Photo: JULIE JAMMOT/AFP/Getty Images
By: The opinion Posted 06 Sep 2023, 1:00 am EDT
It is suspected that heLeon Reece died at Burning Man, where some 70,000 attendees were trapped in Nevada’s remote Black Rock Desert over the weekend due to heavy rain and thick mudmay have been drug intoxication, according to the Washoe County Regional Medical Examiner’s Office.
Reece, 32, of Truckee, California, died Friday after he was found unresponsive on the Burning Man festival grounds, authorities said. While the cause and manner of his death are still pending, it is suspected that drug use could be the reason.
Authorities had previously said Reece’s death did not appear to be weather related, but Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen said stormy conditions delayed efforts to send help.
“Pershing County Dispatch received a call regarding a male subject who was on the ground and unresponsive at the Burning Man Festival. and medical personnel were administering CPR,” Allen said in his statement.
Due to the unusual rain that occurred in Playa, access to the area and investigative efforts were delayed.
“Upon the arrival of Pershing County Sheriff’s Office deputies, the male subject had already been pronounced dead by the festival doctor,” it said.
Heavy rains on Friday and Saturday muddied the campers’ tents and flooded the roads in and out of the festival, making them impassable for most vehicles. The front door to the week-long event was closed, leaving attendees virtually locked in.
On Sunday, organizers said the roads were still “too wet and muddy” to open and encouraged people to shelter in place and conserve food, water and fuel.
Some chose to walk more than five miles to the nearest motorable road to escape the muddy campsites.. Thousands of people left the Burning Man venue on Monday in a mass exodus, after an announcement that people could start leaving by car.