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ESDK9s

The month of June is Internet Safety Month, dedicated to raising awareness intended to encourage safe, responsible use of the internet among children, teens, and young adults. This month is also cause – or “Paws” in this case – for celebration as Our Rescue announces its newest Graduating Class of…

Every day, predators use small digital devices like SD cards, cell phones, USB drives, hard drives, and micro-storage devices to hide evidence of child sexual abuse from law enforcement. These devices are easily concealed almost anywhere – inside walls, clothing, furniture, behind electrical outlets, in vehicles, or buried beneath clutter, making them incredibly difficult for investigators to find during searches. …

Exactly one year ago, Our Rescue’s Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K9 program hit a milestone: a record 11 dogs graduated, embarking on a life with a very important mission – to help protect vulnerable children and bring criminals to justice.  Since June 2025, these K9s have joined over 130 other K9s in helping law enforcement arrest well over 1,300…

Thanks to a collaborative partnership with Our Rescue and kNot Today, the Vigo County Sheriff’s Office welcomed its first Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K9 and the community of Terre Haute, Indiana will never be the same.  Do a quick Google search online for “ESD K9 Paddy Indiana” and you’ll see why Vigo County’s newest member of the Sheriff’s Department has been in…

Every day, children are sexually exploited by predators behind closed doors and evidence of that abuse is deliberately hidden. To fight these crimes, our four-legged heroes work alongside police to help rescue those children and bring them justice.  In 2022, Our Rescue-sponsored Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K9 Boone graduated from the Jordan Detection K9…

In October 2025, in Pendleton, Indiana, a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) led investigators to a 24-year-old man whose online activity raised immediate concern. What began as a small number of flagged files quickly expanded into a digital investigation and subsequent search warrant, where detectives uncovered…

Inside DHS’s Cyber Crimes Center (C3) in Fairfax, Virginia, I witnessed firsthand what global collaboration against child exploitation truly looks like when law enforcement officers from around the world gathered for Operation Renewed Hope. This past March, nearly 100 officers from 35 countries worked side by side, creating a temporary…

In Boone County, Kentucky, investigators followed a digital trail that led them to a home in Florence, where online activity linked to a man suspected of sharing child sexual abuse material (CSAM), previously referred to as child pornography.   After building a careful case, detectives arrived at the suspect’s residence in December and began a thorough search, working carefully through the…

Our Rescue recently celebrated another milestone in the fight against child exploitation and human trafficking as nine new Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K9 teams graduated from the Jordan Detection K9 Program and joined law enforcement agencies across the United States and Canada.  With this newest class, the number of…

This year, Our Rescue-sponsored Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K9 Bandit continued to make an extraordinary impact alongside his handler and law enforcement in Nevada and the Tahoe region. Bandit’s work has supported multiple investigations involving sexual crimes against children and major criminal activity, helping officers locate digital evidence that might otherwise remain hidden.  Across northern…

Across northern Nevada, several recent investigations led to significant arrests tied to crimes against children and drug trafficking. Behind the scenes in multiple operations was a four-legged investigator named Bandit.  In Reno, a woman was arrested on charges related to the distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) after authorities executed a search warrant…

For the past several years in Kenosha, when search warrants were executed in cases involving digital exploitation, two partners entered the scene together: Detective Pete Deates and Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K9 Iris.  One carried decades of investigative experience. The other carried a nose trained to find what offenders try to hide.  Together, they represent the final chapter of a 23-year career defined by…

Each year, the American Humane Society honors extraordinary dogs across the United States through the Hero Dog Awards, a nationwide competition and fundraising event. This year, the awards banquet was held at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, attended by approximately 350 people, including supporters, families, previous winners, and donors.   Among the honorees was Our Rescue-sponsored…

When the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force launched Operation Frost Byte in December 2025, Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K9 Estie played a critical role in supporting investigators as they executed search warrants connected to multiple child exploitation cases.  Estie is an Our Rescue-Sponsored ESD K9, specially trained…

When investigators with the Oklahoma ICAC Task Force enter a search scene, time matters. Evidence can be hidden inside walls, tucked into furniture, concealed in vehicles, or deliberately disguised to avoid detection. In these moments, human search alone isn’t always enough. That’s where K9 Arwen comes in.  Arwen is an Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K9 sponsored…

In the summer of 2025, multiple complex investigations involving child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and hidden surveillance devices unfolded across Wisconsin. Each case involved diligent investigative work and interagency cooperation, including crucial support from Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K9 Maui working alongside local and federal partners.  Madison Rental Home Hidden Camera Investigation  In late July 2025, police in Madison, Wisconsin…

In North Dakota, a case that began several years ago finally reached its conclusion this week. A former school principal, someone who families once trusted to guide and protect their children, was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for the abuse of a child.  The details that emerged during the investigation…

Last Friday, November 14, Our Rescue celebrated a landmark moment: sponsoring our largest-ever graduation class of Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K9s with 14 new partnerships. Since our first ESD K9 was deployed back in 2017, we have seen the immense impact these incredible dogs have in the fight against child sexual exploitation. In fact, in 2025, our ESD K9s have achieved an…

Our Rescue-sponsored Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K9 Enzo graduated from the Jordan Detection K9 Program in June 2025 and immediately went to work with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office in Illinois. Within weeks, K9 Enzo and his handler Detective Alexis Sciarrone assisted in major child exploitation investigations, helping uncover hidden devices…

A friendly, lap-loving Lab might not look like a cutting-edge crime-fighter—but don’t be fooled. Behind the wagging tail and soft eyes is a powerful partner in the fight against child exploitation and trafficking.  Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K9s are expertly trained police dogs that use their incredible sense of smell…

Authorities in York County, Pennsylvania, say 22-year-old Luke Teipel collected dozens of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) files— some real, and others generated using artificial intelligence (AI). Luke is now facing 33 felony counts of possession of CSAM.  This is the first case of its kind in…

K9 Trace, an Our Rescue-sponsored Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) dog, has already supported law enforcement in over 30 searches since joining the Thunder Bay Police Service in January 2024. In his short two years of service, Trace has helped officers uncover devices in critical cases, including three recent child exploitation…

Children being exploited online is an ever-growing threat in communities across the country. Every day, predators use technology to share, download, and distribute child sexual abuse material (CSAM), leaving children traumatized and putting more in danger. These crimes aren’t just staying hidden on the internet, they are spreading into neighborhoods,…

This summer marks the retirement of Our Rescue-sponsored Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K9 Mousse, Iowa’s first Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K9. For five years, Mousse has worked alongside his handler, Special Agent Michael McVey with the Iowa Department of Public Safety, supporting investigations into child exploitation and human trafficking across…

Just last week, Our Rescue celebrated a powerful milestone: the largest class of Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K9s we’ve ever sponsored graduated the Jordan Detection K9 program. Now, 11 new ESD K9 teams are ready to support law enforcement agencies across North America in the search for hidden electronic devices…

By Chaz Balogh, Our Rescue ESD K9 Program Relationship Manager  A highly trained, excitable and lovable detective named Spike saved my life. I don’t say that lightly. He brought me back to life, really, giving me a new purpose and rejuvenating my career in my lifelong mission to protect kids.

During a string of recent successful operations in Ecuador to arrest perpetrators of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), one of the most important partners was on scene to help secure justice. Along with provincial and national police, the State Attorney General and even U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, specially trained Our…

We are excited to announce the graduation of eight new Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K9s from the Jordan Detection K9 training program! These incredible dogs completed their training on Friday, March 14, and are being placed in police departments across the country and Canada to help fight child exploitation. Our…

Jesse Blaine, 42, of Harlan, Iowa, has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison after Our Rescue-sponsored Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K9 Cruzer and his handler helped search his home, finding hidden electronic devices containing child sexual abuse material.   The investigation began with a CyberTip from the National Center…

We are excited to announce that five new K9s have completed their specialized Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) training this month. These incredible dogs graduated from the program on November 15, bringing the total number of Our Rescue sponsored ESD K9s worldwide to 110. This milestone was made possible through the…

Charity, one of the 100 Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K9s supported by OUR Rescue, has been working with the Department of Criminal Investigation (DCI) Special Victims Unit of the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General since March. In just a few months on the job, the two-year-old Labrador Retriever has…

Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K9 Tera is helping the Lake County Sheriff’s Office in Illinois apprehend predators. Earlier this year, she found key evidence in a case that began when a messaging app detected multiple child sexual abuse material (CSAM) files on its platform. Authorities identified 24-year-old Jared Honegger as the…

Iris, an Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K9, is hard at work in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The 6-year-old Labrador Retriever has helped law enforcement in three separate cases since late May, leading to multiple arrests. In a county neighboring Kenosha, an investigator discovered that Ryan St. John, 46, shared and distributed child…

Thanks to funding from OUR Rescue donors, five Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K9s graduated from training on June 28.

On May 30, a North Dakota judge sentenced predator Nicholas Morgan-Derosier to 40 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to seven criminal charges tied to possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Jib, an Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K9 supported by OUR Rescue, helped the Grand Forks…

The following is a firsthand account from Detective Gill of the Seattle Police Department. I have been a Seattle Police Officer for 17 years. It was a natural choice for me; I’ve always had a strong desire to help people in need. Joining the ICAC unit in 2015 felt like…

An Illinois man is alleged to have secretly recorded his stepdaughter and other family members by using a camera that was disguised as a screw. Police say Timothy Mol, 45, placed the camera in a switch plate – the small piece of plastic that surrounds a light switch – on…

Dogs are often described as “man’s best friend” because they provide unconditional love to their families and those around them.  Rosco, a 2-year-old labrador retriever, fits that description perfectly. However, he is no ordinary dog. He works to keep children safe by fighting back against predators seeking to sexually exploit…

What started with one dog has grown into a nationwide task force of K9s, all helping law enforcement fight against human trafficking and child exploitation.