New Mexico state Reps. Rebecca Dow, R-District 38, and Stefani Lord, R-District 22, told Newsmax on Friday that a broader investigation of Jeffrey Epstein's Zorro Ranch is needed, saying any inquiry should reach beyond individual allegations to examine failures in state systems and oversight.
On "Rob Schmitt Tonight," the two lawmakers said the state's Truth Commission should conduct a wide-ranging review of how Epstein was able to operate in New Mexico and whether legal gaps, delayed action, or institutional breakdowns allowed misconduct to go unexamined.
Dow said the inquiry must stay focused on Epstein's victims and avoid becoming politicized.
"The victim should stay front and center. It should not be politicized, and no stone should be left unturned," she said.
She argued that investigators should examine laws, policies, and power structures that may have allowed predators to exploit vulnerable people in the state.
Lord said the commission's task was straightforward: "They have to follow the evidence wherever it leads."
She said investigators should determine why Epstein was not registered as a sex offender in New Mexico and whether any investigations were delayed, shut down, or influenced by people with law enforcement or political connections.
"He did not operate in a vacuum," she said.
Their comments came as New Mexico officials have intensified scrutiny of the property.
On March 9, state investigators had begun searching Epstein's former ranch amid allegations the property may have been used for sexual abuse and sex trafficking of young women.
The lawmakers also referred to a 2019 tip alleging two foreign girls were buried near the ranch.
That allegation remains unproven.
Reuters reported Feb. 19 that New Mexico's Department of Justice was investigating the claim, which stemmed from a redacted 2019 email released by the U.S. Department of Justice, while The Associated Press has likewise reported only that authorities were examining allegations tied to the property.
A radio host who received the email turned it over to the FBI, Lord said, and the lawmaker questioned why it did not prompt more visible action at the time. She said the investigation should no longer remain at what she described as a "surface level."
Dow said the case should not be treated as an isolated episode.
She linked the ranch allegations to broader concerns about missing and exploited women in New Mexico, including on tribal land, and said the commission would fall short if it failed to identify reforms aimed at preventing future abuse.
"We see headlines in New Mexico weekly on our Navajo Nation, on our Indian land, where we have missing Indigenous women. This is a weekly headline in New Mexico," she said.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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