Authorities have confirmed the discovery of remains believed to belong to Travis Decker, a 32-year-old man suspected of killing his three young daughters. The remains were located this week in a remote wooded area south of Leavenworth, Washington, following a prolonged search lasting over three months. The Chelan County Sheriff’s Office announced that a DNA analysis will be conducted to confirm the identity of the remains.
The search for Decker began after his three daughters—Evelyn, 8, Paityn, 9, and Olivia, 5—were found dead near a campground on June 2, 2023. Authorities had initially hoped to locate Decker alive, but three weeks into the manhunt, they expressed skepticism about his survival. Resources were redirected to focus on finding Decker's remains, with officials indicating that the likelihood of his death was increasing daily.
On June 10, officials believed they had tracked Decker to a location near the campsite where his daughters were discovered. A helicopter search revealed a person matching Decker's description, reported by a hiking party who noted that he appeared unprepared for the trail and was avoiding contact with others. Although he managed to evade capture by fleeing, tracking dogs later located him near a trailhead.
Travis Decker, a military veteran and National Guardsman, had a scheduled visitation with his daughters just days before their tragic deaths. When he failed to return the girls, his ex-wife, Whitney Decker, reported him missing to the Wenatchee police, initiating a search that lasted through the weekend.
In a shocking turn of events, the bodies of the three girls were found with zip ties and plastic bags over their heads. A detective's affidavit revealed that an initial examination suggested the girls likely died from asphyxiation. Nearby, Decker's unoccupied white pickup truck was found, marked with two bloody handprints on its tailgate.
Whitney Decker described her ex-husband as homeless and struggling with mental health issues. According to the affidavit, a parenting plan established in September 2024 required Travis to seek mental health treatment and complete domestic violence anger-management counseling, which he had not pursued. Whitney expressed concern that Travis had not adhered to these requirements, as he refused to sign the parenting plan.
In the aftermath of her daughters' deaths, Whitney Decker has called for reforms to the Amber Alert system in Washington State. Local police had attempted to issue an alert the Friday before the girls were found, but the request was denied by the agency managing the program, citing that it did not meet strict criteria set forth by the U.S. Justice Department. A spokesperson for the Washington State Patrol stated that a different alert issued that Saturday served a similar purpose in notifying the public.
In her first public statement about her daughters' killings, Whitney Decker addressed a crowd of thousands in late June, expressing her hope that the legacy of her daughters would live on in the hearts of those who knew them. "They were incredible," she said, emphasizing the profound impact her daughters had on their community.
