New Mexico Authorities Searching for Buried Bodies at Epstein's Zorro Ranch

Jeffrey Epstein's once notorious Zorro Ranch in New Mexico is now crawling with investigators -- and TMZ has learned the authorities are trying to see if there's any substance to rumors dead bodies were buried on the property.

Sources familiar with the situation tell us ... the New Mexico Department of Justice is working in coordination with the ranch's new owner, Don Huffines, a Dallas-based real estate mogul who is currently running for Texas Comptroller.

Huffines and his family purchased the property in 2023 and then renamed it Rancho de San Rafael in honor of the patron saint of healing, promising to turn the land into a Christian retreat.

Our sources say the search by investigators at the ranch was several weeks in the making, and the owners are "very happy that the search is taking place," having pledged their full cooperation.

We're told it's expected the investigators will share their findings with the public if they do uncover anything. Our sources note the primary focus of the probe is to determine whether any bodies are buried on the land.

New Mexico investigators began zeroing in on the ranch after the latest tranche of Epstein Files was released on January 30, containing unsubstantiated, anonymous tips.

One of the tips claimed Epstein covered up the deaths of two girls he abused by requesting they be buried in the mountains close to the property.

Epstein owned the ranch from 1993 until his death in 2019 while in federal detention awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.