Kevin Graves, a then-28-year-old Michigan man, took a trip alongside his girlfriend to the Electric Forest music festival in 2018. However, his family never heard back from him once he attended the festival, and reported him missing. For almost six years, they looked for Graves. Finally, on January 2, 2025, his remains were found. They were just 100 yards from where he had camped back in the day.
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The remains were recovered by Michigan State Police in a wooded area on Monday, December 30, 2024, according to WOODTV. Michigan State Police used dental records and help from forensic anthropologists to correctly identify the remains to be Kevin Graves on Thursday, January 2, 2024. No cause of death has been determined. However, so far, no indications of foul play have been found surrounding his death.
While finally knowing what happened to Graves is a great relief to his family, they are visibly troubled over the circumstances of his death.
"The closure feels good but, you know, that hope we had that he might turn up one day is gone, and it's very sad and my parents are really struggling," Kellie Graves, Kevin's sister, told WOODTV. "There was that hope, and when I had gotten the news, I had forgotten my dad said 'remains' for a second, and I thought that he was just found somewhere up in Northern Michigan."
"It was 100 yards from his campsite and hunters found human remains, I think his clothes were still there, and they found his wallet and cellphone as well," Kellie continued. She then questioned why authorities didn't hear them back in the day and tried to ping his phone to locate him. "We would not have had to wait 6.5 years for this, and it's really frustrating," she said.
A Son, Gone
According to WOODTV, Graves was last seen on July 1, 2018, during the Electic Forest festival. Kevin's father, Gary, was worried about his son and continued to message him. He warned him to not "get hooked on something." Kevin assured him that he was there to only "have a good time."
The very same Kevin Graves went missing, Gary received one final text from him. "All it said was, 'Dad, I love you for your service. I love you and someday I will pay you back everything I owe you,'" Gary told Click on Detroit in 2019. "That was the last thing I heard from him. I texted him back and I never got any answers back."
After Kevin Graves' remains were identified, Electric Forest issued a statement on January 3. "We would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to Kevin's family and friends during this difficult time," the statement reads. "We are grateful to all of the agencies involved for their efforts in locating Kevin. Our thoughts remain with everyone affected by his loss."
