Major update after man found in ‘pool of own blood’ at Burning Man as cops launch homicide investigation

Police have issued further details surrounding the unknown man who is the subject of a murder investigation after he was found ‘lying in a pool of blood’ at the popular Burning Man festival.

As the flames ripped through the effigy, which reached around 80ft in height, on Saturday (August 30), a man’s body was discovered in the ‘streets’ of the temporary Black Rock City, on the Black Rock Desert, Nevada.

Pershing County Sheriff’s Office has been investigating the homicide, having noted that a deputy was ‘flagged down by an event participant who advised of a male subject lying in a pool of blood’ at the time.

“The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office is requesting any information regarding a homicide which occurred on August 30, 2025 between 8 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. in the area between 8 o’clock and I St. and 845 and I St. in Black Rock City, at the Burning Man Festival,” Sheriff Jerry Allen penned in an update on the case.

Cops in Nevada are appealing for information following the death of a festival-goer at Burning Man

He continued: “We are specifically looking to identify the white male adult decedent, who is between the ages of 35 and 40, approximately 6′ and 200# [pounds] with short brown hair and facial hair.

“We are also currently seeking information regarding any suspect identifiers for any person who would commit such a heinous crime against another human being.

“At this time, no information is too small to disregard, so do not hesitate to contact my Office.”

It is the third consecutive year in which someone has died at Black Rock City.

In 2023, 32-year-old Leon Reece, of Truckee – a small town in California close to the Nevada border, was found unresponsive. Washoe County Regional Medical Examiner’s Office, ruled in October of that year that his cause of death was an accident resulting from acute toxicity due to a combination of cocaine, ethanol (alcohol), and MDMA (more commonly referred to as ecstasy or Molly).

The death of the man makes it three consecutive years that someone has died at Burning Man

Then last year, 39-year-old Kendra Frazer was found unresponsive on the first day of the event. The Washoe County Medical Examiner confirmed the cause of death as being an asthma attack she suffered in her sleep.

Party-goers understand that there’s an element of risk involved in attending festivities on the baron landscape, yet those who’ve suffered first-hand to the dangers it poses still return.

Rachael Gingery celebrated her ninth Burning Man last month – despite having broken her back and ribs, bruised her spleen and punctured a lung the year before.

“I appreciate that Burning Man is a little bit dangerous,” she told SFGATE. “It’s kind of what makes it exciting.”

Her accident at Burning Man 2024 occurred when she scaled an interactive art installation of a sunken ship, but on her way down the ladders flipped around and she fell 20 feet to the floor below.