Murder At Burning Man Turns Silicon Valley’s Desert Playground Into A Crime Scene

A homicide investigation has rocked nan last days of Burning Man aft a man was recovered dormant “lying successful a excavation of blood” Saturday nighttime astatine nan Nevada godforsaken festival, according to nan Pershing County Sheriff’s Office. According to nan New York Times, nan grim find occurred astir 9:14 p.m. conscionable arsenic nan festival’s iconic woody “Man” effigy began its accepted burn.

The victim, described arsenic a achromatic big antheral whose personality remains unknown, was recovered by a show subordinate who flagged down a deputy. Sheriff Jerry Allen confirmed that deputies, Bureau of Land Management rangers, and section rangers instantly secured a perimeter while nan Washoe County Sheriff’s Office forensic squad collected evidence.

The execution comes arsenic Burning Man agelong agone evolved from a countercultural gathering into a networking hub for Silicon Valley’s tech elite. Tesla CEO Elon Musk erstwhile declared that “Burning Man is Silicon Valley,” and Mark Zuckerberg famously helicoptered successful to serve grilled food sandwiches. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos has besides made nan godforsaken pilgrimage.

But possibly nary tech leaders person deeper ties to nan show than Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who person been devoted attendees for years. Their relationship reportedly runs truthful heavy that agelong earlier Google Doodles became known for celebrating holidays, nan very first Google Doodle was launched connected August 30, 1998 to show users that Page and Brin were out of agency astatine Burning Man.

This homicide investigation marks nan latest successful a bid of bizarre incidents astatine nan show complete its 38-year history. In 2017, a man died aft throwing himself into nan burning effigy, while deaths from motorcycle crashes and conveyance accidents person occurred since nan 1990s. In different unusual twist, past week, a babe named Aurora was calved astatine nan show to parents who had no thought they were expecting.

The investigation faces unsocial challenges arsenic Sheriff Allen noted it’s “a analyzable investigation of a crime successful a metropolis which will beryllium gone by nan mediate of nan week.” With nan show scheduled to extremity Monday and nan accepted exodus of 70,000 attendees beginning, authorities whitethorn look unit to widen nan timeline aliases restrict departures to sphere nan crime segment and behaviour interviews.

“Although this enactment appears to beryllium a singular crime, each participants should ever beryllium vigilant of their surroundings and acquaintances,” nan sheriff’s agency warned, arsenic nan impermanent godforsaken metropolis prepares for its yearly dismantling.