A young woman was attending the Lightning in a Bottle festival at Lake San Antonio in south Monterey County over the weekend when she suffered a medical emergency.
Baylee Ybarra Gatlin, 20, of Ventura, was pronounced dead at Twin Cities Hospital in Templeton on Sunday.
An autopsy performed by the San Luis Obispo Sheriff's coroner Wednesday was "inconclusive," Sgt. Jay Wells said. Toxicology tests will take at least a month to complete, he said.
It's unclear if drugs played any role.
A family friend told KSBW that multiple ambulances were called to the festival at the same time that Gatlin needed emergency medical aid. A section of the festival was shut down.
According to her Facebook page, Gatlin grew up in a big family and studied at Ventura College.
One family member wrote on Facebook, "Baylee had one of the biggest hearts of anyone I know! So sweet, beautiful, best smile ever, young and full of life."
Gatlin’s cousin told San Luis Obispo Tribune that Gatlin also attended Lightning in a Bottle last year, and it was a "life-changing" experience.
"She came back more calm, realizing more about her goals and what she wanted to do," the cousin told The Tribune. "It put a lot of good perspective in her head."
Lightning in a Bottle, a free-spirited and colorful annual campout festival, features music, dancing, art, yoga, and swimming. Like Burning Man, droves party-seekers created a sprawling pop-up city with pitched tents, giant art installations, stages, and dance floors.
An estimated 25,000 people attended the 3-day event, according to the Monterey County Sheriff's Office.
Officially, the festival is a drug-free event.
Its website states, "LIB is a drug-free event. That’s the law of the land. But we know that despite this, people will choose to use drugs, just as they do in larger society. We want to keep people alive, happy and out of the medical tent."
AERIAL VIDEO: Lightning in a Bottle 2017
Ari DeChellis, Gatlin’s aunt, told The Tribune that the young woman's death "could have been prevented."
"They could have had medical services for her, and they didn’t. And they could have had sensible people working in what was supposed to be the triage or medical and apparently they didn’t," DeChellis told The Tribune.
Lightning in a Bottle organizers released a statement to KSBW:
"Our deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of the woman who passed away at Twin Cities Hospital after attending Lightning in a Bottle this weekend. We ask that the LiB community keep her and her family in their thoughts and prayers during this difficult time."
On Tuesday afternoon, the Monterey County Sheriff's Office decided to open an investigation into what happened to Gatlin at the festival, and determine what lead to her death.

LAKE SAN ANTONIO —

A young woman was attending the Lightning in a Bottle festival at Lake San Antonio in south Monterey County over the weekend when she suffered a medical emergency.

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An autopsy performed by the San Luis Obispo Sheriff's coroner Wednesday was "inconclusive," Sgt. Jay Wells said. Toxicology tests will take at least a month to complete, he said.

It's unclear if drugs played any role.

A family friend told KSBW that multiple ambulances were called to the festival at the same time that Gatlin needed emergency medical aid. A section of the festival was shut down.

According to her Facebook page, Gatlin grew up in a big family and studied at Ventura College.

One family member wrote on Facebook, "Baylee had one of the biggest hearts of anyone I know! So sweet, beautiful, best smile ever, young and full of life."

Gatlin’s cousin told San Luis Obispo Tribune that Gatlin also attended Lightning in a Bottle last year, and it was a "life-changing" experience.

"She came back more calm, realizing more about her goals and what she wanted to do," the cousin told The Tribune. "It put a lot of good perspective in her head."

Lightning in a Bottle, a free-spirited and colorful annual campout festival, features music, dancing, art, yoga, and swimming. Like Burning Man, droves party-seekers created a sprawling pop-up city with pitched tents, giant art installations, stages, and dance floors.

An estimated 25,000 people attended the 3-day event, according to the Monterey County Sheriff's Office.

Officially, the festival is a drug-free event.

Its website states, "LIB is a drug-free event. That’s the law of the land. But we know that despite this, people will choose to use drugs, just as they do in larger society. We want to keep people alive, happy and out of the medical tent."

Ari DeChellis, Gatlin’s aunt, told The Tribune that the young woman's death "could have been prevented."

"They could have had medical services for her, and they didn’t. And they could have had sensible people working in what was supposed to be the triage or medical and apparently they didn’t," DeChellis told The Tribune.

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Baylee Gatlin

Lightning in a Bottle organizers released a statement to KSBW:

"Our deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of the woman who passed away at Twin Cities Hospital after attending Lightning in a Bottle this weekend. We ask that the LiB community keep her and her family in their thoughts and prayers during this difficult time."

Facebook

Baylee Gatlin

On Tuesday afternoon, the Monterey County Sheriff's Office decided to open an investigation into what happened to Gatlin at the festival, and determine what lead to her death.