Police Looking for Info on Suspect in Burning Man Murder Case
There’s nothing quite like death to make your problems seem smaller. Sure, the winds that destroyed the orgy tent were a disaster, but that’s nothing compared to the apparent homicide that took place over the weekend at Burning Man. No one has been arrested yet, and the situation remains unresolved as witnesses are already leaving the area.
Details about the suspected homicide are still scarce. It seems to have occurred on August 30 between 8 and 9:30 p.m., near the end of the burning event when the 30-meter wooden effigy is set ablaze. Attendees who discovered the victim alerted the police, reporting a body “in a pool of blood.” The man, who remains unidentified, was described as having short brown hair, a beard, around 35 to 40 years old, 6 feet tall, and weighing about 220 pounds.
Gathering more information has proved difficult due to the event’s isolated location in the desert, about 15 kilometers from the nearest town. The Pershing County Sheriff’s Department, responsible for handling reports from Burning Man, is located about two hours away.
### The Challenge of Investigation
“When we have a challenging investigation like a homicide, a sexual assault, a crime against minors, or some other heinous crime, and some of these things happen every year, we have to work quickly and diligently to gather all possible information and evidence because we can’t go back to the scene the following week, or sometimes not even the next day if the ‘home’ no longer exists,” said Sheriff Jerry Allen.
The city itself disappears along with its residents (potential witnesses and suspects). With about 80,000 people attending Burning Man this year from over 70 countries, most have already left the desert – or the country – making it difficult to identify or contact them.
Burning Man organizers are informing festival attendees that the police are seeking information to help determine what happened. “The investigation is ongoing, and information will be provided by the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office,” they stated. “If you are in Black Rock City, do not interfere with police activities.”
This is not the first death at Burning Man. In the past three years, there have been three deaths during the annual event, but this is the first suspected homicide at the festival.
