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HEBER CITY — Authorities are investigating the death of a 68-year-old Texas man who was found dead inside his tent at the Rainbow Family Gathering underway in the Uinta National Forest.
The Wasatch County Sheriff's Office identified the man as Timothy R. Gillespie of Cushing, Texas. Gillespie's friends told law enforcement officers that he retired to his tent about 10:30 p.m. Saturday. When he did not come out of his tent on Sunday morning, friends entered the tent and discovered that he had died, according to Wasatch County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Jared Rigby.
The Wasatch County Sheriff's Office, working with the State Medical Examiner's Office, is investigating to determine the cause of Gillespie's death, Rigby said.
Gillespie was second person to die during the Rainbow Family Gathering, as people have begun assembling for official event, which begins this week. The group's primary campsite is located about 15 miles east of Heber City.
Susan Wilkinson, 39, of Keene, N.H., died June 15 at the site of the Rainbow Family's spring council, which was also held in Wasatch County. The cause of her death remained under investigation.
In a third incident, a Salt Lake City man was stabbed in the head and shoulder. A New Mexico woman was charged with attempted murder last week in connection with the stabbing.
The number of people arriving for the annual Rainbow Family of Living Light gathering is continuing to grow. As many as 20,000 people could attend the gathering, which officially begins July 1 and is scheduled to end July 7.
