The New Mexico Department of Justice announced Monday afternoon that it has begun its search of Zorro Ranch, the property previously owned by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The search kicked off just a day after a massive rally outside the ranch demanded greater accountability for Epstein's associates and justice for survivors. The state DOJ said in a statement that it was assisted by the New Mexico State Police and the Sandoval County Sherriff's Office.
The statement urged the public to stay away from the area and to ground any drones in the area to avoid interfering with the search. The statement also thanked the current property owners for their cooperation. Texas politician Don Huffines bought the ranch along with his family through an anonymous LLC in 2023. Huffines is currently running for state comptroller and announced plans last month to turn the ranch into a Christian retreat center.
Although Epstein survivors have alleged Epstein and others carried out numerous sex crimes at Zorro Ranch, the U.S. Department of Justice requested the state of New Mexico shut down a previous investigation into the property in 2019. U.S. Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez, a Democrat from New Mexico, said at the rally Sunday that the inaction of federal lawmakers and prosecutors has forced survivors to come forward and publicly share their stories of abuse at the hands of powerful men. She called the federal lack of interest in Zorro Ranch a "bipartisan failure."
Amanda Roberts said during the rally that New Mexico is setting the example. "Because if the government isn't going to do it at the high level, then we need to do it as a state. We need to do it as individuals, and we need to continue that pressure.”
Roberts is the sister-in-law of deceased Epstein survivor Virginia Roberts Giuffre.
The state DOJ is seeking credible tips about crimes committed at the ranch through its website nmdoj.gov/ .
