Memphis activist detained after trespassing on Epstein Island
Two Memphians say they visited Little St. James to draw attention to Jeffrey Epstein case
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - One Memphis man was detained by security after trespassing on Little St. James, known as “Epstein Island,” in the U.S. Virgin Islands on Saturday, April 25.
Ryan Dalton, a former federal agent and University of Memphis law school graduate, and Ben Owen, founder of the Memphis-based “We Fight Monsters” nonprofit, said they traveled to the island to bring attention to the Jeffrey Epstein case.
“We believe there should be a lot of attention on that island and bring attention to this matter,” Dalton said.
Dalton said island security detained Owen after discovering them on the property.
“So, we went to Little St. James or Epstein Island and took pictures. And while we were there, the security came and didn’t like that we were there. And so as we went to leave, they detained Ben and kidnapped him,” Dalton said.
Dalton says he was able to escape, swimming to a boat that brought the pair to the island.
Virgin Islands detectives say they responded to a trespassing call on the island, where they found Ben Owen shirtless, with his face and body bound with duct tape.
“Ben was detained initially by them, and then they hogtied him and assaulted him. So, they were arrested for kidnapping charges by the U.S. Virgin Islands Police for kidnapping Ben,” Dalton said.
One cop said that while she was taking pictures of Owen tied up, an island worker assaulted Owen right there in front of her.
The man later claimed Owen had pushed his pregnant girlfriend into the sand when she’d tried to stop him from taking photos. Owen denies he pushed anyone and says he has video to prove he’s innocent.
Owen, a recovered drug addict, operates a nonprofit with his wife Jess that restores Memphis properties where they once abused drugs. The properties now house people in recovery and those escaping human trafficking.
Owen flew the We Fight Monsters flag on the boat that carried him to Epstein Island.
Dalton now operates a website that seeks to prove “Epstein isn’t dead” after working for another nonprofit that fights human trafficking.
A native Memphian who attended the University of Memphis and its law school, Dalton served as a federal agent for the U.S. State Department before returning to the private sector. He became convinced that Epstein might be alive based on numerous publicly available documents.
“We want people to take a critical look at the evidence we present. We don’t expect people to immediately accept this conclusion that we’ve arrived at, but we want people to wrestle with this information and arrive at their own conclusions. They can make their own decisions about it, but to do that, we’ve got to show the world that what we’ve been told may not be true,” Dalton said.
The government says Jeffrey Epstein died in his cell of a suicide on Aug. 10, 2019, at the age of 66 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
The New York City medical examiner ruled his death a suicide by hanging.
Dalton and his partners believe the suicide story is a ruse that helped Epstein escape, and they say that’s why they went to the island this past weekend.
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