Epstein’s creepy obsession with Pokémon Go revealed in emails as players discover PokéStop on his private island

The company behind Pokémon Go has removed a PokéStop that players found on Little Saint James, also known as Epstein Island. The island in the U.S. Virgin Islands was the center of serious crimes. Finding a game landmark there was very disturbing.

According to Mediaite, players of the mobile game recently spotted the landmark. Photos of the PokéStop spread quickly on social media. The stop was at an outdoor sundial on the private island. After users spotted it, the developers removed it to avoid controversy. 

Pokémon Go uses your phone’s location to show a virtual map on the real world. Players catch creatures and visit PokéStops at places like ice cream shops or park benches. Players can also suggest new locations after reaching a certain level.

Epstein showed unusual interest in the game just days after its launch

This PokéStop had been known to some players for about a year. New attention on the Epstein files brought the photos back into focus over the past few days. The ongoing release of documents about Epstein continues to reveal disturbing information.

Players could not actually walk to this sundial. Little Saint James has been a restricted private island for years, even after someone bought it in 2023. The PokéStop likely broke the game’s rules, which require “safe pedestrian access.” A player who was “spoofing” their location probably added the island landmark as a dark joke.

While the PokéStop was likely a prank, released files show that Epstein himself knew about the game. Pokémon Go launched in the U.S. on July 6, 2016. Just one week later, on July 13, 2016, Epstein sent an email to Sheikh Fahad Bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. The message said: “check out pokemon go if you have not already the first of augmented games.”

That same day, Epstein wrote to Deepak Chopra about the technology. He told Chopra to “[look] at the new pokemon go [app],” calling it “the first of many augmented reality [games].” Epstein saw a business opportunity and suggested Chopra could make an app that “allows people to [look] at their phone and detect an aura about each other.” He thought this idea “would kill [the] market.”

The game tracks where users catch creatures, pick up items, and collect gifts. If anyone who visited Epstein Island played the game there, a digital record would likely exist on their device or on the company’s servers. The federal investigation into Epstein’s death has uncovered many troubling details. This shows that technology like Pokémon Go can leave behind evidence that cannot be erased.