On Feb. 19, 2026, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez’s office announced it had reopened a criminal investigation into Zorro Ranch, Jeffrey Epstein’s former property about 30 miles south of Santa Fe. After reviewing documents in the U.S. Justice Department’s Epstein release, state prosecutors said the previously sealed FBI files warranted further examination. They planned to seek the complete, unredacted federal case file.

New Mexico had opened a case in 2019 and interviewed possible victims who had visited the ranch, but closed it at the request of federal prosecutors in New York. Epstein never faced charges in the state.

The same week, a new legislative truth commission held its first meeting. Created by the state House with $2 million in funding and chaired by state Rep. Andrea Romero, the four-member bipartisan panel plans to hire investigators and lawyers. It will look into whether the ranch was used for sexual abuse and trafficking, why Epstein was never registered as a sex offender in New Mexico after his 2008 guilty plea, and whether any public officials were corrupt.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, asked about newly surfaced allegations that victims’ bodies were buried near the ranch, said that if there are deaths and bodies, the state will find them.

Epstein bought the ranch in 1993 from former Gov. Bruce King. His estate sold it in 2023 to the family of Texas Republican Don Huffines, who renamed it San Rafael Ranch and plans to run it as a Christian retreat.