Denim |
| Known for | Previously unidentified decedent |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
Vance John "Vaejor" Rodriguez,[3] previously known as "Mostly Harmless", Denim, and Ben Bilemy[4] was an American hiker whose body was found on July 23, 2018 in Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida, then remained unidentified for two years.[5] He was identified when a previous coworker recognized photos of him in December 2020, and his identity was released in January 2021.[6] The story came to prominence because of two viral articles written in WIRED by the journalist Nicholas Thompson. It was later turned into a movie, "They Called Him Mostly Harmless," which aired on HBO Max.
- ^ "Happy Birthday!!". St. Martinville (La.) Teche News (p. 22). March 3, 1982. p. 22.
- ^ "Lafayette Parish Bookings". Baton Rouge Advocate (sec. B, p. 4). August 12, 1994.
- ^ Thompson, Nicholas (12 January 2021). "The Unsettling Truth About the 'Mostly Harmless' Hiker". Wired. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
- ^ "3343UMFL". www.doenetwork.org. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
- ^ Thompson, Nicholas (November 2, 2020). "A Nameless Hiker and the Case the Internet Can't Crack". Wired. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
- ^ "Dead Everglades hiker identified after 2-year mystery". www.nbc-2.com. 12 January 2021. Retrieved 2021-01-12.