Sarah Ferguson’s ‘breadcrumb’ plot that’s kept her hidden amid Epstein fallout
After months of staying under the radar, pictures have emerged of Sarah Ferguson hiding out in Austria at a luxury alpine ski resort amid the fallout from the Epstein scandal
It has been revealed where Sarah Ferguson has been hiding out(Image: UK Press via Getty Images)
After seven months of avoiding the spotlight after her association with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein was laid bare – Sarah Ferguson has been spotted.
It has emerged that the former Duchess of York has been hiding out at a luxury alpine ski resort in Austria, where she has been keeping an extremely low profile. News of her location comes just weeks after a US lawmaker wrote to the mother-of-two, urging her to testify to Congress about the paedophile. Lawmaker Suhas Subramanyam requested that Ferguson give evidence in a government investigation into Epstein’s sex trafficking operations. It emerged that her friendship with Epstein lasted longer than she had previously publicly stated.
Fergie has been pictured in Austria (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Emails released as part of the Epstein files in January also showed how she repeatedly begged him for cash, called him a “supreme friend” and appeared to visit him in Florida with her daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie just days after he was released from prison for child sex crimes in 2009.
Photos of Fergie, taken earlier this week, appear to show her looking stony-faced as she emerged from a blacked-out people carrier wearing glasses and a baseball cap at her £ 2,000-a-night chalet.
And sources have now revealed how she has managed to avoid the spotlight since her last public appearance at the Duchess of Kent’s funeral at Westminster Cathedral back in September.
Fergie’s choice of a remote location of the ski resort has helped her to stay under the radar and she has rarely ventured out. A source told The Sun: “The area is absolutely beautiful and it’s very quiet most of the time, so it’s the perfect place for a high-profile figure such as her to lie low when the heat is on.”
Fergie at her last public engagement in September(Image: UK Press via Getty Images)
The outfit she wears in the pictures also shows how she has tried to stay inconspicuous, with a white baseball cap covering her trademark long red hair. It is said she rarely ventures outside as calls grow for her to speak to the authorities.
It comes as there have been several reported sightings of her in recent months, with suggestions she has been in the Middle East, at a luxury spa in Switzerland and at a hotel in Ireland.
And the source added: “She’s been laying false breadcrumbs to stop people following her trail, and very few people were allowed in on the secret. “But she’s seen Andrew arrested and read all the headlines about the Epstein investigations and knows it’s a very grave situation.”
Meanwhile, earlier this month, the Mirror revealed that the former Duchess has made it very clear to those closest to her that she will not go to the USA again amid the calls for her to testify.
Fergie is said to have made clear she will not go to the US again(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
An insider told the Mirror: “Sarah has made it clear to those around her she will never set foot in America again. She is deeply worried about the reaction she would face, whether from Epstein’s victims or scrutiny from Congress.
“She feels it would be unbearable and does not want to be put in a position under oath where she would be asked not only about Epstein but also about Andrew. It has not been a difficult decision despite how deeply entrenched in America she once was.” As a non-US citizen, Ferguson, 66, is not compelled to appear before Congress or respond to the request.
After her divorce from Andrew, Ferguson turned to the States as both a commercial base and a platform to rebuild her public image. She carved out a lucrative career through media and branding, becoming a high-profile ambassador for Weight Watchers and making regular appearances on US television, including The Oprah Winfrey Show.
For a period, she was based in New York City where she moved in business and social circles tied to media and finance. However, her well-documented financial difficulties were partly bailed out by Epstein. She also carried out charity work in the States.
But any plans to return have been quashed after she appeared in the recently released files, which painted a troubling picture of apparent warmth and familiarity with Epstein, even after his conviction for soliciting sex from underage girls.
