A modeling scout connected to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has been discovered dead at his residence.

Daniel Siad, aged 69, was found on Monday in Colombes, a suburb northwest of Paris, according to confirmation from the Nanterre prosecutor's office to the BBC.

"An inquiry to establish the cause of death began on Monday evening after the discovery," the office stated, noting that an autopsy is scheduled.

Siad's name was mentioned numerous times in the Epstein files made public by US authorities. He had previously stated he had no knowledge of Epstein's harmful actions.

Epstein victim Anya, whose name is not real, had informed the BBC that Siad introduced her to Epstein.

"It was entirely a setup," she remarked, calling Siad "basically a professional trafficker."

In one email to Epstein included in the files, Siad wrote in poorly spelled English: "In This busyness I feel like fisherman some time I cache quick, some time no fish".

Before a BBC report on the topic from 18 July, Siad's lawyer indicated he could not comment, but in a recent CNN interview, Siad claimed he was unaware the women were being abused: "I trusted him, I believed this guy is a professional person."

Siad faced multiple complaints in France, including rape allegations, with the initial one submitted in February. He rejected the accusations in several interviews, stating to BFMTV in May: "I have never raped anyone in my life."

Lawyers for the former model who filed the first complaint expressed being "stunned" by his death.

"We lack words to convey the anger and sadness we experience," they noted, with the sadness for their clients "now denied a criminal trial."

The lawyers expressed "immense anger toward the Paris Public Prosecutor's Office, which declared last February it was launching an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein's French accomplices."

They criticized the office for "scandalous" lack of action, which they claimed "shows the public authorities' disregard for victims of sexual crimes, even when connected to the trafficking network set up by Epstein and his associates."

The BBC has reached out to the prosecutor's office for a response.

Another former model who provided a statement to police in June during the probe into Siad told the BBC that his death means any knowledge he might have had about Epstein is now gone.

"A key link in the chain has disappeared without any opportunity to obtain the information Daniel Siad could have had, since he was never questioned," she said.

"Too much time has passed... and it is another instance of leads going cold. I hope we will not wait another seven years for his home to be searched, although I believe it is already too late."

Anne-Claire Le Jeune, representing six women who complained about Siad, said victims have been denied justice.

"My clients gathered the courage to break a significant silence, considering Daniel Siad's connections to Jeffrey Epstein," she said. "They approached every phase of the process with great bravery."

"It is unfortunate that the investigation's slow progress led to his death before questioning or arrest, thus depriving the victims of an essential part in seeking truth and justice."

Another Epstein associate, French modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel, was found hanged in his Paris prison cell in 2022.

The 76-year-old had been detained for over a year while investigated for suspected rape of minors and trafficking minors for sexual exploitation. Brunel denied all allegations.

Brunel established MC2 Model Management with Epstein's funding and was suspected of transporting and accommodating girls or young women for Epstein.

Epstein, 66, died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.