01/03/2025

Police Identify Remains Found Near Electric Forest Grounds As Kevin Graves

As most Forest Family know, Kevin Graves, 28, notoriously went missing at the 2018 installment of Electric Forest in Rothbury, Michigan. His family has been looking for him ever since, and with each new year, missing person flyers and nearby billboards resurface, serving as a painful reminder for friends, family, and festival attendees.

Now, six and a half years later, two hunters discovered human remains on private property near the festival grounds, and Michigan state police have positively identified the remains as Kevin Graves. According to State police, it may take several months to determine the cause and manner of death, but there “are no indications of foul play at this time.”

The hunters found the remains earlier this week (Monday, December 30th), and according to Gary Graves, Kevin’s father, they also found “his wallet, his phone, and he had a (festival) wristband on.” Gary and his wife, Kathy Graves, both residents of Howell, Michigan, previously provided detectives samples of their DNA and access to their son’s dental records.

Electric Forest Festival Grounds

The Nearly Seven-Year Search

Kevin’s family spent the last several years looking for him, including several unsuccessful searches throughout the festival grounds and adjacent properties. The hunters were clearing land for a shooting lane when they discovered the remains, according to Gary.

“With the dogs and everything they claim they had running around there looking, I can’t see how we missed him. But I can’t say for sure until I know exactly where it was at.”

-Gary Graves, Kevin’s father

At the time of his disappearance, Kevin worked at a coating company and lived with his then-girlfriend of nearly two years in Oakland County’s Highland Township, where she reported Kevin Graves as a missing person on July 3, 2018. Many rumors surrounding his mysterious disappearance circulated in the following years, including everything from him joining a cult to heading out West to work at a marijuana farm, Gary said.

Gary also said he was present during an interview with a couple who camped next to Kevin Graves and his former girlfriend during the 2018 festival. The couple reportedly observed Kevin Graves crying and walking away after arguing with his girlfriend, Gary said. This occurred on July 1, 2018, and the festival concluded the following day.

According to MLive via a Freedom of Information Act records request, police reports indicated Kevin’s last cell phone activity was a call placed to his father’s cell phone on July 1, 2018.

What Comes Next

The family suspects foul play; however, the cause and manner of death haven’t been determined yet by police and are pending the results of an autopsy.

While Gary suspected Kevin might have died, the reality hadn’t set in until an Oakland County sheriff’s official pulled up to his house around 3:30 p.m. on Monday December 31.