Oh, Arewedone, that sounds bad. All the more reason to double check with Scotland Yard that the McCanns got the letter (particularly the second one), before doing a press tour.
The mere idea of burying USB sticks under your dog is flabbergasting. I mean, either, you destroy potetial evidence against yourself, or you don't (because it is too precious to you or something), and you hide it somewhere, where it is accessible to you and more importantly, where it cannot be destroyed, no?
How long did this genious expect the files would last on those sticks? Heck, from my experience, give it 10 years and you'll be hard pressed to find a computer that still has 'the standard'. If history is any guide USB sticks will go the way of the floppy disk. (On side note: the US NASA by their own account have lost the precise data needed to replicate the moon landing, because the data are stored in a way that is no more accessible with current machines).
This man does not strike me as the brightest bulb in the box. (And yet, absurdly, so far he always seems to be two steps ahead of the police.)