LEAVENWORTH, Wash. (AP) — Authorities say they have found remains they believe are Travis Decker, an ex-soldier wanted for the deaths of his three daughters, in the mountains of Washington state. The Chelan County Sheriff’s Office stated that they are processing the site with assistance from the Washington State Patrol crime scene response team and will proceed with DNA analysis to confirm the identity of the remains.
Travis Decker, 32, was reported missing after sheriff's deputies discovered his truck and the bodies of his daughters—9-year-old Paityn, 8-year-old Evelyn, and 5-year-old Olivia—in a campground outside Leavenworth on June 2. He failed to return the girls to their mother, Whitney Decker, three days earlier after a scheduled visit in Wenatchee, around 100 miles east of Seattle.
Travis Decker served as an infantryman in the Army from March 2013 to July 2021 and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2014. Authorities noted that he had experience in navigation and survival skills, having previously lived off the grid for over two months.
Over 100 officials from various state and federal agencies participated in the extensive search covering hundreds of square miles by land, air, and water. The U.S. Marshals Service had offered a reward of up to $20,000 for any information leading to Decker's capture.
Prior to the tragedy, Whitney Decker expressed concerns in a petition regarding her ex-husband's worsening mental health, stating he had become unstable and was often living out of his truck. An autopsy later revealed that the three girls had died from suffocation, as they were found bound with zip ties and with plastic bags over their heads.
Travis Decker, 32, was reported missing after sheriff's deputies discovered his truck and the bodies of his daughters—9-year-old Paityn, 8-year-old Evelyn, and 5-year-old Olivia—in a campground outside Leavenworth on June 2. He failed to return the girls to their mother, Whitney Decker, three days earlier after a scheduled visit in Wenatchee, around 100 miles east of Seattle.
Travis Decker served as an infantryman in the Army from March 2013 to July 2021 and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2014. Authorities noted that he had experience in navigation and survival skills, having previously lived off the grid for over two months.
Over 100 officials from various state and federal agencies participated in the extensive search covering hundreds of square miles by land, air, and water. The U.S. Marshals Service had offered a reward of up to $20,000 for any information leading to Decker's capture.
Prior to the tragedy, Whitney Decker expressed concerns in a petition regarding her ex-husband's worsening mental health, stating he had become unstable and was often living out of his truck. An autopsy later revealed that the three girls had died from suffocation, as they were found bound with zip ties and with plastic bags over their heads.
