Three middle-aged men who died at Burning Man this year were all killed by heart disease… with two of them also high on drugs at the time

Medical examiners say three men who died at this year’s Burning Man festival in Nevada had heart disease. The findings highlight different causes and contributing factors in the deaths, including drug toxicity in two cases.

Tshombe Sampson, 62, died at the festival from hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Armando Ramirez, 51, died in an ambulance; his death was attributed to methamphetamine and MDMA toxicity, diabetes and heart disease, with long-term meth use also contributing. Craig Mann, 60, was found unresponsive in his trailer; cocaine and methamphetamine toxicity and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease contributed to his death. The festival averages about one death a year; a separate stabbing death there in 2025 remains unsolved.