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OFFICE OF THE STATE'S ATTORNEY
LAKE COUNTY, ILLINOIS
MICHAEL G. NERHEIM
STATE'S ATTORNEY
April 14, 2018
For Immediate Release
Contact: Cynthia Vargas
(847) 377-3188
cvargas@lakecountyil.gov
Browser, the Electronic Evidence K9
 Browser
(Lake County, IL) Effective
November, 2017, the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office is proud to announce
the addition of a new member to their Cyber Division. His name is Browser, and he is an Electronic
Evidence K9. Browser is a 75 pound black Lab and is 1-1/2 years old. Browser is specially trained to “sniff-out”
electronic evidence such as cell phones, tablets, flash drives, and Secure Digital (SD) cards.
Browser
and his handler, Carol Gudbrandsen were specially trained and certified. Browser is the second K9 of his specialty in
the State of Illinois and one of only a few nationwide.
It
didn’t take long to put Browser to work.
He has already been successful in participating in approximately 10
search warrants. One of the search
warrants was for a Child Pornography case, in which Browser found SD cards
hidden in a jewelry box. Browser has
also found an SD card hidden in a subject’s slipper, and a phone hidden in a
waste basket.
"Child
predators have grown increasingly sophisticated by hiding evidence onto
removable devices and hiding those devices. With the aid of Browser, we
are able to locate this critical evidence and increase our ability to keep our
community safe," State's Attorney Michael G. Nerheim said.
Browser
is available to assist every law enforcement agency in Lake County and has
already been extremely helpful in several investigations involving the
exploitation of children. Futhermore, Browser will not only work
in Lake County, but will be assisting the State of Illinois Internet
Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, to participate in search warrants to
uncover hidden devices in Child Exploitation cases. In addition to child exploitation cases, Browser
can aid in any investigation involving electronic evidence, which has become
important in a growing percentage of our cases.
Browser
has already accompanied Gudbrandsen to Lake County school presentations,
delivering the State’s Attorney’s message on Internet Safety and Cyberbullying.
Gudbrandsen stated that having Browser present helped the students and the
parents focus on the message of Cyber Safety.
We
look forward to Browser’s continued success as a valuable asset to our Cyber
Division.
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Lake County State's Attorney's Office 18 N. County Street Waukegan, IL 60085 Phone: (847) 377-3000
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