Dead baby is found in a portable toilet at a music festival in Michigan
Jun 30, 2026, 9:27 AM
FILE - The general admission campground during the first day of Electric Forest music festival at the Double JJ Resort in Rothbury, Mich., June 19, 2025. (Joel Bissell/MLive.com/Kalamazoo Gazette via AP, File)
Credit: Joel Bissell/Kalamazoo Gazette via AP
(Joel Bissell/MLive.com/Kalamazoo Gazette via AP, File)
ROTHBURY, Mich. (AP) — Police are asking for the public’s help as they investigate the death of a baby found inside a portable toilet at a music festival in rural western Michigan.
The body was discovered by an employee of the bathroom company during routine maintenance Sunday morning, the last day of the Electric Forest festival, Michigan State Police said.
Police described the baby as a neonate, which means the child was younger than 28 days old. Police have not said how the baby died, whether it was a boy or a girl, or whether a parent, guardian or person connected to the baby has been identified.
Michigan State Police Lt. Pat Agema said an autopsy was completed on Monday and police would provide updates once those results are reviewed by investigators. As of Tuesday, the death had not been classified as a homicide, Agema said.
The festival began Thursday and typically draws tens of thousands of people for electronic dance music and jam bands. Most attendees camp at the 2,000-acre Double JJ Resort near the shores of Lake Michigan. Police said the body was found in the festival’s camping area, and are seeking any possible witnesses or people with relevant information.
Festival organizers shared the state police post about the death on Monday, saying “it causes us so much pain to have to share this difficult news with you.” Organizers joined the call from police to help with the investigation, urging festival attendees to “assist in any way.”
Organizers did not immediately return a message seeking comment Tuesday.
