The News-Press and Naples Daily News are examining the Epstein files on the U.S. Department of Justice website for information relevant to Southwest Florida. We'll periodically report our findings.
Nearly 100 phone calls linked to Naples are in theEpstein files.
A 99-page file of documents list 92 calls in 2005 between Jan. 4 and March 16.
In multiple AT&T-detail logs included in the records, Naples appears as a destination city in entries in those three months. And the phone's owner is shown in records with a Lantana address in Palm Beach County.
The logs show most of the calls ― with all phone numbers redacted ― were for one minute, with the longest for 49 minutes at 3:13 p.m. on Feb. 8, 2005.
The records appear only as line-item usage entries and provide no context about the caller, recipient or purpose beyond date, billing category and time.
The News-Press and Naples Daily News in early February 2026 ran a keyword search that turned up 231 references to Fort Myers.
The Epstein Library ― as it's called on the U.S. Department of Justice website ― contains millions of documents online. They include everything from emails to PDF documents to a bill a Bonita Springs fine arts gallery sent to Jeffrey Epstein's home in New York City.
More than 1,000 women and children werevictims of Epstein, the Justice Department has said. Many of them have referred to "Epstein Island," which is Little Saint James ― a 70-acre private island Epstein owned in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Documents in the Epstein files showed a dozen checks from Jege Inc. in the Virgin Islands, to Christopher Higgins of Fort Myers, and one to his business. Most of the checks were drawn from Deutsche Bank Trust Co. Americas in New York City.
Jege Inc. was a Virgin Islands corporation that conducted business throughout the U.S. including Florida. In one lawsuit by a victim against the Epstein estate, a 2020 court filing said Jege was an Epstein company.
And Jege (sometimes showing as JEGE) was the owner of Epstein's Boeing 727-100 that received the nickname the "Lolita Express."
Epstein, who died in August 2019,sold Jege to a Georgia businessmanin June 2019 ― about a month before Epstein was charged with orchestrating a sex-trafficking ring and abusing dozens of underage girls.
A LinkedIn search shows Christopher Higgins since August 2014 had worked as chief pilot/flight instructor with Fly Rite Aviation, 607 Danley Drive, Suite 106, Fort Myers. The LinkedInwebsitesays Higgins founded the airline transport business in 2012.
Higgins identified himself when a journalist called Feb. 12, 2026. When the journalist mentioned that Higgins was in the Epstein files, a person who answered Higgins' phone said, "I'm sorry, I'm not interested," then hung up.
