BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Investigators looking into child exploitation cases have a new tool at their disposal: a one-year-old black Labrador named Gracie. Gracie is trained to find hidden electronic devices and digital storage that can contain evidence in child sex abuse material investigations. The Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and Indiana State Police ICAC Unit recently added Gracie to their team after she was purchased by the U.S. Secret Service and donated to the task force and state police. She was trained at the Jordan Detection K-9 School in Indianapolis. Senior Trooper/Detective Robert Whyte completed Gracie’s training and will serve as her handler. Gracie can detect devices including laptops, tablets, flash drives, SD cards and micro SD cards. She is also trained to locate hidden cameras and tracking devices placed on vehicles. Whyte and Gracie have been certified to conduct searches of rooms, vehicles and other locations. But Gracie’s role won’t be limited to finding evidence. She will also serve as a comfort therapy dog for children identified as victims in investigations, as well as investigators and other personnel who work on child exploitation cases. That includes detectives and digital forensic examiners who regularly handle CSAM investigations. The task force says Gracie will be used to help investigators locate digital evidence while providing support to children and the people working on some of the state’s most difficult cases. ...read more read less