Drugs investigation after death of young Sunshine Coast couple at Rabbits Eat Lettuce Festival

Police will investigate if drugs were involved in the deaths of a young southeast Queensland man and woman found in their tent at a music festival, southwest of Brisbane.

POLICE will investigate if drugs were involved in the deaths of a young Sunshine Coast man and woman found in their tent at the Rabbits Eat Lettuce Festival, southwest of Brisbane.

The Maleny man, 24, and Nambour woman, 22, were found in their tent within the grounds of the festival at Cherrabah Resort in Elbow Valley, near Warwick, about 9.30am yesterday.

Festival's controversial clash with police before deaths

Rabbits Eat Lettuce: Two people found dead in tent at music festival

Police yesterday said early investigations suggested the deaths were not suspicious, but an official cause was yet to be determined and a report would be prepared for the coroner.

The stage at the Rabbits Eat Lettuce Festival where thousands of revellers made the most of the Easter weekend near Warwick on the Southern Downs. Picture: Facebook

Authorities are investigating if the pair had been dead for up to a day before they were found.

A man whose wife was camping near the couple, said their tent was closed on Saturday night. She had seen them on Friday night and Saturday morning.

“Their tent was closed, she thought they might have been asleep,” he said.

Privately-contracted paramedics are believed to have treated about 250 festival-goers, but only about 5 per cent of cases involved substance abuse and none were serious.

Police investigate the scene where two young campers at the weekend’s Rabbits Eat Lettuce Festival, were found dead in their tent. Picture: 9news

Festival organisers have sent condolences to the pair’s family and friends and said the wellbeing and safety of patrons was their No. 1 priority.

“Our thoughts and concerns are predominantly for their wellbeing and privacy during this time,” organisers said in a statement. “It is truly heartbreaking to lose some beautiful souls that we consider part of our extended family.

“We have highly trained first aid, professional paramedics working 24 hours during throughout the festival and an on-call doctor onsite.”

Police carried out roadside drug and alcohol testing during the Rabbit Eats Lettuce Festival. Picture: Liam Kidston.

The statement said Queensland Police and ambulance were on duty in a “user-pay capacity”.

“We work together with authorities to ensure that the environment we provide is as safe as possible,” the statement said. “The relevant authorities will be investigating to determine exactly what happened.
“It is appropriate that we give them the chance to do their work and respect the deceased families’ right to privacy and avoid any speculation.”

Police yesterday dismissed reports on social media speculating the deaths were caused by a fallen tree.

The Rabbits Eat Lettuce festival is described on its website as “tribal Easter festival” and “a place of Freedom, Love & Dance Music”.

“Come and camp in a beautiful natural environment and form a community of like-minded souls,” it says.
The festival moved from Kippenduff in northern NSW to the Southern Downs for the first time this year, after a sister festival was held at Cherrabah in November.