Dead Bodies and a 300-year-old Death Bell: What will be found on Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch?
A historic picture of the the Happy Bell at the San Jose de Gracia Mission Church in Las Trampas, a village in Northern New Mexico between Santa Fe and Taos. A second bell known as the Death Bell was stolen.
Department of Justice Epstein files
The reach of the mysteries involving Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch in New Mexico now span several centuries — as new documents reveal that the FBI’s Albuquerque office was investigating whether Epstein had a stolen historical artifact that dates back hundreds of years stored on his sprawling NM property.
The artifact was a “death bell” that was once housed at the San Jose de Gracia Mission Church in Las Trampas, a village in Northern New Mexico between Santa Fe and Taos. The church was built in 1760 and is considered one of the best examples of Spanish Colonial architecture in the Southwest U.S. It is also a National Historic Landmark.
The lore about the missing church bell only adds to the questions about why the Justice Department never searched Epstein’s ranch back in 2019 — when at least two victims alleged they were sexually assaulted there, and another tipster claimed that two girls’ bodies are possibly buried there.
The history of the bells is contained in an FBI intelligence reported in the Justice Department’s online Epstein library, and was first reported by the Santa Fe New Mexican.
Historic lore said the old church had two bells comprised of gold, silver and other precious metals. The two bells originally housed in two bell towers at the church. One was known as “Maria del Refugio” (comfort in death), which was rung for the masses of the dead or for the death of an adult. The other bell, known as the “Maria de la Gracia” (a spiritual grace) was known as the “happy bell.”
The “Death bell,” as it came to be called, was smaller than the other bell. During the church’s restoration in the 1930s, the bell was stolen.
During the church’s restoration in the 1930s, the Death Bell was stolen. Department of Justice Epstein files.
In November 2019, Timothy Lopez told the FBI in Albuquerque, New Mexico that he recalled seeing Epstein’s ranch featured in a local real estate magazine in 2014 or 2015. In the photos accompanying the article, he said he noticed a room filled with Spanish Colonial art — and noticed a bell he thought might be the Death bell that had been stolen more than 80 years earlier.
The 7,400-ace property, which Epstein called “Zorro Ranch,” was purchased by Epstein from former New Mexico Governor Bruce King in 1993. The disgraced financier built a hilltop mansion with a private runway on the property, which was sold after Epstein’s death to the family of former Texas state Sen. Don Huffines, who won the Republican primary for Texas state comptroller last week.
After Epstein’s arrest in July 2019, the FBI search Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse, but did not immediately search Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean until after his August 2019 death. They never searched his New Mexico compound, despite having evidence of crimes that occurred there, including the tip about the stolen church bell.
The FBI’s Albuquerque office in 2019, however, did investigate Lopez’s tip. One of the “key findings” listed in the FBI report was that “photos and videos indicated the Zorro Ranch had what appears to be a collection of New Mexico Colonial style artwork and artifacts.”
The agents began examining social media posts from some of the people who worked and visited his ranch to possibly track down an image of the bell. The intelligence report also mentions that the FBI gathered a list of items from the ranch identified as evidence — or in preparation for a potential forfeiture action by the Justice Department in 2019.
A drone photo of the ranch, as well as online photos of a wedding on the property that was taken by one of Epstein’s pilots, Larry Visoski, revealed that the front door had a bell-shaped ornamental feature.
(Visoski also owns a home he built on a piece of the NM property that Epstein gave to him many years ago).
The front door of Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch estate in New Mexico. A tipster in 2019 told the FBI he thought he recognized the Death Bell in real estate photos of the estate. Investigators looked into it, but didn’t get far and the probe was closed. Department of Justice Epstein files
But agents, despite doing a lot of historical research, didn’t get far, and the probe was concluded. A separate report noted that the FBI did not have enough evidence to obtain a search warrant to look for the bell, and the real estate magazine Lopez referenced was never located.
Still, the documents about the sexual assaults that were reported to have occurred on the property led to public outcry in recent weeks. That that led to New Mexico authorities finally on Monday beginning a long overdue search of the property. Of course, by now, any evidence of any sex crimes committed there has likely disappeared just like the long-vanished death bell.
The DOJ, in another report, noted that they didn’t believe they had enough probable cause to obtain a search warrant.
“At this time, we don’t believe there are items still located in the residence that would be of value to the investigation,” the report said.
The FBI abandoned the search effort despite receiving a separate allegation that Epstein had ordered the burial of two girls outside of the property. In the email sent to a local radio show host in November 2019, an individual who claimed to be a former employee at the ranch said the girls were buried “somewhere in the hills outside of Zorro.”
That unverified tip led the state of New Mexico to open up a probe into the property. New Mexico lawmakers also formed a “truth commission” to investigate allegations of criminal activity and public corruption related to the ranch.
No word yet on whether any digging is going on the property.
Editor’s Note: This article was reported with the assistance of Sourcebase.ai.
This story was originally published March 12, 2026 at 5:30 AM.
