Woman’s death at Burning Man is under investigation

A lady died Sunday on the primary day of the Burning Man pageant in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, the occasion and native authorities introduced. 

Burning Man emergency service personnel responded to a report of an unresponsive individual at 11:29 a.m. in Black Rock Metropolis, the Burning Man Venture stated in a information launch. Lifesaving measures have been “tried however have been unsuccessful,” officers stated. Black Rock Metropolis is a brief metropolis erected for the annual pageant.

The Pershing County Sheriff’s Workplace recognized the lady in a press release Monday afternoon as Kendra Frazer, 39. No hometown was given. The sheriff’s division stated her household has been notified.

The workplace stated an post-mortem and drug checks should be accomplished earlier than the trigger and method of loss of life could be decided. Drug checks, or toxicology screening, can generally take weeks to finish.

In an earlier assertion, the sheriff’s workplace stated that it was notified about “the potential loss of life” of a participant at 11:37 a.m. Sunday by the pageant and that deputies responded and confirmed the loss of life.

“Our ideas and condolences exit to the household and buddies affected by this loss,” stated the Burning Man Venture, the nonprofit group behind the annual occasion.

It stated help is offered to pageant members, together with peer help companies, at Black Rock Rangers headquarters and outposts and by way of the Black Rock Metropolis Emergency Companies Division’s disaster help staff. 

“The protection and well-being of our employees and neighborhood are paramount,” it stated. “We’re cooperating totally with native authorities as they examine this incident. The Pershing County Sheriff’s workplace investigates all deaths that happen in its jurisdiction.”

The pageant briefly closed gates to the occasion early Saturday for about 12 hours due to rain.

Final yr, festivalgoer Leon Reece, 32, of Truckee, California, died after he was discovered unresponsive on the pageant grounds, authorities stated. Drug intoxication was suspected, a coroner’s workplace stated in September. 

Reece died amid a weekend of heavy rain that left the venue muddy, roads impassable and lots of members exiting by foot. Organizers briefly shut down site visitors out and in of Black Rock Metropolis.