‘Drug intoxication’ suspected as cause of Burning Man death

Drugs are thought to be the cause of the lone fatality at Burning Man, authorities said — while festivalgoers continued to trudge through foot-deep mud and hours-long traffic to leave the festival disaster-zone.

Leon Reece of Truckee, Calif. was pronounced dead by a doctor on Sept. 1, but Washoe County Regional Medical Examiner’s Office officials said preliminary results show the 32-year likely had drugs in his system.

“The cause and manner of death are pending investigation, but drug intoxication is suspected,” the medical examiner’s office said in a statement on Tuesday.

Deputies arrived at about 6:24 p.m. Friday, but because of the unprecedented downpour over the weekend, emergency crews could not immediately get to Reece, Pershing County Sheriff’s officials said.

Reece’s manner and cause of death are still pending. An autopsy is being conducted and an investigation is ongoing, law enforcement officials said Tuesday.

Reece’s toxicology results could take six to eight months to complete, medical examiner officials warned.

More than 73,000 festival attendees spent the weekend stuck in foot-deep mud after a rain storm drenched the Nevada Black Rock Desert where the annual festival is held, according to the Reno Gazette Journal.

As torrential downpour continued, event organizers told the thousands who were stuck to conserve their food and water as traveling back and forth on the muddy roads became nearly impossible.

Many took off on foot and walked miles through the mud then hitchhiked out of the desert, including comedian Chris Rock and DJ Diplo, who were both set to perform before the rain cancelled most of the festival events.

Attendees finally got the go-ahead to get back on the road 2 p.m. Monday after the driving ban in and out of the festival site was lifted.

Burning Man organizers said as many as 64,000 people were still at the site on Monday, according to the Reno Gezatte Journal.

Tempers flared as miles and miles of RVs and cars were stuck for hours on the muddy road in bumper-to-bumper traffic on Monday.

Traffic was so congested at one point on that drivers spent about seven hours to drive just five-miles.

By midmorning Tuesday, that travel time was cut to 2 to 3 hours, Burning Man organizers said on X.