Remains Believed to Be Travis Decker Found in Washington Mountains
Remains Believed to Be Travis Decker Found in Washington Mountains
Authorities have located human remains in the mountains of Washington state, which they believe belong to Travis Decker, an ex-soldier wanted in connection with the deaths of his three young daughters. The Chelan County Sheriff’s Office confirmed processing the site with assistance from the Washington State Patrol crime scene response team.
While positive identification is pending DNA analysis, preliminary findings strongly suggest the remains are Decker’s. The 32-year-old had been sought since June 2, when his truck was discovered with the bodies of his daughters—9-year-old Paityn, 8-year-old Evelyn, and 5-year-old Olivia—at a campground near Leavenworth. Decker failed to return the girls to their mother’s home in Wenatchee three days prior, following a scheduled visit.
Decker, an Army infantryman from 2013 to 2021 with a four-month deployment to Afghanistan in 2014, possessed extensive survival and navigation skills. He was known to have lived off-grid for extended periods. The extensive search involved over 100 officials from various state and federal agencies, covering hundreds of square miles of challenging mountainous terrain. The U.S. Marshals Service had offered a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to his apprehension.
An autopsy previously determined the girls’ cause of death as suffocation, noting they had been bound with zip ties and had plastic bags placed over their heads. Decker’s ex-wife, Whitney Decker, had previously expressed concerns about his deteriorating mental health and increasing instability, petitioning to restrict his overnight visits with their daughters until he secured stable housing.
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