LEAVENWORTH, Wash. (AP) — Authorities say they have found remains they believe are Travis Decker, an ex-soldier wanted in connection with the deaths of his three daughters, in the mountains of Washington state.
The Chelan County Sheriff’s Office announced the discovery in a statement on Thursday, confirming that the remains, which have yet to be positively identified, are being processed with the assistance of the Washington State Patrol crime scene response team. A DNA analysis is forthcoming.
“While positive identification has not yet been confirmed, preliminary findings suggest the remains belong to Travis Decker,” the sheriff’s statement indicated.
Travis Decker, 32, has been wanted since June 2 of this year, when a sheriff’s deputy discovered his truck and the bodies of his three daughters—9-year-old Paityn Decker, 8-year-old Evelyn Decker, and 5-year-old Olivia Decker—at a campground near Leavenworth.
The girls were last seen alive shortly before Decker failed to return them to their mother’s home in Wenatchee, approximately 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of Seattle, after a scheduled visit.
A veteran infantryman, Decker served in the Army from March 2013 until July 2021, including a deployment to Afghanistan in 2014. He had skills in navigation and survival, having once lived off the grid for over two months.
The search for Decker had involved more than 100 personnel from various state and federal agencies covering hundreds of square miles of rugged terrain. The U.S. Marshals Service had offered a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to his capture.
Concerns about Decker's mental health had been raised by his ex-wife, Whitney Decker, who sought to modify their parenting plan due to his increasing instability, claiming he was often living in his truck and unfit for overnight visits with the children.
An autopsy revealed that the three girls died from suffocation, as they were found bound with zip ties and had plastic bags placed over their heads.
