A sealed email. Three million released files. And a chilling claim that may finally force investigators to dig — literally.

For years, Jeffrey Epstein’s 7,600-acre Zorro Ranch sat in the high desert of New Mexico like a forgotten crime scene — known to survivors, whispered about by locals, yet never formally searched by federal investigators. That silence may finally be ending.
Following the release of more than 3.5 million previously sealed Justice Department documents under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, New Mexico’s Attorney General Raúl Torrez has officially reopened a criminal investigation into the remote property, located approximately 30 miles southeast of Santa Fe near the small town of Stanley.
At the center of the renewed probe is a disturbing anonymous email, originally sent in November 2019 — just months after Epstein’s death in federal custody — to Eddy Aragon, a conservative New Mexico radio host who had been publicly discussing Epstein’s local ties on his program.
The Email That Changed Everything
The sender, claiming to be a former Zorro Ranch employee, wrote words that would go on to shock investigators and the public alike: “Did you know somewhere in the hills outside the Zorro, two foreign girls were buried on orders of Jeffrey and Madam G? Both died by strangulation during rough, fetish sex.”
“Madam G” is widely interpreted as a reference to Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime associate and convicted sex trafficking accomplice, who is currently serving a 20-year federal prison sentence.
The anonymous sender claimed to possess seven videos allegedly taken from Epstein’s home, including footage of the financier engaged in sexual acts with minors. The sender offered to provide the videos — and the burial coordinates — in exchange for one bitcoin, worth approximately $8,000 at the time.
Aragon told reporters he immediately forwarded the email to the FBI and did not engage with the sender. A 2021 FBI report, included in the newly released files, confirmed Aragon had visited an FBI field office to report the communication.
What investigators did with that information — if anything — remains unknown. A Reuters review of thousands of documents found no follow-up references to the allegations, and there is no public record of federal authorities ever physically searching the Zorro Ranch property.
A State Left in the Dark
The revelation that federal prosecutors actively discouraged New Mexico from conducting its own investigation has added a layer of institutional frustration to the case. In 2019, shortly after Epstein’s arrest in New York, then-New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas opened a state-level inquiry into potential crimes at Zorro Ranch. That investigation was shut down after federal prosecutors in Manhattan requested New Mexico “cease any investigation into sex trafficking,” promising to share any relevant findings with state authorities.
Those findings, it now appears, were never shared. And the ranch was never searched.
“Although the State of New Mexico’s prior investigation was closed in 2019 at the request of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, revelations outlined in the previously sealed FBI files warrant further examination,” said Lauren Rodriguez, chief of staff for the New Mexico Department of Justice.
The department has since sent a formal letter to Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, requesting an unredacted copy of the 2019 email and all associated records. The FBI has declined to comment.
A Property With a Dark History
Epstein purchased the Zorro Ranch in 1993 from former New Mexico Governor Bruce King for a reported $12 million, operating it through a shell company called Zorro Trust. Over three decades, it expanded to encompass over 7,600 acres of rugged high desert, complete with a hilltop mansion, a private airstrip, hangar, helipad, seven-bay garage, and a firehouse.
Multiple survivors have alleged the property was used as a trafficking and abuse site. Annie Farmer, one of Epstein’s earliest known accusers, stated that she was sexually abused by both Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at the ranch in 1996. According to the New York Times, Epstein had even spoken openly about plans to use the New Mexico property as a kind of genetic breeding ground, expressing desires to impregnate multiple women there to spread his DNA.
Other documents in the recently released files reference speculation about underground tunnels, claims of multiple subterranean levels beneath the property, and connections to organizations that reportedly construct bunkers. These claims remain unverified.
A Truth Commission and $2.5 Million Investigation
With public pressure mounting, New Mexico’s state legislature moved swiftly. The House unanimously passed HR1, a bill establishing a bipartisan “truth commission” — a four-member panel with subpoena power tasked with investigating all allegations connected to Zorro Ranch. The panel is authorized to collect testimony from alleged victims, local residents, and anyone with knowledge of activities at the property, with an initial report due by July 2026 and the investigation continuing through year’s end.
The state has authorized $2.5 million to fund the effort — the first formal, state-funded investigation specifically targeting the New Mexico ranch.
New Mexico State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard, whose office manages trust lands adjacent to the property, was among the first officials to call for the investigation. Her office uncovered the anonymous email while reviewing recently released Epstein files. “Given the proximity of the state trust land to the ranch,” her spokesperson said, the commissioner “felt it was important to investigate further.”
A New Owner, a New Chapter
The Zorro Ranch itself is no longer in Epstein’s estate. In 2023, former Texas state Senator Don Huffines purchased the property, with proceeds reportedly directed toward Epstein’s victims. Huffines has since announced plans to transform the site into a Christian retreat — a striking contrast to the allegations surrounding its past.
Huffines has pledged full cooperation with authorities conducting the investigation.
The DOJ’s Caution — and Why It Matters
The U.S. Department of Justice has issued a general caution that some documents within the massive Epstein file release “contain untrue and sensationalist claims” and may include anonymous accusations that were never corroborated — or were, in some cases, determined to be false.
The buried girls allegation falls squarely within that uncertain territory: a single anonymous email, never officially followed up, now driving one of the most significant state-level criminal investigations in New Mexico’s modern history.
Whether investigators will find anything in the desert hills surrounding the old ranch — evidence, remains, or nothing at all — remains to be seen. But for the survivors who have spent decades seeking accountability, the fact that someone is finally looking may itself be a form of justice long overdue.
The New Mexico truth commission is expected to deliver its first report by July 2026. The state Department of Justice says it is “moving quickly and deliberately” on the investigation.