Zion Randall, a 27-year-old Olympia resident, died Monday, Aug. 17, at the Bass Canyon music festival after consuming substances purchased from another attendee, according to the Grant County Sheriff's Office.

A Seattle man was arrested that same evening in an undercover sting, and the case is being investigated as a controlled substance homicide, a Class B felony under Washington law that carries up to 10 years in prison.

Grant County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Kyle Foreman identified Randall on Wednesday, Aug. 19, and said a field test pointed to cocaine as the suspected substance.

Foreman told The Olympian that authorities classify the death as a "drug poisoning" rather than an overdose because illicit drugs are not manufactured to any standard, meaning there is no normal dosage or content.

Witnesses told detectives that Randall became ill after consuming the substances and later died at the festival's on-site medical facility. The three-day electronic dance music festival takes place annually at the Gorge Amphitheatre in Grant County.

The arrest

Grant County's Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team learned of Randall's death the evening of Aug. 17 and immediately began interviewing his friends to trace how he obtained the drugs. Detectives identified the suspected dealer as Quincy R. Travers, 28, of Seattle, according to KIRO 7.

That same evening, detectives conducted an undercover buy from Travers before arresting him on suspicion of one count of delivery of a controlled substance and three counts of possession with intent to distribute. Investigators found cocaine, ketamine and MDMA in his possession.

The operation drew on multiple agencies: Yakima County's Law Enforcement Against Drugs Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Washington State Patrol Cannabis Enforcement Response Team and the Grant County Sheriff's Office. Concert venue operator Live Nation also assisted, according to Fox 13 Seattle.

Formal charges have not yet been filed. No court date has been set.

Autopsy pending

Grant County Coroner's death investigator KC Sherwood said the autopsy was performed Wednesday but that definitive cause and manner of death remain unknown. Results may not be available for weeks.

Sherwood called the death a "pretty rare occurrence" for festivals at the Gorge.

Local context

Thurston County recorded 120 drug overdose deaths in 2023, one for every 2,504 residents, according to county public health data. The county's overdose death rate rose roughly 365% between 2019 and 2022.

Katie Strozyk, who manages Thurston County's opioid and overdose response program, told The Guardian in October 2025 that fatalities increased another 6% between the crisis peak and December 2024.

Under RCW 69.50.415, a person who unlawfully delivers a controlled substance that results in the user's death is guilty of controlled substances homicide. If the Grant County Prosecutor's Office files that charge against Travers, it would carry a maximum sentence of 10 years and a $20,000 fine.

The next public milestone in the case will be a charging decision from the Grant County Prosecutor's Office, though no timeline has been announced.