Third death reported at Burning Man 2026

A third person who attended this year’s Burning Man has died, this time while in transit from the festival to a Reno-area hospital.

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Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen confirmed the death in a statement to the media Monday, but declined to offer more information until an autopsy and toxicology screening are completed by the Washoe County Regional Medical Examiner’s Office in the coming weeks.

The third death comes after two other people died at Burning Man this year. Fellow campers found Craigh Mann, 60, dead in his camp at about 3 p.m. Saturday, the Burning Man Project announced. No cause of death or other information was released.

“Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the participant’s family, friends, campmates, and all those affected by this loss,” wrote the organizers of the 70,000-person event in the Nevada desert regarding Mann’s death.

Mann was found dead in a trailer and there does not appear to be any signs of foul play, Allen said in a Monday news release. 

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Two days earlier, a man in his mid-50s died after suffering a “medical emergency” and being rushed to the on-site medical center, known as Rampart. Allen identified the man as Sampson Tshombe, and said he “had been found on a street within the Festival and emergency personnel had performed CPR on him for several minutes, until a certified doctor pronounced Sampson deceased.” Allen said there are no signs of foul play.

Allen said the event averages one death a year. There were three deaths in 2001, according to the event’s organizers. A 37-year-old died at last year’s festival from an apparent stab wound; the killing is still under investigation. Burning Man maintains an extensive healthcare operation, including an emergency room that treated 1,450 patients in 2025. 

This news story has been updated.