Festival Infant Death
Michigan State Police investigate after deceased newborn found at Electric Forest festival
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Key Points
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Electric Forest is held at the Double JJ Ranch in Rothbury, Michigan, about 61 miles northwest of Grand Rapids, according to CBS News.
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The festival is a multi-day event that began on Thursday and was expected to wrap up on Sunday, with authorities focusing on the investigation as the event concluded.
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The newborn body was found in a portable restroom located in the festival's camping area during routine maintenance by a restroom vending company employee.
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Michigan State Police reported there is no known threat to the public and the investigation is ongoing; MSP Sixth District issued the update on X.
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Some outlets describe the infant using neonatal terminology (neonate) while others report an age of four weeks old or younger.
A deceased newborn was found inside a portable restroom at the Electric Forest festival in Rothbury, Michigan, on Sunday morning — the event's final day. CBS News reports the festival is held at the Double JJ Ranch, about 61 miles northwest of Grand Rapids, drawing roughly 50,000 attendees this year.
Michigan State Police Sixth District confirmed the investigation and said there is no known threat to the public. The infant is described as a neonate — a medical term for a baby four weeks old or younger. No cause of death has been released.
Routine Maintenance Worker Discovers Infant in Camping Area
An employee of the on-site restroom vending company made the discovery during routine maintenance of a portable restroom in the festival's camping area, WXYZ reported. The worker alerted authorities immediately. Michigan State Police were on scene and launched a formal investigation the same morning.
MSP Sixth District Public Information Officer Spl/Lt. Pat Agema confirmed the find in an official statement posted to X. Authorities are working to determine the cause of death through an autopsy. Investigators are also reviewing security footage and entry logs, according to NewsNation.
Michigan Safe Haven Law Was Not Used — and Could Have Been
Michigan's Safe Delivery of Newborns Act, in effect since 2001, allows a parent to legally and anonymously hand over a newborn up to 72 hours old to any on-duty emergency provider — at a hospital, fire station, or police station. The law has saved at least 288 infants in its first 20 years, according to the Spartan Newsroom.
Leaving a newborn in a portable restroom falls outside those protections. Under Michigan law, abandoning a child with intent to injure is a felony carrying up to 10 years in prison. Maternal health experts say mothers in these situations often face denial of pregnancy or extreme fear — and that Safe Haven messages rarely reach people in crisis in time.
Festival Wraps Up as Investigation Continues on Grounds
Electric Forest opened Thursday, June 25, and was set to close Sunday. The festival spans over 2,000 acres and hosted around 10,000 staff alongside attendees, according to Oceana County Press. Authorities coordinated with festival organizers as the event wound down, with all attendees required to leave by 4:00 PM Monday.
The festival's on-site medical provider, National Event Services, operates what is described as a "mini 911 system" — including a dispatch center and multiple medical tents. The organizers had not issued a formal public statement as of Sunday afternoon, but are reportedly cooperating fully with MSP, according to Rolling Out.
Investigation Raises Questions About Safety at Large Festivals
The case highlights how difficult it is to monitor every corner of a 2,000-acre festival site. MSP has a strong presence at Electric Forest, including K9 units for drug and firearm detection. But a private medical event like a birth in a camping area is nearly impossible to detect, analysts note.
Experts say festivals may now face pressure to post visible Safe Haven information in event guides and medical tents. The incident may also prompt organizers to require two-person teams for sanitation maintenance — to protect contractor staff from the trauma of solo discoveries like this one, NewsNation reported.
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