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A homicide investigation has rocked the final days of Burning Man after a man was found dead \u201clying in a pool of blood\u201d Saturday night at the Nevada desert festival, according to the Pershing County Sheriff\u2019s Office. According to the New York Times<\/a>, the grim discovery occurred around 9:14 p.m. just as the festival\u2019s iconic wooden \u201cMan\u201d effigy began its traditional burn.<\/p>\n The victim, described as a white adult male whose identity remains unknown, was found by a festival participant who flagged down a deputy. Sheriff Jerry Allen confirmed that deputies, Bureau of Land Management rangers, and local rangers immediately secured a perimeter while the Washoe County Sheriff\u2019s Office forensic team collected evidence.<\/p>\n The murder comes as Burning Man long ago evolved from a countercultural gathering into a networking hub for Silicon Valley\u2019s tech elite. Tesla CEO Elon Musk once declared that \u201cBurning Man is Silicon Valley,\u201d and Mark Zuckerberg famously helicoptered in to serve grilled cheese sandwiches<\/a>. Amazon\u2019s Jeff Bezos has also made the desert pilgrimage.<\/p>\n But perhaps no tech leaders have deeper ties to the festival than Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who have been devoted attendees for years. Their connection reportedly runs so deep that long before Google Doodles became known for celebrating holidays, the very first Google Doodle was launched on August 30, 1998 to tell users that Page and Brin were out of office at Burning Man<\/a>.<\/p>\n This homicide investigation marks the latest in a series of bizarre incidents at the festival over its 38-year history. In 2017, a man died after throwing himself into the burning effigy, while deaths from motorcycle crashes and vehicle accidents have occurred since the 1990s. In another strange twist, last week, a baby named Aurora was born at the festival to parents who had no idea they were expecting<\/a>.<\/p>\n The investigation faces unique challenges as Sheriff Allen noted it\u2019s \u201ca complicated investigation of a crime in a city which will be gone by the middle of the week.\u201d With the festival scheduled to end Monday and the traditional exodus of 70,000 attendees beginning, authorities may face pressure to extend the timeline or restrict departures to preserve the crime scene and conduct interviews.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough this act appears to be a singular crime, all participants should always be vigilant of their surroundings and acquaintances,\u201d the sheriff\u2019s office warned, as the temporary desert metropolis prepares for its annual dismantling.<\/p>\n