According to the Tech Crunch news, A homicide investigation has hit Burning Man after a man was found dead “lying in a pool of blood” Saturday night at the Nevada desert festival, the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office said. The grisly find happened at approximately 9:14 p.m., just before the festival’s towering wooden “Man” effigy was set ablaze — a crucial moment in the event’s celebration — the New York Times reported.
A festival goer flagged down a deputy and reported the deceased, who police say is an unknown white adult male. Sheriff Jerry Allen noted deputies, Bureau of Land Management rangers and rangers from nearby state parks quickly established barriers around the area. At the same time, a forensic team from the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office gathered evidence.
The slaying arrives as Burning Man has well moved past its bohemian roots and has become a meeting space for Silicon Valley’s tech elite. In the past, Elon Musk has said that “Burning Man is Silicon Valley,” and Mark Zuckerberg actually helicoptered in to serve grilled cheese sandwiches. Jeff Bezos from Amazon has likewise made the journey to the desert.
However, few have stronger roots at the festival than Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, dedicated attendees for years. Their bond is said to be so strong that on August 30, 1998, well before Google Doodles were synonymous with holidays, the very first Google Doodle was launched to let users know that the two were at Burning Man, away from their desks.
This homicide investigation is the latest in a long line of oddities at the festival over the span of its 38 years. The last death from the crash of motorcycles and other vehicles dates as far back as the 1990s, while a man in 2017 died as he jumped into the burning effigy. Then add a bizarre twist: Last week, Pooja and partner Sam Arton welcomed a baby girl called Aurora at the festival – even though the pair did not know she was pregnant.
Sheriff Allen said a complication was “the crime is in a city that will be gone by the middle of the week, so it’s a complicated investigation. The festival is due to finish on Monday. In the wake of the world’s largest psychedelic music festival, the exodus of 70,000 attendees may pressure authorities to extend the timeline or limit those leaving the site to collect evidence and interview those present.
Despite the seeming isolation of this crime, all attendees “need to always be aware of their surroundings and people,” the sheriff’s office cautioned during the weekend leading up to the annual teardown of the makeshift desert city.
