A homicide investigation is underway after a man was found dead lying in a pool of blood at the Burning Man festival on Saturday.
A festival attendee alerted authorities to the man around 9:15 p.m. local time Saturday, about the same time the giant “Man” effigy in the middle of the venue was starting to burn — the event, held on the second-to-last night of the gathering, which gives the annual arts and music festival its name.
When Pershing County Sheriff’s Office deputies found the man, he was “obviously deceased,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
The sheriff’s office said the victim, described as a White man, had not yet been identified, and his body was taken to the Washoe County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The sheriff’s office did not provide any information on a possible cause of death or suspects.
“Although this act appears to be a singular crime, all participants should always be vigilant of their surroundings and acquaintances,” the sheriff’s office said.
The sheriff’s office noted the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office was also on hand to assist in the investigation and said there would be a “heavy law enforcement presence until the scene can be released.” The festival is set to conclude on Monday.
The Pershing County Sheriff’s office said it would be a “complicated investigation of a crime in a city which will be gone by the middle of the week.”
In a statement posted on Sunday, Burning Man organizers said they were cooperating with law enforcement on the investigation and asked participants not to interfere with law enforcement activity.
“The safety and well-being of our community are paramount,” the statement read, in part. Organizers said that attendees have free access to public WiFi “should they need to communicate with loved ones.”
Burning Man has been held in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert annually since 1990, where tens of thousands of people gather for the week prior to Labor Day to create the temporary Black Rock City.
The Black Rock Desert is a dried lake bed in a remote area of northwestern Nevada, about 150 miles from Reno.
In 2023, one person died amid heavy rain that caused severe flooding during the event. Over 70,000 people were stranded for several days as the festival’s operations were halted and roads into and out of the event area were closed.
