As technology has ramped up in recent years, so too has the fad of internet sleuthing. This phenomenon is the main focus of a true crime documentary about the web sleuth community’s obsession with finding the identity of a dead hiker. Max’s They Called Him Mostly Harmless was an enigma from the beginning. The film covers the discovery of the titular hiker whose death was surrounded by mysterious circumstances.
After fellow trail aficionados found the remains of an emancipated corpse, authorities tried to find out the identity of the body. Many hikers knew of the man, but only by his trail names Denim or Mostly Harmless. Very quickly, police realized that the man had gone out of his way to obscure his identity.
Mostly Harmless was cautious to reveal his name to anyone and he had no digital footprint to speak of. No signs pointed to foul play in his death in the documentary, but internet sleuths desperately wanted to find the deceased’s name. As with many stories of this amateur community, things went too far. In one instance, sleuths became convinced that a blogger who went under the name of Ben Reynolds was Mostly Harmless and harassed him mercilessly, even when he revealed he was still alive.
Ultimately, the case came to an anticlimactic end when sleuths discovered that Mostly Harmless’ given name was Vance Rodriguez from Louisiana. Once this discovery came about, it appeared that Rodriguez was not in fact “mostly harmless.” Fellow hikers were shocked to discover that Rodriguez had a history of brutality and abusing romantic partners.
We may never have all the facts, but many believe Rodriguez intentionally went off the grid and ultimately elected to end his life. Some got a sense of closure after this information became public, including a Facebook group moderator, Christie Harris. The self-identified sleuth felt defined by the case and did not regret pushing the issue of Rodriguez’s identification. But even as the Mostly Harmless case found a somewhat cut-and-dry conclusion, the same cannot be said about Tabitha.
Who is Tabitha in They Called Him Mostly Harmless?
They Called Him Mostly Harmless doesn’t end exactly how you would expect. After revealing that Rodriguez struggled with mental illness practically his entire life, that should have been the resolute conclusion. But with all the subtlety of a Marvel end-credit sequence, the documentary inserts a coda for Harris’ story.
During filming, Harris picks up a call with troubling news. Breaking down into tears, she informs the camera crew about the decapitation of a woman named Tabitha. If you are confused as to exactly who Tabitha is and how she is relevant to this story, you’re not the only one. She was not a focal point of the film, and many similarly confused viewers took to Reddit to understand how she factored into They Called Him Mostly Harmless. Even more bizarre, no one could verify the existence of this woman other than what Harris said in the documentary. Redditors went around in circles, trying to make sense of what the end of the documentary meant.
The film leaves many in a state of perplexity. Rodriguez’s story has a sense of uncomfortable voyeurism. An entire community made it their business to invade the life of someone who very clearly wanted to be left alone. They didn’t care who they hurt while doing it, having all the tact of a wrecking ball.
They Called Him Mostly Harmless raises some very important questions about the ethics of internet sleuthing and if they do any good at all. The question of who Tabitha is supports this perspective even further. Harris seems intent on following this new case about Tabitha even when there is very little information about her. Since the documentary was released, no confirmation has been released about this supposed case. Who is Tabitha? It’s probably best that we don’t know and let this alleged mystery remain in the hands of the professionals. Something that web sleuths are determined not to do.