Investigators in New Mexico began searching on Monday the former ranch of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as part of a probe into allegations that women and girls were abused there, authorities said.
The search is the latest fallout from the publication in January by the US Justice Department of millions of files related to the late financier, which mention the "Zorro ranch" thousands of times.
"This search is part of the criminal investigation announced by the New Mexico Department of Justice on February 19th into allegations of illegal activity at Epstein's ranch prior to Epstein's 2019 death," the New Mexico Department of Justice said in a statement.
New Mexico Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury said the state's justice department was leaving "no stone unturned" in the search.
"Epstein survivors have waited for far too long for justice and New Mexico is leading the way in the pursuit of truth and accountability," she posted on X.
Epstein was convicted in 2008 of soliciting sex from girls as young as 14, but died in a New York jail cell in 2019 before he could be tried on sex trafficking charges.
After Epstein's death, a woman using the name Jane Doe 15 said Epstein raped her at the ranch when she was 15.
Another woman, Annie Farmer, said that Epstein's jailed accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell sexually abused her at the ranch when she was a teenager.
