BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. (NBC 15) — According to the Baldwin Co. Sheriff’s Office, on August 13, 2026, the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office initiated an investigation into multiple cyber tips involving Internet Crimes Against Children. The reports originated from an electronic service provider that notified the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children after detecting illegal material on its platform.
Information within the tips identified 27-year-old Douglas Smith, a Baldwin County resident, as the suspect. Search warrants were executed at both Smith’s residence in Foley and his vehicle in Robertsdale.
Digital devices were seized, and evidence of unlawful activity was located. Smith was interviewed by Investigators and acknowledged to possessing a large quantity of illegal files that he had accumulated over many years. Following the search, investigators recovered multiple terabytes of illegal material, representing one of the largest digital evidence seizures in Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office history…