Durango High School managed to snag first place out of six teams in the Crime Scene Investigation event at the state Skills USA competition, which was held last month in Colorado Springs.
The Durango team of three had to enter a mock crime scene; identify, photograph and diagram evidence; and write reports – all within 50 minutes. They were judged on their photographs of the scene, ability to work together, ability to flag and collect evidence, crime scene sketch, communication and completed report.
The first-place team included Aubrey McKellips, Emma Burns and Aava Dregar.
The team was coached by Michelle Sotak and Detective Kathleen O’Toole, both of whom work for the Durango Police Department. According to Burns, a junior on the first-place team, her team would meet weekly for 1½ hours after school to practice.
“Detective O’Toole would show us how to properly investigate, and she also set up practice crime scenes for us,” Burns said.
The mock crime scene at the state competition had been set up like a hotel room, with a mannequin “body” on the bed. The team found an empty wine bottle, a pill bottle and an ID, and documented them as evidence. Burns said the scene seemed to be set up as a drug overdose, potentially with foul play.
After the competition, the team was unsure how they performed, because they had missed a key piece of evidence: a cellphone.
“We did not feel super confident with how we did,” Burns said. “We were shocked when we got first place. It was totally unexpected.”
The judges commented that the Durango team’s teamwork and communication were key to their success in the competition.
“We needed to work together more than we were used to because one of our teammates was unable to make it to state,” Burns said. “We had another member of Skills USA fill in for our team. She hadn’t practiced the CSI event before, so we taught her the night before the competition.”
The team intends to go to the national competition in Atlanta on June 20-24. Team members are in the process of raising $15,000 for the trip.
“State was a huge confidence-booster,” Burns said. “Hopefully, we can continue to improve and do well at nationals.”
gholst@durangoherald.com
