Afghanistan war veteran Travis Decker, 32, had been wanted over the murder of his daughters Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia, 5, who were found to have been suffocated to death
Authorities searching for ex-soldier Travis Decker, who murdered his own daughters, have said they made a grim discovery.
Law enforcement officers said they have located remains that they believe are those of Decker, who was wanted over the deaths of his three daughters. Officials said in a statement on Thursday the remains were found in the mountains of Washington State and that crime scene response teams were processing the site.
“While positive identification has not yet been confirmed, preliminary findings suggest the remains belong to Travis Decker,” the statement from the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) said. Decker, 32, had been wanted since June 2, when police found his truck as well as the bodies of his daughters Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia, 5, at a campground outside Leavenworth.
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Three days prior to the girls being found, Decker had failed to return with his daughters to their mother’s home in Wenatchee, about 100 miles east of Seattle, following a scheduled visit, reports AP. Decker was an infantryman in the Army and served between March 2013 to July 2021.
He was previously deployed to Afghanistan in 2014 and had been trained in navigation, survival and other skills, authorities said, and previously spent two months living off grid. More than 100 officials searched hundreds of square miles to locate him.
US Marshals offered a reward of up to $20,000 (£14,767) for any information leading up to his arrest. Decker’s ex-wife Whitney Decker wrote in a petition last September that his mental health issues worsened and he had become unstable. He was often living out of his truck, and she sought to restrict him from having overnight visits with his daughters until he found housing.
An autopsy later determined the girls’ died via suffocation, the sheriff’s office said. They had been bound with zip ties and had plastic bags placed over their heads.
The CCSO said in a statement on its Facebook page: “The Sheriff’s Office is currently processing the scene with the assistance of WSP crime scene response team, to be followed up with DNA analysis. Chelan County Sheriff’s Office has been in contact with the Decker family and are providing them with support and updates as the investigation proceeds and are asking for continued privacy and respect for the family.
“Further updates will be provided as more information becomes available through the ongoing forensic examination and investigation.” Travis was previously described as being between 5ft 8ins to 5ft 10ins, white, and wearing a cream coloured t-shirt, black shorts, a black mesh cap and black gauged earrings.
He had been wanted on charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping.