Thomas Markle, Meghan Markle’s estranged father, has been photographed publicly for the first time since the Daily Mail reported finding suspected child sexual abuse material in a storage unit he rented in Mexico. The FBI has confirmed that he is now officially under investigation.
Markle, 82, who uses a wheelchair, was seen being moved between care facilities in Lakeland, Florida, on Friday.
The sighting came just hours after the Daily Mail published details about the contents of a storage unit in Rosarito, Mexico. Markle rented the 5ft by 10ft unit from 2017 until 2024, when he stopped paying for it. The report said the unit contained books about pedophilia, magazines depicting the sexual abuse of children and several loose photographs of naked Asian women, some of whom appeared notably young.
After the findings were referred to the FBI, a senior bureau source confirmed that the agency had opened an investigation into Markle and was coordinating with Mexican authorities.
The FBI inquiry comes as authorities in the Philippines continue examining electronic devices recovered from Markle’s former home. His estranged son has alleged that those devices may also contain child sexual abuse material.
Markle, who previously had his left leg amputated after developing a blood clot, is also receiving treatment for a recently diagnosed cognitive illness. He appeared solemn as he was wheeled from the Florida rehabilitation facility on Friday.
He was accompanied by his daughter, Samantha Markle, the only one of his children with whom he is said to remain in contact, and her boyfriend.
Thomas Markle, the estranged father of the Duchess of Sussex, has been photographed for the first time since the Daily Mail reported suspected child sexual abuse material in his storage unit to the FBI
The 82-year-old, who denies any wrongdoing, was transferred from the facility to a waiting van before being taken to another center for continued treatment
When a Daily Mail reporter approached Samantha Markle at her home, her boyfriend, Mark Phillips, defended the elderly Markle. Samantha was nearby but did not comment.
‘The only statement that you’re going to get is that Thomas Markle doesn’t even have fingerprints on the stuff in the Philippines,’ Phillips said.
‘He didn’t even ever touch it the whole time it was there, he can’t be charged.
‘Markle never had it in Mexico either… The FBI has no jurisdiction in Mexico.
‘Thomas Markle Sr hasn’t lived in the States in 10 years. Even if there was bad [material] then the statute of limitations ran out five years ago. This is all bulls**t.’
The Duchess of Sussex said earlier this week that she was ‘deeply distressed’ by the allegations concerning the Philippines. She was first informed about claims involving her father by London’s Metropolitan Police in January 2019.
Markle denies any wrongdoing. He did not respond to repeated Daily Mail requests for comment about the Mexican storage unit.
According to the report, the unit contained books about pedophilia and magazines, along with printed photographs of young Asian women.
One photograph reportedly shows Markle sitting on a bed beside a young woman. He appears to be in his 40s or 50s in the undated image.
Markle began renting the storage unit in 2017, six years after moving to the area. He is said to have abandoned it after relocating to the Philippines in January 2025.
Samantha Markle was also seen at the facility. She is supporting her father, while her half-brother Thomas Markle Jr. and the Duchess of Sussex remain estranged from him
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Markle is being investigated over the sordid discovery in his Philippines home, and in a storage unit in Mexico
Our reporter was granted access to the unit after Markle failed to keep up with his lease-agreement payments.
Alongside the stash, which includes magazines published in Asia and depicting child pornography, are family mementoes, photographs and letters.
The Daily Mail also uncovered 35mm negatives showing apparently random, voyeuristic images of children on a beach.
Other negatives show a woman with her limbs bound or ‘hogtied’ and being directed by a man during a photo shoot.
Elsewhere in the storage unit are more than 50 video tapes, with titles such as ‘Boys – Brother and Sister – Russian XX’ and ‘Manila Nites.’ Precisely what is on these tapes is currently unknown.
A stack of books includes titles such as Forbidden Sexual Behavior and Morality, The Intimate Sex Lives of Famous People and The Invisible Children.
The Daily Mail alerted the FBI after uncovering a stash of sexually explicit books, magazines and photos – including of Asian females who look conspicuously young – in a Mexican storage unit rented by Thomas Markle
There are around 20 boxes in the storage unit, some containing books about pedophilia and magazines showing children being sexually abused
Among the photos in the unit is an undated image of Markle on a bed and with his arm wrapped around a young Asian female, both fully clothed. She appears, alone and naked, in several other pictures as well
The Daily Mail also uncovered VHS tapes – including one labeled ‘Manila Nites.’ The precise contents of the tapes are not known
There is also a paper plate with the words ‘DARK WEB’ scribbled in red ink alongside various URLs. Markle has seven hard drives stripped from computers in the storage unit.
Earlier this week, a Filipino official, Jonvic Remulla, said the former Hollywood lighting technician, 82, could be a ‘sex offender of the grossest kind.’ Remulla added that ‘all signs’ pointed to the possibility that a serious offense had been committed.
The investigation was launched into the Duchess of Sussex’s estranged father after his son, Thomas Markle Jr, alerted Philippine National Police to the reported stash.
Markle is recovering and learning to walk again following the amputation of his left leg in the Philippines 11 months ago.
It was shortly after that operation that exclusive images taken by the Daily Mail showed the moment Markle was given a letter from Meghan cutting him out of his grandchildren’s lives.
The message revealed Meghan ‘knew her father had abused young girls’ and that he would never meet his grandchildren, Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five.
Last week Markle admitted that he paid for sex in the Philippines when he was single. ‘I never had sex with anyone under the age of 18,’ he said. ‘I like Asian women but that is not a crime.’
And he strongly denied his son’s claims that he downloaded child sex images onto computers and cellphones shared with authorities in the first haul, saying they are ‘the worst thing anyone could accuse me of.’