On September 18, officials revealed that human remains, thought to belong to Travis Decker, a man wanted for the deaths of his three daughters, were found in a secluded wooded area in Washington state. The remains were uncovered south of Leavenworth, a small town situated in the Cascade Mountains of central Washington, according to the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office. The search efforts involved various law enforcement entities, including the U.S. Marshals Service, the FBI, Border Patrol, the Forest Service, and the Washington State Patrol.
The sheriff’s department is currently processing the site with the aid of the crime scene response team from the Washington State Patrol. Once this phase is complete, DNA testing will be conducted to verify the identity of the remains. This finding comes after an extensive three-month search for Decker, who was 32 years old at the time he vanished. He was facing serious charges, including first-degree murder and kidnapping, connected to the suffocation deaths of his daughters—Paityn, 9; Evelyn, 8; and Olivia, 5—all from Wenatchee, which is located about 150 miles east of Seattle.
The bodies of the three girls were discovered shortly after their mother reported them missing on May 30, following a scheduled visitation with their father, a former U.S. Army soldier who had been living out of his pickup truck. On June 2, a sheriff’s deputy found an abandoned vehicle near the Rock Island Campground in Chelan County. Soon after, the bodies of the missing children were located down a slight slope, as detailed in a probable cause affidavit obtained by USA TODAY.
Authorities revealed that the girls’ bodies were found approximately 75 to 100 yards from their father’s deserted vehicle. Preliminary reports from the medical examiner indicated that the girls had been murdered by suffocation. Disturbingly, they were discovered with plastic bags over their heads and evidence that their hands had been zip-tied near their father’s truck.
When the remains were discovered, Decker was not at the scene. Investigators found that his cell phone records showed he had been at the campground the day before the abduction. Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison expressed concern that Decker may have scouted out a hiding spot before disappearing, leveraging his military training and outdoor survival skills. Investigators also noted that Decker had shown signs of mental health issues prior to the tragic deaths of his daughters.
