BEDFORD COUNTY, Va. -- Investigators in Virginia have a new tool to help them crack down on internet predators.
The Southern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (SOVA ICAC) based in Bedford County, Virginia, now has a K-9 counterpart.
"Wyoming,” a Labrador Retriever trained to search for electronic storage devices, is the newest member of the SOVA ICAC.
Wyoming’s crime fighting partner and investigator with the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, Nick Shockley, said the dog can find things human detectives might miss.
"Obviously we are dealing with a high stakes game of cat and mouse,” he told WDBJ. “It helps us put our mind at ease, knowing that we are doing everything we can to find the stuff we are looking for."
Wyoming can locate hard drives, USB drives, and smart phones that are often hidden by internet criminals.
He's the only dog in Virginia, and one of only 10 in the entire country that is specially trained to locate electronics.
Wyoming went to work on his first field investigation this past week.