Residents in the sleepy New Hampshire town of Bradford today spoke of their shock after it was thrust into the centre of the Jeffrey Epstein case.
Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested at a mountain home called “Tucked Away” where she was believed to have been hiding out for months.
“I had no clue she was there,” said Laurie Colbourn, 53, whose home is within a mile of the large $1 million timber-framed house perched on 156 acres of pine and oak forests a short drive from the town of less than 2,000 people.
“Goes to show you, you don’t always know who your neighbours are,” she added.
Nearby residents Tom and Angela Murphy were stunned by news of the FBI swoop. “I have breaking news on my phone, and I was like, ‘Oh my goodness’,” Tom told a cable news network. “You wouldn’t believe they’d be up here, of all places,” Angela added. “We are in the middle of nowhere.”
Maxwell’s home has a narrow and treed-in half-mile dirt driveway with “No Trespassing” signs, obstructed by a padlocked fence.
A real-estate listing describes the house as having cathedral ceilings, a floor-ceiling fieldstone fireplace, and a “wall of glass” overlooking New Hampshire’s hills. A stone carved with the words “Tucked Away” stands near the gate.
“I’m surprised, because this is a small, quiet town. But I guess that makes it a good place to hide,” said Jenna Cook, 18, as she worked a shift at the Sweet Beet farm market on Bradford’s main street.
