Post Falls Police Dog Uno Sniffs Out Hidden Electronics in Child Exploitation Cases

A 3-year-old yellow Labrador greeted Dan Wilson at the door of the Beck Road Starbucks Tuesday morning, tail wagging, nothing particularly grave about him. But Uno, assigned to the Post Falls Police Department, is one of roughly 200 dogs in the country trained to find the hidden hard drives, USB drives, and memory cards that child sexual exploitation investigations depend on recovering, and he is the only one in North Idaho.

Uno's handler, Detective Jason Cope, also works as a computer forensics investigator in the department's cyber lab. He brought Uno to a Coffee with a Cop event to explain what electronics detection actually means in the field. The assignment is precise: Uno locates electronic storage devices that suspects conceal during searches, the kind of small, easily hidden media that can carry evidence capable of making or breaking a prosecution.

"It's amazing the things he's able to find," Cope said.

The numbers behind that statement show why the capability matters here specifically. North Idaho has only three ICAC investigators covering the entire region. Last year, Post Falls Detective Jeremy McMillen alone worked 20 Internet Crimes Against Children investigations, conducted 32 forensic exams on phones and computers, and sorted through more than 13,225 gigabytes of data. With that volume of casework spread across a small investigative team, a K-9 that cuts the time needed to locate hidden storage during a search warrant is a genuine force multiplier. Cope and Uno are called to assist on regional warrants every couple of weeks.

Uno's training was funded through the U.S. Secret Service National Computer Forensics Institute, which offset what would otherwise be significant costs for a single department. The Post Falls Police Department is part of the regional ICAC task force, and the pair respond to assist investigations across North Idaho, not just within city limits.

For Wilson, who had stopped by with his wife, Tuesday's encounter reframed the dog entirely. "I got greeted at the door by him, Uno is his name," he said. Learning that fewer than 200 such dogs exist nationwide left him visibly struck: "Apparently, there's only about 200 of these dogs."

Cope noted that Uno's easy temperament at community events serves an investigative purpose, too. A friendly Lab starts conversations, and conversations are how tips reach investigators in a region where three people are responsible for the internet safety of hundreds of thousands.

KNOW THE SIGNS, MAKE THE CALL

Children who become secretive about their devices, switch screens when adults enter the room, or receive unexplained gifts, such as gift cards, gaming currency, or new electronics, from someone they have never introduced in person may be in contact with an online predator. Additional warning signs include withdrawal from family and friends, reluctance to discuss online activity, or references to a new older "friend" no one has met. Sextortion, in which a predator threatens to share images or messages unless a child complies with further demands, can escalate within hours of first contact.

To report suspected online exploitation of a child, contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's CyberTipline at 1-800-843-5678, available around the clock, or submit a report at report.cybertip.org. Tips can also go directly to the Post Falls Police Department at (208) 773-3517; the department's ICAC participation means a local tip reaches the regional task force.

The Post Falls Police Department holds Coffee with a Cop events periodically throughout the year. Call (208) 773-3517 or follow the department's social media pages to find out when Cope and Uno will next be available to the public.