What's the future of Jeffrey Epstein's Zorro Ranch in New Mexico?
In the 1990s, Jeffrey Epstein built a 21,000-square-foot mansion in the sprawling New Mexico desert.
Just 30 miles south of Santa Fe, Zorro Ranch has sprawling gardens, an airplane landing strip, corrals, stables for livestock and homes for ranch workers.
Epstein eventually expanded his property by leasing state land, including part of the Creston, a ridgeline located mostly on state trust land.
In August of 2019, the billionaire and convicted sex offender died in jail while facing federal charges of sex trafficking.
Today, according to Daniel Weiner, an attorney for his estate, about 7,500 acres is still owned by Cypress Inc., a company to which Epstein had ties.
Sister station KOAT has learned Zorro Ranch and the property it sits on will soon be up for sale.
David Ryan is a bit of a professional hiker. He writes books and blogs about his explorations on trails in the Land of Enchantment.
“I've got a state recreation access permit in here,” Ryan told KOAT.
This special permit allows Ryan to access state land and explore his passion.
“I've always had an interest in archeology,” he said.
Much of that archeology is found on property owned by the state.
“I was looking at this website about archeology in the Galisteo Basin and one of the entries was about the Creston and it showed pictures of these spectacular petroglyphs,” he said.
Ryan wanted to see it himself, so he looked at his map, found a county road and a way to get to the Creston without crossing private property.
“I found that sliver of state land that allows you to access and that's when I ran into the Jeffrey Epstein security,” he said.
Epstein’s estate controls the land his company owns next to the Creston.
“All of a sudden, here was a cloud of dust of a pickup truck approaching us and that's when a woman who works for the ranch jumped out with a gun to tell us to stop,” he said.
Ryan said he was told he was on private property, but he was certain he had not trespassed.
“I knew I was on state land because I had my GPS I had plotted out coordinates to walk to, to make sure I stayed on state land the entire time,” he said.
Ryan filed an incident report with the New Mexico Land Commission.
“I recorded my route and that's part of what I provided for the state was to show this is where I walked,” he said.
State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard knew just who to contact.
She had just wrapped up a legal battle with the executors of the Epstein estate, the owners of that land bordering the state property where Ryan said he was hiking.
“The grazing leases are contracts that incentivize this agricultural practice that has been going on in New Mexico for generations,” Garcia Richard told KOAT.
Epstein’s name and signature are on some of those state land leases. With approval from the state, he moved an antique train car to the state property. What that car was used for is still unknown.
“When we came into office in 2019 it was brought to our attention that we were still in business with this particular entity and this predator,” she adds.
At that time, Garcia Richard broke ties with Zorro Ranch and canceled the lease. But she reached back out to the estate after hearing what happened to Ryan.
“It is a little unnerving to have someone point a gun at you and tell you to stop,” Ryan said.
Weiner replied to Garcia Richard and apologized for any distress or misunderstanding from the interaction.
Letters obtained from the state reveal that these executors live in New York and the Virgin Islands.
Weiner told KOAT five employees maintain the 7,500-acre ranch and their sole purpose is to keep it up so he can be sold later this year.
In a statement, he adds that the money from the sale will go to the Epstein Victim’s Compensation Program.
“I wrote specifically to federal authorities so they can seize the property,” Attorney General Hector Balderas said.
Balderas said while he wants that money to go to the victims, he wants the general government to seize the property.
A spokesperson with the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, who filed the child sex trafficking charges, declined to comment on whether seizing the property was in the works.
So, for now, the property is being monitored by cameras while the estate prepares to put Zorro Ranch on the market.
Weiner says at this time there is no asking price or whispers of interested buyers.
Epstein’s estate controls properties in Florida, New York and the U.S. Virgin Islands.