The New Mexico Department of Justice has carried out a search at the secluded ranch once owned by sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, rekindling questions about whether the property was used for the sexual abuse and trafficking of young women and girls.
Authorities searched the sprawling estate known as Zorro Ranch on Monday as part of a renewed investigation launched by Attorney General Raúl Torrez. New Mexico State Police and the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office are assisting.
The New Mexico DOJ announced the investigation Feb. 19 after newly released federal investigative files raised fresh questions about activities at the ranch, where Epstein frequently hosted guests.
Officials say the current owners of the property — the family of Don Huffines, a real estate developer and former Texas legislator who’s now the Trump-endorsed Republican nominee for Texas comptroller — are cooperating with investigators. Authorities searched for potential evidence and attempted to corroborate testimony from alleged victims connected to the ranch, which lies about 30 miles south of Santa Fe.
“The New Mexico Department of Justice will continue to keep the public appropriately informed, support the survivors and follow the facts wherever they lead,” a spokesperson for the New Mexico DOJ said in a press release.
While Epstein faced federal sex-trafficking charges before his death, he was never charged with crimes related to the New Mexico property. The nearly 10,000-acre ranch was purchased by Epstein in 1993 and included a large mansion, guesthouses and a private airstrip.
Epstein reportedly proposed a plan to impregnate multiple women at his New Mexico estate in an effort to “seed the human race” with his DNA, though there’s no evidence he ever executed the plan. Late Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre’s memoir also outlined allegations about meeting politicians and CEOs at Zorro Ranch.
State lawmakers also launched a separate bipartisan “truth commission” last month to investigate what occurred at the ranch and whether anyone enabled Epstein’s alleged crimes over the decades he owned the property.
Ebony Davis is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked at CNN as a campaign reporter covering elections and politics.