Manhunt for ex-soldier after his three young daughters found dead at campsite

Telegraph

4 days ago

A former soldier is wanted on suspicion of murder after his three young daughters were found dead at a campsite in central Washington state.
Authorities asked the public on Tuesday for help finding Travis Decker, 32, who is wanted for three counts of murder and kidnapping, according to police in Wenatchee, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of Seattle.
Police said it was unknown whether Mr Decker, a former army soldier with 'extensive training', was armed.
On Friday, the mother of Paityn, nine, Evelyn, eight, and Olivia Decker, five, reported that their father did not return them after a planned visit, police said.
Over the weekend, authorities looked for the children and for Mr Decker, who was believed to be living out of a white 2017 GMC Sierra pick-up truck with Washington plates.
Mr Decker's unoccupied truck was found on Monday near a campground west of the city of Leavenworth, which is about 20 miles (30 kilometres) north west of Wenatchee.
According to an affidavit, Chelan County Sheriff's Office deputies found the girls' bodies about 68 to 91 metres away from the truck, The Seattle Times reported. Police believe the girls died from asphyxiation and reported that their wrists were zip-tied, court documents said.
'Due to safety concerns do not attempt to contact or approach Decker,' police said.
The Wenatchee School District said the girls were students of Lincoln Elementary and that counselling services were available.
The mother told police that Decker picked the children up at around 5pm and had not returned them by 8pm.
When she tried to reach him, his phone went straight to voicemail, court documents said.
The detective said she 'expressed concern because Decker reportedly has never done this before and is currently experiencing some mental health issues'.
'What prompted her to call us was that ... he was late returning the girls and had not communicated to her that he was going to be late, which was his typical fashion and so this was out of the ordinary,' Capt Brian Chance said.
Washington State Patrol was contacted on Friday night to request an Amber Alert, but it did not meet the required criteria, Wenatchee police said. The following day Wenatchee detectives contacted the patrol with additional information that led to the issuance of an endangered missing person alert.
The lacking criteria was suspected abduction and imminent peril of death or serious injury, said Chris Loftis, the director of public affairs for the state patrol.
'In this case, it was a parent with custodial privileges, and the children had not been returned home on time. But that's a rather common occurrence and not something where you just automatically assume abduction,' he said, adding that there was no indication Decker, a custodial parent who had the children for a visit, would harm them.
'We're people too, you know, so the loss of a child, the loss of two children, the loss of three children is devastating,' Mr Loftis said. 'Everybody always looks to how we can improve.'
The alert systems are constantly evolving and this could prompt further change, Mr Loftis said: 'Obviously it didn't work this time. Obviously we have three children that are dead.'
'Absolute tragedy'
Mr Decker joined the army in 2013 and transferred to the Washington National Guard in 2021, Karina Shagren, the Washington military department spokeswoman, told The Associated Press. He was a full-time member of the Guard until 2023 or 2024, when he switched to part-time.
Mr Decker stopped attending mandatory monthly drills a little over a year ago, and the Guard was in the process of a disciplinary discharge for him, Shagren said.
'This is an absolute tragedy,' Ms Shagren said. 'We are mourning along with the community.'
The Chelan County Sheriff's Office, which found the truck, was leading the search in the Okanogan Wenatchee National Forest area while other teams followed up on 'potential credible information and tips' regarding Decker's location, the agency said in a statement.
The agency was working with US Marshals to locate and apprehend Decker and the search continued on Tuesday evening. A reward of up to $20,000 was available for information leading directly to his arrest.