Remains found of former U.S. soldier accused of killing his 3 daughters: authorities
Authorities say the remains of Travis Caleb Decker , accused of killing and abandoning the bodies of three young sisters in the U.S. wilderness, have been located.
In a statement Thursday, the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office said “ positive identification has not yet been confirmed ” but preliminary findings suggest the remains belong to the father. The remains were found a few miles from where the girls’ bodies were located, CBS’ KIRO-TV reports.
The findings come after the three girls were found dead earlier in June.
As authorities conduct a thorough examination of the recently recovered remains, here’s what we know about the brief timeline of the murder investigation.
Who was Travis Decker?
Decker was a 32-year-old Army veteran who served from March 2013 to July 2021. In 2014, he was deployed to Afghanistan for four months. The police say he was wanted for three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of first-degree kidnapping.
The charges were laid after his three daughters Paityn Decker, 9, Evelyn Decker, 8, and Olivia Decker, 5, were reported missing by their mother, Whitney Decker, on May 30. Whitney and Travis reportedly split in 2022.
The daughters had left home to see their father for a custody visit. The daughters didn’t return home in a timely manner and calls made by their mother when she noticed they hadn’t yet returned went unanswered.
A few days later, the bodies of the girls and Decker’s phone and his truck were found on June 2 in a remote campground in the state of Washington. Decker was nowhere to be found and his absence sparked a massive manhunt by the police that included scores of people from various organizations and agencies.
On Thursday, Decker’s remains were located by the investigators a few miles away from where the daughters’ bodies were found, CNN reports . The daughters are said to have died from suffocation.
His remains were found in the Leavenworth area in the Washington state, authorities said. The closest Canadian destination from this location is Vancouver, B.C., the drive for which can be approximately a little over four hours one-way.
Was Travis Decker headed to Canada?
There were three possible sightings in the Washington and Idaho areas of the father from June onwards but all three turned out to be unsuccessful. Prior to his disappearance and the daughters’ death, officials found the father also searched online “how to move Canada,” “how does a person move to Canada,” and “jobs Canada.” The search history was revealed according to an affidavit by a U.S. Marshals Service dated June 5 that was first obtained by The Independent .
The affidavit says that the remains of the sisters were located “relatively close to the Canadian border and approximately 11 miles from the Pacific Crest Trail, a well-established trail that leads directly to Canada.”
Due to Decker’s previous training as an ex-soldier, he was declared armed and dangerous by the authorities.
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