Investigators have commenced a probe into the ranch formerly owned by Jeffrey Epstein, where a significant artifact known as the “death bell” may be located. Epstein, a notorious criminal, possessed multiple residences in the United States, including an expansive 8,000-acre property in New Mexico called “Zorro Ranch.” Acting on fresh information disclosed in the Epstein Files, the state’s attorney general, Raúl Torrez, authorized a search of the property.
Allegations emerged that Epstein may have buried the bodies of two girls near the secluded Zorro Ranch. The FBI delved into the possibility that the property harbored a stolen “death bell,” an ancient artifact that originally resided in the San Jose de Gracia Mission Church in Las Trampas, New Mexico. The bell, crafted from gold and silver, vanished during a renovation in the 1930s and has been missing for nearly a century.
Recent revelations from the Epstein Files have raised questions about why law enforcement did not investigate the ranch in 2019. Documents indicated that the FBI in Albuquerque received a tip in 2019 from an individual who believed he saw the historic “death bell” on the property in images from a local real estate magazine years earlier.
Despite Epstein’s arrest in 2019 and a search of his New York City townhouse, authorities did not explore his New Mexico residence. The FBI conducted aerial surveillance of the ranch and reviewed online images of a wedding held there but did not physically inspect the property. While an anonymous email alleging the burial of two girls near the ranch surfaced in 2019, law enforcement halted their inquiry into Zorro Ranch, citing a lack of valuable evidence within the residence.
The email, forwarded to the FBI by a radio host, detailed the supposed burial of two foreign girls on Epstein’s orders. The sender claimed to be a former ranch employee and described the girls’ deaths as occurring during violent sexual encounters. With the release of millions of documents from the Epstein files, the New Mexico Department of Justice is urging individuals with credible information to come forward and assist in the investigation.