From left to right: Paityn, Evelyn, and Olivia Decker (Wenatchee Police Department).
Law enforcement agencies continue to search for a Washington man who was described by his ex-wife as “unstable” after the former couple’s three daughters were found dead — and he could have prepared himself to survive in the wilderness.
Travis Decker, 32, was charged with three counts of aggravated first-degree murder and three counts of first-degree kidnapping on Tuesday after prosecutors in Washington’s Chelan County originally charged him with three counts of custodial interference. According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by the Seattle Times, Decker failed to return his three daughters — 9-year-old Paityn, 8-year-old Evelyn, and 5-year-old Olivia — to his ex-wife by 8 p.m. on Friday, per their court-arranged custodial agreement.
When Whitney Decker called her former husband’s phone, it went straight to voicemail. She immediately called police.
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According to a press release from the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office, police responded at around 9:45 p.m. on Friday and began to search for Travis Decker, the three children, and his truck, a white GMC Sierra. Police learned that Travis Decker was living a transient lifestyle and lived out of the truck.
Along with the Wenatchee Police Department and the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office, the Washington State Patrol and the Federal Bureau of Investigation joined the search and issued an Endangered Missing Person Alert (EMPA) on Saturday.
Travis Decker (Chelan County Sheriff’s Office).
On Monday, Wenatchee Police detectives obtained a warrant for Travis Decker’s arrest on three counts of custodial interference. The same day, law enforcement narrowed down a search area for the truck, which was found near a campground. It was unoccupied, and Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison told Ashleigh Banfield on NewsNation on Wednesday that there were bloody handprints on the vehicle that are believed to be from an adult. He did not confirm that the handprints belonged to Travis Decker, but added, “We’re not ruling anything out.”
During the interview, Morrison told Banfield that after speaking with Travis Decker’s father, police believe that the suspect has the wherewithal to survive in the wilderness and has been known to go out for up to 2 1/2 months at a time. He added, “If he did set it up beforehand and put supplies out there, it could make it more difficult to track him down. But we also have technology working on our side.”
Morrison called Travis Decker’s alleged crime against his daughters “just disgusting.”
According to the affidavit, the three girls were found 75 to 100 yards from the truck’s location. They each had plastic bags over their heads and their wrists were zip-tied. All the girls were wearing the same clothes they were last seen in, when their mother handed them over to their father just days before. Police believe they died of asphyxiation.
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Local CBS affiliate KIRO obtained divorce records that detailed the troubled divorce between Travis and Whitney Decker, which began in November 2022. Concerns about Travis Decker’s mental health were raised beginning in September 2024, when it as reported that he lost his home and was listed as a “transient” in court records. Those records also stated that Whitney Decker claimed that her estranged husband “neglected his parental duties towards a child” and “has a long-term emotional or physical problem that gets in the way of his ability to parent.”
She further requested that he be evaluated for “anger management/domestic violence, and a full psychiatric evaluation by a licensed psychiatrist to include any potential diagnoses.”
Travis Decker, a veteran of the U.S. Army, was eventually diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. A military spokesperson told the Seattle Times that Travis Decker was facing a pending disciplinary discharge after he failed to appear for mandatory monthly drills for more than a year. Whitney Decker cited his mental health issues after reporting her daughters missing.
After their separation, Travis Decker moved into an armory and purchased an RV, which was eventually repossessed. According to the divorce documents, Travis Decker reportedly lied about where the girls were staying while they were in his care. Whitney Decker stated, “There were times that I told him I didn’t feel comfortable with the girls staying in the armory with a bunch of strange men. He told me he was staying in the RV but then I found out he really was staying at the armory again.”
In the summer of 2024, she stated in divorce documents, “Travis just keeps getting more and more unstable. He has made huge sacrifices to serve our country and loves his girls very much but he has got to get better for our girls. I do not want to keep Travis from the girls at all.”
KIRO’s reporting on the divorce documents included Travis Decker’s defense of his transient lifestyle as a proper environment for his three daughters. He reportedly stated that he was taking the girls camping, and that they could learn about the world by spending time with him in his current condition. He also stated that he had no money to pay for child support.
According to the documents, the court took Whitney Decker’s side and ordered Travis Decker to undergo the proposed evaluation of his anger issues and mental health. The Seattle Times reported that Travis Decker refused to sign the order that directed him to undergo the evaluation, and he reportedly never followed through with getting an evaluation or counseling.
In the days leading up to the girls’ disappearance, Travis Decker failed to show up for work, and his mental health was brought up to police by several people including his employer and his ex-wife.
In an update on Wednesday, the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office said that Travis Decker was “well versed in wilderness survival and capable of spending days or even weeks in the wilderness on his own and with very little equipment.” Police previously stated that while he may not be armed, he was still considered dangerous.
Authorities are offering a $20,000 reward for reliable information that will lead to Travis Decker’s apprehension.
