An image of Jeffrey Epstein and his dogs at his Zorro Ranch in southern Santa Fe County included in files released by the U.S. Department of Justice in December 2025.
Four cadaver dogs — Shamus, Gingersnap, Greta and Mini — searched the former Zorro Ranch last month as part of the state’s criminal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s activities in New Mexico.
The state has been tight-lipped about what, if anything, the March search of the 7,500-acre property unearthed — but public records released toThe New Mexicanhelp clarify how it unfolded.
“Investigators used a variety of law enforcement assets to execute the search of the property, including but not limited to vehicles, drones, and cadaver canines,” New Mexico Department of Justice spokesperson Lauren Rodriguez wrote in an email following the recent release of the records.
It's not clear why staff stopped cooperating after an initial report, but as a felon, Epstein wasn't allowed to possess firearms.
The use of cadaver dogs had been speculated on but not previously confirmed publicly.
The Department of Justice earlier this year announced it was reopening a criminal investigation into the southern Santa Fe County property owned by sex offender and financier Epstein until his death in 2019. The ranch, unlike several of Epstein’s other properties, was never thoroughly investigated by federal authorities.
FBI emails in the Epstein files released so far by the U.S. Department of Justice show federal investigatorsdoubted there was evidence leftat the ranch only weeks after Epstein’s death in a New York jail cell.
“At this time we don’t believe there are items still located in the residence that would be of value to the investigation,” an FBI agent wrote in an email Aug. 23, 2019. The agent’s name is redacted.
But an unverified, anonymous tip released as part of the federal document dump alleged the bodies of two girls were buried “somewhere in the hills outside the Zorro.”
A legislative “truth commission” also is investigating Epstein’s potential crimes in New Mexico. The commission is expected to finalize its legal team soon.
Zorro Ranch was sold in 2023 to an LLC called San Rafael Ranch.The New Mexicandiscovered earlier this year the owners are Texas politician Don Huffines and his family.
