00:00New Mexico authorities launched a search of a notorious secluded ranch
00:03previously owned by pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein on the morning of March 9th.
00:09The New Mexico Department of Justice announced in a statement that it searched Epstein's former Zorro Ranch
00:14at the direction of Attorney General Raul Torres alongside local and state police.
00:20Torres reopened an investigation into the ranch where the convicted sex offender once entertained guests
00:2530 miles south of Santa Fe in February.
00:28An original case open to investigate the secretive outpost was closed in 2019
00:34at the request of federal prosecutors in New York.
00:37State prosecutors have since argued that revelations outlined in the previously sealed FBI files
00:43warrant further examination.
00:45Epstein has never been charged with criminal wrongdoing in New Mexico
00:49but the state attorney general's office said in 2019 that it had interviewed possible victims
00:54who visited the massive ranch.
00:56New Mexico state legislators also established a new commission last month
01:01to look into whether the desert ranch was used to facilitate sexual abuse and sex trafficking.
01:07This search is part of the criminal investigation announced by the New Mexico Department of Justice
01:12on February 19th into allegations of illegal activity at Epstein's ranch prior to Epstein's 2019 death,
01:19the state DOJ wrote in a statement.
01:22Authorities noted that they have had the cooperation of the ranch's current property owners
01:27who have allowed access to the search.
01:30The deceased child sex trafficker bought Zorro Ranch in 1993
01:34from former Democratic governor Bruce King, building a sprawling property that included a 26,700 square foot
01:43hacienda-style mansion, guest houses, a pool, ranch offices, a firehouse, heated garages,
01:50a private airstrip, a hanger, and a helipad.
01:54The property was later sold by Epstein's estate in 2023
01:57and purchased by the family of former Texas state senator Don Huffhines,
02:02a candidate for Texas comptroller who won the Republican primary.
02:07The New Mexico Department of Justice will continue to keep the public appropriately informed,
02:11support the survivors, and follow the facts wherever they lead,
02:15the agency said in a statement.
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