Little Saint James: visitors and transfers

Court records, travel correspondence and firsthand accounts describe how visitors reached Jeffrey Epstein’s island. The routes connect flights, marinas, boats and helicopters with dated visits and professional trips. This report brings those records together by journey.

Reaching the island

The island has no airport. Visitors reached Little Saint James by boat or helicopter. Records describe transfers through St. Thomas, boat departures from nearby islands and marinas, and visits by people already sailing in the Virgin Islands. A WIRED investigation traced device movements between American Yacht Harbor and the island dock during 2016–2019. Map lines connect the locations described in the cited accounts.

March 2006: the scientists’ excursion

Scientists attending a physics conference took a short boat trip to Little Saint James for a barbecue picnic. NPR’s reporting identifies Stephen Hawking and includes island recollections from Alan Guth and Jim Peebles. Peebles described arriving at the beach and being met by a guide.

2010, 2011 and 2015: Jes Staley

The Upper Tribunal recorded a January 15, 2010 email exchange about Staley’s arrival and visit; he accepted that he apparently met Epstein on the island before sailing onward to Norman Island. In January 2011, Staley was sailing aboard his boat near Christmas Cove. Epstein arranged an island tour while absent. On April 12, 2015, Staley and his family visited for lunch after traveling to the Caribbean on Epstein’s plane and then sailing to the island. These visits are recorded in the tribunal’s account of their relationship.

2012: Howard Lutnick

Lutnick acknowledged an island lunch with his family in 2012. He told lawmakers they had been aboard a boat nearby. Reuters reported that the lunch lasted about two hours.

November 2014: Reid Hoffman and Joi Ito

Hoffman and Ito visited Little Saint James in November 2014. Scheduling correspondence arranged helicopter transportation. On November 29, Epstein wrote that he had arrived with both men. Records also place them on the subsequent Boston-bound flight. The travel sequence connects Florida, St. Thomas, the island and Boston; individual transfer times remain itinerary details.

November 30, 2014: Lisa Randall’s return flight

The Harvard Crimson reported Randall on the St. Thomas-to-Boston passenger manifest and described a proposed boat pickup at Cruz Bay, an island stop and helicopter transfer. A separate document analysis describes her request to meet at the airport using an already-arranged ferry instead. These sources describe different proposed transfer arrangements.

January 16, 2018: construction-team itinerary

Emails arranged a professional visit by Russell Hernandez, architect Brian Brown, project manager Mark Lubinate and construction manager Pedro Casanova. Aircraft N402AJ was expected at St. Thomas Jet Center around 10:15 a.m. Driver Jermaine would take the group to Red Hook, where Captain Randy would bring them to the Little Saint James dock. Return travel was planned through San Juan, with an evening JetBlue flight to New York. The Cornell Daily Sun reports a January visit, but its linked travel document is a planning email. The detailed route remains labeled as planned.

The people operating the transfers

Water-taxi captain Guy Dohm told Inside Edition that he transported Epstein to the island. The January 2018 correspondence identifies Ann Rodriquez and Daphne Wallace as island managers, Jermaine Ruan as driver and IT manager, and Captain Randy as the boat-transfer contact. The indexed boat logs also describe staff and supply runs.

Sources and method

Court records, travel correspondence and firsthand accounts describe island visits and transfer arrangements. The sections below group them by journey.

September 28 update: Lesley Groff’s visits

In congressional testimony, Lesley Groff described three visits to Little Saint James and one helicopter journey from St. Thomas. She said Epstein was not present during her island visits.

September 28 update: Tim Routch’s boat visit

Customs agricultural specialist Tim Routch told WIRED he visited Little Saint James once, aboard Epstein’s boat, to inspect palm trees. He denied wrongdoing. WIRED reported that he was interviewed by federal investigators and was not charged.

Sources and scope of the September 28 update

The report groups the cited visits, employment and transport accounts by location.

Main residence

Reporting identifies a main residence on the island’s northern side, with a library, bathhouse and cinema among the residential facilities. The FBI’s August 2019 search plan calls this the main residence, labeled A3, and describes a single-story stone exterior, blue roof and white detailing.

Guest villas

Guest villas formed part of Little Saint James’s residential complex. The map labels the cluster as a group of buildings.

Main swimming pool

The island had multiple pools and tennis facilities. Released photographs document pool areas. This is the pool in the main residential compound.

Helipad

The helipad provided helicopter access to the island. It is separate from the airports on St. Thomas. The FBI’s August 2019 search plan identifies the helicopter landing area and adjacent helipad buildings.

Dock

The dock was a boat-arrival point. Existing island-route evidence remains linked in the report. The FBI’s August 2019 search plan identifies a dock and small wooden structure as B3. Saved evidence describes boat transfers by water-taxi captain Guy Dohm and island staff arranging arrivals.

Blue-and-white pavilion

The striped hilltop building is commonly called the temple. Reported 2010 planning documents described it as a music pavilion intended for a grand piano.

Rooms documented in released photographs

The USVI Department of Justice supplied photographs and videos later released by House Oversight. They document interiors, including a room containing a dental chair.

USVI investigation and estate settlement

The USVI government alleged trafficking and abuse on Little St. James. Its 2022 estate settlement required more than $105 million and half the island-sale proceeds. The government designated the sale share for survivor services.

2023 sale of the two islands

SD Investments announced its acquisition of Little St. James and Great St. James on May 3, 2023, with a resort proposal.

Marvin Minsky

MIT artificial-intelligence pioneer Marvin Minsky participated in the April 14–16, 2002 St. Thomas Common Sense Symposium. Its published paper acknowledges Epstein’s support. Separately, Virginia Giuffre alleged in deposition that she was directed to have sex with Minsky on Little St. James. His widow denied that account and said their visits were to New York and Palm Beach.

Elon Musk

Emails from 2012–2013 discuss possible visits to Little St. James. In November 2012 Musk asked about parties and discussed helicopter arrangements with Epstein; another exchange concerns plans around the end of 2013. Musk says he declined island and aircraft invitations.

March 2006: the scientists’ excursion

Stephen Hawking visited Little St. James during a March 2006 science gathering and took a submarine excursion. In February 2026 his family identified two women pictured with him in a circulated photograph as longtime caretakers and located that photograph at the Ritz-Carlton on St. Thomas.

2012: Howard Lutnick

In his May 6, 2026 House Oversight interview, Howard Lutnick described a 2011 townhouse visit as a discussion of scaffolding, disputed its calendar description as drinks, and acknowledged the 2012 family island lunch. He said his earlier podcast claims about Epstein’s blackmail were speculation.

Little Saint James is the island southeast of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands commonly called “Epstein Island.” Jeffrey Epstein owned it from 1998 until his death in 2019. It is a separate destination from St. Thomas and its airport.

In its 2020 civil case, the U.S. Virgin Islands government alleged that girls and young women were trafficked and abused on Little Saint James. The 2022 settlement required $105 million plus half the proceeds of the island sale, with those sale proceeds designated for services for victims of sexual abuse and trafficking.

The island has no airport. Visitors arrive by boat or helicopter. The island report documents individual visits and transfer arrangements.

2014-10-08 — Scheduled meeting with Richard Wurman. The calendar lists a 3 p.m. meeting with Richard Wurman. Its location field says LSJ, the dataset’s abbreviation for Little St. James.

2016-12-03 — New York–Little St. James itinerary. The travel summary describes a morning departure from New York and arrival at Little St. James on December 3, 2016.

Related Reports

Sources

AI generated report by Explorvia.com.