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Kim Komando Today

Mostly Harmless: The internet mystery of a dead man, solved

Kim Komando Today

WestStar Multimedia Entertainment, Inc

News, Tech News, Technology

4.8770 Ratings

🗓️ 1 January 2021

⏱️ 39 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Two years ago, hikers found a dead man in a tent. A year before that, he had left his tech job, with no phone or identification, to find peace on the Appalachian Trail. We told you the story late last year. In this Best Of episode, Kim dives into the mystery that captivated the internet, with a brand new update on what happened to the man who called himself “Mostly Harmless.”



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Transcript

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0:00.0

Welcome to the Tech You Should Know podcast and thanks for supporting us at Commander.com by reading articles, getting newsletters, and by listening to these podcasts.

0:09.5

And happy new year from all of us at commando.com. And we went back and picked out a great show from you from earlier this year.

0:17.7

This is called Mostly Harmless or the mystery that the internet can't crack.

0:22.7

And you're going to learn about a hiker who was found, deceased, and the mystery on how they

0:31.1

tried to find his identity. And I want you to stick around until the end because we have a

0:36.4

big update for you. And we'll tell you about that.

0:40.6

Meanwhile, enjoyed this podcast from the Tech You Should Know archives.

0:45.2

And again, happy new year from all of us at commando.com. A mystery is totally taking over the internet.

1:00.7

A backpacker who's found dead in his tent in July 2018 remains unidentified to this day.

1:07.5

The John Doe started hiking south on the Appalachian Trail from Harriman State Park in New York in April of 2017.

1:15.1

On the trail, he was known as denim because he wore jeans while hiking.

1:20.1

Later, he called himself mostly harmless, and he sometimes used the name Ben Billamy at the Hiker Hostels.

1:27.3

Two hikers found the man dead in his tent in the Big Cypress National Preserve on the Florida Trail on July 23, 2018.

1:36.5

The campsite held few clues.

1:38.8

He didn't carry his cell phone.

1:40.8

He didn't have any credit cards.

1:42.4

He didn't have any identification on him. But he had about

1:46.1

$3,500 in cash. Facebook groups are sharing clues and Reddit users are doing the same. And I read a great

1:55.0

piece that Wired About Mostly Harmus. I was just fascinated that here we are in 2020, when there is no way to have any real

2:02.9

privacy, a man can go for a hike from New York to Florida for 15 months on the sometimes

2:08.8

very busy Appalachian Trail. He meets a lot of people along the way, has his picture taken,

2:14.6

and no one has any idea who he is when he dies. But perhaps new DNA

...

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