On September 12, 2019, New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau agents arrested Ruidoso Police Officer Daniel Balding (35) of Ruidoso for one count of Child Solicitation by Electronic Communication Device.

Earlier that day, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) contacted New Mexico State Police Agents informing them that an HSI special agent in Minnesota posing as a fifteen-year-old female on the Whisper app was contacted by a male individual, later identified as Ruidoso Police Officer Daniel Balding (35). Balding, who thought he was talking to a fifteen-year-old female exchanged photos and had sexually explicit conversations with the agent.

State Police Agents obtained an arrest warrant through the Twelfth Judicial District Court in Lincoln County charging Balding with one count of Child Solicitation by Electronic Communication Device. He was released on his own recognizance by a judge. This case is still under investigation with no additional information available at this time.