Curtis Drumm

Pilot Curtis Drumm testified for the prosecution on Day 2 of Steven Avery's trial about flying investigators on a November 4 search for Teresa Halbach. He described a route that included the area around Highway 310 and Q, the Avery property, roads toward Green Bay, and an area near Halbach's residence.

At the salvage yard, Drumm said the number of vehicles made a particular car difficult to identify from about 500 feet. He was not aware of finding a vehicle matching the described RAV4, but did not know whether the investigators aboard had seen one. He identified Exhibit 25 as an aerial view resembling the yard he saw; the court admitted it without objection.

On cross-examination, Drumm estimated that the search flight spent 15 to 20 minutes near Avery Auto Salvage. He said the aircraft lacked aerial-photography equipment, believed an investigator took pictures with an ordinary camera, and did not recall whether video was taken. He cautioned that lens angle could affect an altitude estimate from Exhibit 25, could not identify one pictured area as a gravel pit, and said later flights over the area were unrelated to the search.

After his testimony, defense counsel sought photographs from the flight and raised concern that jurors might mistake Exhibit 25 for a photograph taken that day. The prosecutor said the defense had received video and that he knew of no still photographs. The court distinguished those understandings and suggested clarifying the photograph's date for the jury if it became an issue; the discussion does not establish that Drumm took photographs or that the court ruled on the renewed request.