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Details on the investigation into Epstein's Little St. James island evidence
Executive summary
The FBI searched Jeffrey Epstein’s Little St. James (LSJ) island after his July 2019 arrest and again immediately after his death in August 2019; seized items reportedly include hard drives, phones, photo albums, handwritten notes, a “LSJ logbook,” travel logs and an evidence list later released by the DOJ (e.g., a CD labeled “girl pics nude book 4”) [1] [2] [3]. Independent reporting and data leaks have since suggested broader digital footprints — location pings and visitor-coordinate data — that may identify people who went to the island, but many details and names remain contained in unreleased files and government indexes [4] [3].
1. FBI raids and on-site seizures: what was visibly taken
Video and drone footage from August 2019 show FBI and NYPD agents landing on LSJ, driving golf carts across the compound and collecting electronics and other items — reportedly wrapping monitors and removing hard drives, security tapes and other digital evidence — actions consistent with a broad forensic sweep of the property [1] [5] [6] [7]. News organizations described agents packaging computer monitors and electronic devices on-site, indicating a priority on digital media that investigators hope could document contacts, trips and events on the island [5] [6].
2. What the Justice Department’s “evidence list” reveals
In 2025 the DOJ published a three‑page “Evidence List” described in reporting as an index of material seized from Epstein properties, including Little St. James. That list explicitly mentions a folder labeled “LSJ logbook,” travel logs and items such as a CD labeled “girl pics nude book 4,” multiple recording devices, computers, hard drives, memory sticks, photo albums, handwritten notes and financial documents [2] [3]. Those entries underscore that investigators collected both physical and electronic records that could map visitors, payments and activity tied to LSJ [2] [3].
3. The island as a central evidentiary node — logs, boats and templates
Reporting and court filings place LSJ at the center of alleged trafficking operations: prosecutors and the Virgin Islands attorney general cite travel logs, a computerized database, dock and boat records, and employee lists linking girls, staff and trips to/from the island [8] [3]. Vessel logs and an LSJ‑marked boat were described in reporting as methods Epstein used to ferry guests and staff, and investigators have sought those movement records to corroborate victim testimony and identify visitors [3] [9].
4. Digital traces beyond seized devices: location data and data-broker leaks
Independent journalism found that location-data brokers compiled thousands of coordinates tied to visits to Little St. James well after Epstein’s earlier 2008 conviction; WIRED reported a cache of 11,279 coordinates that mapped movements to Epstein’s dock and to residential locations of likely visitors, suggesting another investigative avenue beyond seized island devices [4]. These commercial datasets are imperfect and contested, but they offer a parallel stream of evidence researchers and reporters have analyzed to infer who may have been on the island [4].
5. Limits of public disclosure and remaining unknowns
While the DOJ’s index and news reporting list many categories of evidence, large portions of underlying materials — names appearing in logs, full hard‑drive contents, complete travel manifests and wiretap records that have been referenced in filings — remain unreleased or redacted in public records, and reporting indicates the federal government has withheld many files [3]. Available sources do not mention a comprehensive public list of all individuals named in those LSJ logs; they also do not provide the forensic conclusions investigators may have reached from the seized media [2] [3].
6. Competing interpretations and possible agendas
Prosecutors and the Virgin Islands attorney general frame LSJ evidence as the epicenter of a trafficking operation and emphasize logs and databases linking girls to the island [8] [3]. Conversely, some defenders and commentators have argued that not all names or visits imply criminality and that being listed does not equal wrongdoing — a point noted in neutral reporting about document contents and civil filings [9]. Media outlets examining data-broker leaks warn that commercial location data can misattribute presence and requires corroboration, raising caution about overreliance on such sources [4].
7. Why the island evidence still matters
The mixture of physical evidence (photo albums, passports, financial records), digital media (hard drives, recordings), logbooks, and location datasets creates multiple, intersecting lines investigators can use to corroborate victim testimony, trace networks, and support civil claims against Epstein’s estate and alleged associates [2] [3] [4]. Even years after Epstein’s death, those compilations remain central to ongoing civil suits, criminal inquiries referenced by local authorities, and journalistic reconstructions that aim to identify who visited LSJ and what occurred there [3] [8].
Closing note: Reporting shows investigators prioritized seizing and cataloging LSJ materials and that some indexed items are now public, but major portions of the underlying evidence remain unreleased; follow‑up releases, court filings and forensic summaries will be necessary before the full evidentiary picture is publicly verifiable [2] [3].