DNA confirms suspected child killer Travis Decker is dead
Four months after a Washington state man vanished after a weekend custody visit, investigators have found and identified his remains. Travis Decker, who is accused of killing his three daughters, was found last week and identified on Thursday.
DNA results showed that the remains found in a remote wooded area near Leavenworth belonged to Decker.
Manhunt in Washington
Investigators had been looking for Decker since Memorial Day weekend, when he took his three daughters on a camping trip. When Decker failed to return his daughters home following the planned custody visit, his ex-wife filed a complaint with the police department.
The complaint sparked a search for the girls, 5-year-old Olivia, 8-year-old Evelyn and 9-year-old Paityn. After a weekend of searching, authorities found the girls dead in a rural embankment.
Authorities confirmed all three girls had suffocated, and their deaths were ruled as homicides.
Following that discovery, police searched the Cascade Mountains for months using dogs, drones and dive teams, but found nothing.
Three weeks into the search, authorities issued a statement saying they were shifting their resources to focus on finding remains, casting doubt on Decker still being alive.
Remains found
On Thursday, Sept. 18, authorities announced they’d found human remains and were working to identify them. Law enforcement said the remains were found along with some of Decker’s personal items.
Searchers found his body less than a mile from where investigators discovered his daughters.
The coroner is still working to establish Decker’s time and cause of death.
Mental health issues
Decker’s ex-wife, Whitney, said he was homeless and dealing with a personality disorder.
According to NBC, a parenting plan in effect since September 2024 required Decker to seek mental health treatment and domestic violence anger-management counseling. Records indicate he had yet to do so.
Whitney said her ex-husband had always been communicative about their children and previously returned them when he was supposed to.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
