Moments from Burning Man 2025 on the playa in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert on Aug. 30, 2025.

RENO, NV — A man found dead on Aug. 30 at Burning Man has prompted a homicide investigation, authorities said, as thousands of attendees prepared to culminate the event by watching the burning of the wooden Man effigy.

Deputies found the body at 9:14 p.m. local time as festivities were kicking off for the burning of the Man, the Pershing County Sheriff's Office said in a statement on Aug. 31. A deputy was flagged down by a participant who found the body "lying in a pool of blood," according to the sheriff's office.

"Pershing County Sheriff's Office deputies and the Bureau of Land Management immediately responded to the campsite and found a single white adult male lying on the ground, obviously deceased," the sheriff's office said.

The identity of the man is unknown, and no details on the possible cause of death have been released, the sheriff's office said.

Authorities noted that while the incident appeared to be a "singular crime," all attendees should remain vigilant of their surroundings and acquaintances. The investigation is ongoing, and the "portion of the 'City'" where the incident occurred will have a heavy law enforcement presence until the scene is released, the sheriff's office said.

The Washoe County Sheriff's Office is also assisting with the investigation.

In a statement, Burning Man asked those still on the playa not to interfere with law enforcement. "The safety and well-being of our community are paramount," Burning Man said.

Tens of thousands of "Burners" flocked to a remote desert area northeast of Reno, Nevada, on Aug. 24 and 25 for a weeklong celebration of art, music, and personal freedom. Burning Man is an annual event in which an estimated 70,000 people build an entire city from scratch over the course of the week ending Labor Day.

The event culminates with the two large-scale "burns" the two nights before Labor Day: the fireworks-heavy 100-foot-tall wooden Man effigy burn, and then the Temple burn.

Latest incident at Burning Man

The incident appears to be the first reported homicide at the event, though there have been several deaths that have occurred at or near Burning Man since it moved to the Black Rock Desert in 1990, including:

  • Michael Fury, 1996: Michael Fury, of San Francisco, died hours before the 1996 event began, the seventh year it was held in the Black Rock Desert. Fury, riding on a motorcycle, was struck and killed by a van just outside the gates. An acquaintance of Fury’s was driving the van.
  • Katherine Lampman, 2003: Katherine Lampman, of San Mateo, California, was killed when she attempted to get off an "art car" and was run over by a trailing vehicle at Burning Man in 2003. Pershing County Sheriff’s officials determined the fatality was an accident.
  • Barry Jacobs, 2003: Hours after Lampman’s death, four people were critically injured as their small plane tried to land at the event's airstrip in the Black Rock Desert. Barry Jacobs, of San Rafael, California, the pilot of the Beechcraft BE-35 airplane, later died of his injuries.
  • Jermaine Barley, 2007: Jermaine "Jerm" Barley died by suicide inside a tent at the 2007 event. Barley, who went by the DJ name Optic Orange, was 22. Pershing County Sheriff Ron Skinner said Barley had been distraught, according to relatives, but they didn’t believe he would harm himself.
  • Alicia Cipicchio, 2014: Alicia Louise Cipicchio, a manager of an art gallery in Jackson, Wyoming, was killed after she was hit by an art car at the 2014 event. Cipicchio, an art student at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, graduated in 2008 and was described as someone who loved the outdoors and loved life, a co-worker told the Reno Gazette-Journal.
  • Aaron Joel Mitchell, 2018: Aaron Joel Mitchell, 41, died after he ran into the Burning Man structure fire on Saturday night of the event. He was pronounced dead at 6:28 a.m. Sunday, after being flown to the University of California, Davis, burn center.
  • Leon Reece, 2023: Leon Reece, of Truckee, California, was found unresponsive and was administered CPR. Drug intoxication was suspected in his death, according to a preliminary investigation by the Washoe County Regional Medical Examiner's Office.
  • Kendra Frazer, 2024: Kendra Frazer, 39, was found unresponsive on the first day of last year's event. Frazer died of an asthma attack in her sleep, her longtime partner, Sean Lupher, told the Reno Gazette-Journal. The Washoe County Medical Examiner confirmed the cause.

Contributing: Trevor Hughes and Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY; Ariel Smith, Reno Gazette-Journal

This article originally appeared on Reno Gazette Journal: Burning Man death investigated as homicide after body found in 'pool of blood'

Reporting by Siobhan McAndrew and Brett McGinness, USA TODAY NETWORK / Reno Gazette Journal

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect