Craig Tester is one of the main cast of the popular treasure hunting reality television series The Curse of Oak Island, related to the Oak Island Tour Inc. Craig Tester who turns 61 this year is one of the team experts of The Oak Island series, who is a mechanical engineer and an expert in the drilling and resistivity field.

Craig along with his team of The Curse of Oak Island has been researching, locating, and planning for a new dig location on the island. Craig has been a good friend of Marty Lagina, another of the cast as they were roommates during their college time and now as his business partner.

The show’s other notable members are Rick Lagina, Dan Blankenship, and Dave Blankenship. In 2013 episodes, Craig’s son Drake Tester made some special appearances in the show and hence was introduced for the first time.

More on “The Curse of Oak Island”

Oak island is famous as a Mystery Treasure Island, since the 18 century, with many stories and legends that emerged about the island. The island is located in Nova Scotia and is believed to have a massive treasure buried in it.

The Curse of Oak Island first started with Lagina brothers Marty and Rick who became fascinated after reading the magazine, Reader’s Digestive, investigative article of 1965 on Oak Island being called a “money pit.” That article that they read when they were children was still strong which made them more curious and they started doing more research on the island. The brothers were then asked to do a reality show about their discovery and hence that’s how The Curse Of The Oak Island was introduced.

The show released its episodes as season 1, in January 2014, which premiered on the Canada History Network. The show has a total of 9 seasons with 138 episodes as of November 2022.

The Main Cast of the Show

Rick and Marty Lagina: The two founder members of the Oak Island project and both the brothers purchased most of Oak Island and funded most of the portion of the Oak Project.

Dan Blankenship: Dan Blankenship was a treasure seeker on Oak Island for 50 years with extensive knowledge about it. Dan died at the age of 95 in 2019.

Dave Blankenship: Dave Blankenship is an active member of the show for being the oldest resident of the island. Since he was a child he helped his father in his search and discovery on the island.

Craig Tester: Another of the main members of the show, Craig is an engineer and an expert in drilling and resistivity. He is also the business partner of Marty Lagina.

The other cast of the show includes Jack Begley, Alex Lagina, Dan Henskee, Charles Barkhouse, Peter Fornetti, Dave Fornetti, Drake Tester, Fred Nolan, Doug Cowell, and many others who have special appearances in different episodes.

How did Drake Tester Die?

Craig Testers’ son Drake Tester 16, sadly passed away in 2017. He was suffering from a seizure disorder since his birth. The news of his death was first announced in The Curse of Oak Island season 5 episode. His seizure attack was not severe and only occurred once every few years, but while he was with his parents in Florida he had a sudden severe epileptic seizure attack which caused his death on March 26, 2017.

Brief on Drake Tester’s Life

Drake was born on 17 July 2000 as Drake Maxwell Tester into a loving family of 5 including his mother Becky Tester, father Craig Tester, and his two older siblings, sister Madeline Begley and brother Jack Begley.

Drake attended the Traverse City Central High School and was adored by all the students and teachers alike for his helpful and kind personality. In his school, he was an active member of the school track, choir team, and cross country team. He was a fast runner and had an angelic voice as told by his teacher and student.

 Drake Testers from Others’ Memories

The teacher and the student of the Traverse City Central High School share their favorite memories of Drake as they reminisce about him.

“His smile and his kind personality.”

As said by the School Senate Advisor, are something that they can never forget about him.

They also mention, how he loved to help others without any discrimination. The school mentioned how he and his family, with a donation to get a seizure dog, surprised a girl in Cadillac.

Tim Odette, one of the teachers and advisors said:

“He set a great example to our students.”

And that they will try following the standard lifestyle and the values he had shown to them in their life.

One of his classmates William said, “It’s hard to be in a positive light when you are struggling with things on your own but Drake was a true testament to that and leaves an incredible impact on the student.”

Drake appeared in a few episodes of The Curse of Oak Island in 2013, alongside his father Craig Tester, and other members of the show, and was supposed to appear again in the summer of 2017, but sadly he couldn’t.

Craig Tester talked about his lost son in recent years and said that he thinks of him every day and all the time and it’s been a rough year for him.

“I wish he could be here to support us.”

As the Tester recalls his time with his late son.

Drake’s family, his friends, teachers, and all from The Curse of Oak Island including its fans and viewers all will miss this young soul who lived a short life but his kindness and values of helping others in need and his amiable personality will never be forgotten.

May you rest easy in grace and love.