Journalist claims Epstein’s Zorro Ranch was built by a government-linked contractor near nuclear labs

Fresh allegations surrounding Jeffrey Epstein’s sprawling New Mexico estate, Zorro Ranch, are pulling the notorious property back into the spotlight this time with claims that extend well beyond the abuse already documented there.

A veteran journalist has alleged the ranch may have served a dual purpose: as a site for Epstein’s orchestrated abuse and as a strategically positioned outpost near two United States nuclear weapons laboratories, raising unsettling questions about possible surveillance activity.

Simultaneously, survivors who say they were held at the property have begun speaking publicly about what they endured there. Journalist Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez laid out her findings in a nearly 3,000-word report, focusing on who she believes constructed the ranch.

According to her research, the estate was likely built by Bradbury Stamm, a major government-linked contractor typically associated with large-scale military and institutional projects not private residences. The firm has documented ties to construction work in Los Alamos, New Mexico, the birthplace of the United States’ first nuclear weapons programme.

Valdes-Rodriguez said the discovery left her shaken. She admitted she was “terrified” and said the realization made it “hard to sleep.” She described it as “weird” that Epstein would commission a contractor with deep roots in “large-scale military, industrial, and government contract construction” to build a personal home, arguing the choice only makes sense when viewed alongside the ranch’s proximity to two nuclear facilities.

“The choice of Bradbury Stamm to build Epstein’s Haunted House stops seeming odd entirely,” she wrote, adding that it instead “starts looking more like exactly the right call.” She maintained that everything in her report is drawn from the “public record” and is not speculative.

The human cost of what allegedly happened at Zorro Ranch has also come into sharper relief through a recent “60 Minutes Australia” segment featuring victims and advocates. One woman, who chose to remain anonymous, said she was trafficked across several of Epstein’s properties but described the New Mexico ranch as the most deeply disturbing, largely because of its isolation.

She recalled being confined to her room for long periods, “like a mouse in a trap,” waiting for the knock that meant she was being summoned. “Jeffrey is ready for his massage now,” she said. She would be told a phrase she described as a deeply sinister code for repeated sexual abuse.

A male victim’s account was also relayed during the segment by Representative Melanie Stansbury, who said the man alleged he had been drugged, taken to the ranch, and subjected to deeply disturbing experiences while incapacitated.

Stansbury described Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell as “serial abusers” and “super predators,” saying such behaviour appeared to have defined the core of their lives. Epstein died in 2019. The full extent of his network remains the subject of ongoing investigation and public scrutiny.