Jackson home raided after claims
Police refused to reveal the purpose of the raid but Court TV, which had a reporter at the scene, said it followed molestation allegations by the boy.
A Jackson spokesman told CNN the singer was not at the ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley outside Santa Barbara and the raid "came as a total surprise".
A sheriff's spokesman said the search followed a criminal complaint and the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's office was also involved in the action.
Jackson's spokesman, Stuart Backerman, did not immediately return messages.
The search comes on the same day Epic Records released Number Ones, a greatest hits collection featuring Jackson's new single, One More Chance.
The 45-year-old pop king's friend Uri Geller told Sky News from his Thames-side home in Berkshire: "I have heard an ambulance was involved. I don't know what is going on." He said Jackson was "gullible, naive, and childlike" but not a child molester.
Court TV in the US said a helicopter was flying over the sprawling Neverland ranch, there were a substantial number of police on the scene and a forensic vehicle.
Thomas Sneddon, the district attorney of Santa Barbara county, was among those entering the ranch.
The search is unrelated to a 13-year-old boy's 1993 allegation that Jackson shared his bed with the teenager and initiated sexual contact.
Criminal charges were never filed and the teenager's civil suit was settled.
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