A man was found dead at Burning Man, and police are investigating after his cause of death was deemed 'suspicious'

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• Police say a man was found dead at Burning Man Thursday, and that the cause his death is under investigation as “suspicious.”
• The man has been identified as Shane Billingham, police said.
• Burning Man is an annual arts and cultural festival that kicked off last weekend in the Nevada desert.
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

The death of a man at the Burning Man festival is being investigated as “suspicious,” police say.

The man was found dead Thursday at Burning Man, the nine-day festival in the middle of the Nevada desert that’s currently in full swing. Upon further investigation by the medical examiner’s office, his death is being deemed “suspicious.” 

Police have since identified the man as Shane Billingham. 

Police responded Thursday to Burning Man, where the man had already been declared dead by doctors at the festival’s medical tent, officials said. The scene at Burning Man has been secured for the investigation.

The Reno Gazette Journal was the first to report the man’s death. 

Read more: Burning Man banned an infamous $100,000-a-ticket camp favored by influencers after backlash from fellow attendees

Burning Man started August 25 and runs through September 3. Up to 80,000 attendees are expected over the nine-day festival of art installations, musical performances, and general mayhem. Past events have attracted influencers, celebrities, and the Silicon Valley elite.

This isn’t the first time someone has died at Burning Man, which has been running annually since 1986. Last year, a vendor employee died after authorities found him “unresponsive and not breathing” in a truck, SF Gate reported. A man died in 2017 after running into the flames caused by an effigy being burned. In 2014, a woman died after “falling under a bus carrying participants,” Burning Ran organizers wrote in a blog post.

SEE ALSO: Authorities want to build a 10-mile wall around Burning Man’s desert site — here’s why and when it could happen

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