Burning Man homicide victim identified, search for suspect continues: Sheriff

Vadim Kruglow was found dead at the festival on Saturday, officials said.

ByAlex Stone and Megan ForresterABCNews logo
Thursday, September 4, 2025
Burning Man homicide victim ID'd amid search for suspect: Sheriff

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Burning Man participant who was found dead at the Nevada event over the weekend has been identified, as the homicide investigation and the search for a suspect continue, according to the Pershing County Sheriff's Office.

Vadim Kruglov, 37, from Russia was identified as the victim on Wednesday, according to the sheriff's office.

Kruglov Family

Officials said Kruglov's family in Russia has been notified.

The homicide investigation continues, with officials saying they are looking for all tips that lead to an arrest of a suspect.

On Saturday at approximately 9:14 p.m., a sheriff's deputy was alerted by an event participant at Burning Man -- an annual festival that takes place in Black Rock City, Nevada -- that there was a man "lying in a pool of blood," the sheriff's office said in a statement on Sunday.

Officials "immediately responded" to the campsite and found a "single white adult male lying on the ground, obviously deceased," according to authorities.

MORE: Man found dead at Burning Man, officials say

Law enforcement then created a perimeter around the area, with the Washoe County Sheriff's Office's Forensic Science Division assisting in "processing the scene and collection of evidence," officials said. The sheriff's office also noted that they interviewed "several participants in the immediate area."

Burning Man said in a statement they are "cooperating with law enforcement" as the investigation continues, and three public WiFi spots will be available for attendees who "need to communicate with loved ones," the festival said.

The sheriff's office told ABC News the investigation is made more difficult by the fact that Black Rock City is a temporary city that is disappearing Monday, now that attendees have left, so officials have to work before evidence disappears.

Because that death happened in such a remote location in the desert, cell phone service is non-existent in most areas, so video and surveillance evidence is not as available as it would be elsewhere, officials said.

Officials said anyone with any additional information regarding the incident should contact the Pershing County Sheriff's Office Investigator Josh Nicholson through dispatch at 774-273-2641.


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