A homicide investigation has disrupted the final days of Burning Man. A man was found dead, lying in a pool of blood, on Saturday night at the Nevada desert festival, according to the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office. The grim discovery occurred around 9:14 p.m., coinciding with the festival’s iconic burning of the wooden “Man” effigy.
The victim is described as an unidentified white adult male. A festival participant discovered him and immediately flagged down a deputy. Sheriff Jerry Allen confirmed that deputies, Bureau of Land Management rangers, and local rangers secured the perimeter while the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office forensic team collected evidence.
This murder occurs as Burning Man has long evolved from a countercultural gathering into a networking hub for Silicon Valley’s tech elite. Tesla CEO Elon Musk once declared that “Burning Man is Silicon Valley.” Mark Zuckerberg famously helicoptered in to serve grilled cheese sandwiches. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos has also made the desert pilgrimage.
Perhaps no tech leaders have deeper ties to the festival than Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who have been devoted attendees for years. Their connection reportedly runs so deep that the very first Google Doodle was launched on August 30, 1998, to inform users that Page and Brin were out of the office at Burning Man.
This homicide investigation is the latest in a series of bizarre incidents at the festival over its 38-year history. In 2017, a man died after throwing himself into the burning effigy. Deaths from motorcycle crashes and vehicle accidents have occurred since the 1990s. In another strange twist last week, a baby named Aurora was born at the festival to parents who had no idea they were expecting.
The investigation faces unique challenges. Sheriff Allen noted it is a complicated investigation of a crime in a city which will be gone by the middle of the week. With the festival scheduled to end Monday and the traditional exodus of 70,000 attendees beginning, authorities may face pressure to extend the timeline or restrict departures to preserve the crime scene and conduct interviews.
The sheriff’s office warned that although this act appears to be a singular crime, all participants should always be vigilant of their surroundings and acquaintances as the temporary desert metropolis prepares for its annual dismantling.