New Mexico reopens investigation into allegations at Epstein’s former Zorro Ranch

New Mexico’s attorney general has reopened an investigation into allegations of illegal activity at Jeffrey Epstein s former Zorro Ranch.

Attorney General Raúl Torrez’s office made the announcement Thursday, saying the decision was made after reviewing information in the so-called Epstein files recently released by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Although New Mexico’s initial case was closed in 2019 at the request of federal prosecutors in New York, state prosecutors say now that “revelations outlined in the previously sealed FBI files warrant further examination.”

The New Mexico Department of Justice said special agents and prosecutors at the agency will be seeking immediate access to the complete, unredacted federal case file and intend to work with other law enforcement partners as well as a new truth commission established by state lawmakers to look into activities at the ranch.

“As with any potential criminal matter, we will follow the facts wherever they lead, carefully evaluate jurisdictional considerations, and take appropriate investigative action, including the collection and preservation of any relevant evidence that remains available,” the New Mexico Department of Justice said in a statement.

While Epstein never faced charges in New Mexico, state prosecutors confirmed in 2019 that they had interviewed possible victims who visited the ranch south of Santa Fe. They never elaborated on how many accusers were interviewed or what they say took place at the ranch.

The New Mexico Department of Justice did not immediately respond to emailed questions about why state prosecutors were requested to close the investigation in 2019 or whether there were specific allegations detailed within the recent filings that were released that prompted reopening the investigation.

Reuters news agency reported that state’s Department of Justice is looking into an unverified allegation from a 2019 email in the Epstein files that claimed the bodies of two foreign girls were buried outside the property. A spokesperson told Reuters the department has requested an unredacted copy of the email from the U.S. Department of Justice.

“To know that somebody reported possible bodies being buried on this property is horrifying and must be brought to justice immediately,” New Mexico state representative Andrea Romero told CBS News.

On Tuesday, New Mexico’s truth commission had its first meeting. The bipartisan, four-member panel of state House representatives is charged with investigating allegations that the ranch may have facilitated sexual abuse and sex trafficking.

New Mexico lawmakers also said they want to know why Epstein was not registered as a sex offender there after pleading guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from an underage girl and whether there was corruption among public officials.

Epstein purchased the sprawling Zorro Ranch in New Mexico in 1993 from former Democratic Gov. Bruce King and built a hilltop mansion. Nearby was a private airstrip with a hangar and helipad. The property also included a ranch office, a firehouse and a seven-bay heated garage.

The property was sold by Epstein’s estate in 2023 — with proceeds going toward creditors — to the family of Don Huffines, a Republican running for state comptroller in Texas. In a social media post on X, Huffines said the property has been renamed San Rafael Ranch after a saint associated with healing and that his family plans to operate a Christian retreat there.

A spokesperson for Huffines has said that the owners have never been approached by local, state or federal law enforcement requesting access to the ranch and if they do, full cooperation will be granted.

There are thousands of references to the ranch in the documents released by federal authorities.

Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat, was among the guests to have visited the ranch when Epstein owned it. Following one of the early investigations into the disgraced financier, Richardson donated $50,000 in 2006 gubernatorial campaign contributions from Epstein to charity.

Richardson, who died at age 75 in 2023, also appeared in a flight log as having travelled in 2011 on Epstein’s helicopter from the British Virgin Islands to the U.S. Virgin Islands. Brian Condit, Richardson’s chief of staff, was also listed as a passenger and told CBS News last year that they did not visit the private property Epstein owned there.

New Mexico Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard in 2019 canceled grazing leases held by the ranch after her office was denied access to inspect the nearly 2 square miles of leased state land.

Garcia Richard in a letter sent last week called on federal authorities and state prosecutors to ensure a thorough criminal investigation into allegations related to the ranch. She called the allegations included in the latest documents “deeply disturbing.”

“People deserve to know the truth about what happened on Epstein’s ranch and are looking to leaders for answers,” she said in a statement.

News of the New Mexico investigation came the same day as another major development linked to the Epstein files: the arrest of the former Prince Andrew in the U.K. 

That case relates to what police called “suspicion of misconduct in public office,” not accusations involving young women. Documents released by the Justice Department appear to show that when Andrew was working as a British trade envoy he may have shared confidential government information with Epstein.