Famed Montana paleontologist Jack Horner named in Epstein files
by Keila Szpaller, Daily Montanan
February 2, 2026
Now-retired Montana State University professor and renowned paleontologist Jack Horner thanked Jeffrey Epstein and “the girls” for his visit in an email to an assistant in 2012.
“Although we didn’t find any dinosaur fossils, we did discover that he has ocean front property, a nice beach with loads of shellfish, potential for marine reptiles, and a really cool old railway,” Horner wrote in one email. “Jeffrey and the girls were very gracious hosts as were Brice and [redacted]. And of course, the food was incredible!”
The email is part of the most recent release of the Epstein files by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Horner, who retired from MSU in 2016 and was the curator of paleontology at the Museum of the Rockies for more than 30 years, is listed in at least four separate emails in the Epstein files regarding a visit to one of Epstein’s properties in 2012.
Epstein had properties around the world, including a couple of private islands in the Caribbean, a mansion in Manhattan, and a ranch in Santa Fe, among other properties, according to Town and Country.
He brought some of the most powerful men in the world to his properties, where he hosted parties and business and charity events.
Epstein faced federal charges for soliciting sex from a 14-year-old girl at the time of his death in 2019.
Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice released three million new pages of documents, images and videos related to Epstein, who pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution and soliciting prostitution from someone under the age of 18, according to a timeline from the Associated Press.
The files have been controversial in part because President Donald Trump earlier resisted their release. CNN said Trump is named more than 1,000 times in the most recent release of documents, but Trump has denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.
The emails regarding Horner related to planning a visit with Epstein in 2012 and a possible visit by Epstein to Montana.
In his thank you note to Epstein’s assistant, Horner said, “Jeffrey … indicated that he might be able to come out to visit a dinosaur site in September” and discussed specific locations including one in northern Montana and one 350 miles east of Bozeman.
Horner could not be reached for comment on Monday afternoon through an email address or social media account believed to be associated with him. The Harry Walker Agency speakers bureau, which represents him and is based in New York, could not be reached late Monday afternoon.
MSU spokesperson Mike Becker said Horner worked as a professor of paleontology for 33 years.
“Our records show he visited a ranch owned by Jeffrey Epstein in New Mexico in the summer of 2012 for a paleontological tour,” Becker said in an email.
He did not immediately respond to whether MSU knew at the time that Horner was visiting with Epstein and if so, whether university officials had any concerns given Epstein’s conviction.
In April 2012, an email titled “Jack Horner to Ranch” said Horner would “love to see your ranch.”
On Monday, April 16, 2012, Lesley Groff reminded Epstein to call Horner and provided his direct line at Montana State University.
Groff, Epstein’s executive assistant, was a name that repeatedly came up in interviews with his alleged victims, according to an ABC story. The story said Groff allegedly helped schedule massage appointments for women and minor girls, citing multiple sources.
On Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012, an email about the visit confirms no allergies for Horner; on Friday, Aug. 3, another email indicates Horner would arrive in “Alb” that day.
Following the visit, Horner sent an email to an Epstein assistant discussing the financier’s interest in supporting his “Dinochicken Project,” which refers to work Horner led on reverse engineering embryos to create chickens that more closely resemble extinct species.
Horner closed another email with, “Please give my best to Jeffrey and the girls.”
In a 2016 People magazine story, Horner said he was let go from the Museum of the Rockies for his relationship with a 19-year-old student, whom he said he married in 2012 – the year of his Epstein communications – but later divorced. Horner was 70 at the time. (According to People, the student was not one of his students.)
In a news release announcing Horner’s retirement, MSU noted his achievements in the field of paleontology, including discovering the first dinosaur eggs in the western Hemisphere.
“Horner is widely recognized as one of the world’s foremost paleontologists and was a leader in the now-common theory that dinosaurs were warm-blooded social creatures more like birds than cold-blooded animals like lizards,” the news release said.
It noted he served as a scientific consultant to the popular “Jurassic Park” movies directed by Steven Spielberg and was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship “Genius Grant” award.
Horner’s latest book is “Dinosaurs of Montana.” He promoted it at Montana Tech in Butte for the official launch in December 2025.
In 2021, Epstein’s ranch in Santa Fe was listed for sale for $27.5 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. It sold in 2023.
Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while in prison in New York awaiting trial for sex trafficking charges.
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