Authorities in the US state of New Mexico have launched searches at the former ranch of the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, following new information suggesting that abuse of women and underage girls may have taken place on the property.
Investigators are searching the mountainous area where the ranch is located, where serious crimes are suspected to have been committed during the years Epstein used the property. Authorities say the action was taken after new documents were released in January by the United States Department of Justice. The materials include an allegation that Epstein ordered the burial of the bodies of two foreign girls in the hills near the secluded property.
The investigation was reopened after the New Mexico Attorney General's decision to re-examine suspected criminal activities that may have occurred at the ranch located south of the state capital, Santa Fe.
Last month, New Mexico became the first state in the United States to create a legislative "truth commission" to investigate possible public corruption that may have allowed Epstein to operate in secret at the ranch for about 26 years, until his death in 2019.
The property was sold in 2023 to a Texas businessman and then took on a new name. According to authorities, the current owners have cooperated with investigators and given them access to conduct field searches.
The Epstein dossier has become a recurring political topic in the US, even affecting the administration of President Donald Trump. The release of millions of additional documents on January 30 has also exposed Epstein's social connections to politicians, businessmen and prominent figures from various fields, whom he had invited to his ranch over the years.
