Latest news with #Enchantments
The Sun
a day ago
- The Sun
Eerie Travis Decker ‘sighting' as hikers ‘come face to face with dad who killed 3 daughters' before helicopter swoops in
THE man accused of killing his three young daughters is believed to be hiking alone as cops close in on him. A hiking group saw a "lone hiker" believed to be Travis Decker, 32, prompting cops to send a helicopter to search the wilderness where the eerie sighting occurred. 9 9 9 Decker has been on the loose for over a week after he allegedly suffocated his three daughters, all under the age of 10, to death during a planned custody visit on May 30. He left the girls' bodies, his dog, and his truck at a campground in Washington state as he's believed to have taken off on foot. Authorities recently received a tip from a hiking party who spotted a man hiking alone near the Enchantments, the Chelan County Sheriff's Office said on Tuesday. The Enchantments is a popular backpacking area in the picturesque wilderness in Washington's Cascade Mountain Range. The hiker "appeared to be ill prepared for trail and weather conditions, and appeared to be avoiding others," CCSO said in a Facebook post. Tracking teams responded immediately and sent in a chopper. The helicopter crew then spotted the hiker near a remote alpine lake called Colchuk Lake. The off-trail hiker sprinted out of sight as the helicopter passed, CCSO said. Cops believe this man was Decker. Authorities are asking any hikers who saw anything suspicious in the Enchantments in the past week to contact police. Eerie new video shows 'killer' dad Travis Decker as cops fear 'expert' soldier won't be caught for MONTHS after murders After the hiker ran, investigators followed a trail and deployed K-9s to the site, which tracked him to the Ingalls Creek Trailhead area. Cops warned people in the Ingalls Creek area to keep an eye out for Decker earlier this week, but have since said that residents are safe to move around. Federal teams joined the manhunt for Decker last week, and local authorities turned the search over to the feds on Sunday night. Decker is a veteran with extensive military training and experience surviving in the wilderness alone for months. CCSO's full statement On Tuesday, the Chelan County Sheriff's Office shared an update in the search for Travis Decker, who is accused of killing his three daughters. Tracking teams believe they are on Decker's trail, community support and tips are still needed! Law Enforcement have tracked a subject believed to be Decker into Blewett Pass/ HWY 97 area. We are asking for the public, especially those who live or have cabins in the area, to remain highly vigilant and report any suspicious activity. First off, we here at CCSO want to thank the countless hours spent on this search by men and women of law enforcement from a vast number of agencies across our region, state, and nation. The amount of work that has been accomplished thus far could not have happened without them and we are forever grateful. Our office recently received a tip from a hiking party who stated they spotted a lone hiker in the Enchantments area who appeared to be ill prepared for trail and weather conditions, and appeared to be avoiding others. Tracking teams immediately acted upon the information and spotted a lone, off trail hiker from a helicopter near Colchuck Lake who ran from sight as the helicopter passed. Additional assets were called to the area while they developed a plan to track the individual. Teams later picked up a trail and deployed K9s to the area, tracking the subject to the area of Ingalls Creek Trailhead on HWY 97. HIKERS: If you have been in the Enchantments area within the last week and have seen anything suspicious, please contact the tip line with any information you may have. Additionally, if you were a solo hiker in the area recently, please contact the tip line immediately with your information so investigators can follow up with you. As the search continues in the area, we are asking that anyone who may have a cabin, or reside in the area report any suspicious activity, lock your doors and vehicles, and look out for your neighbor's property. If you have any cameras, including trail cameras in the area, please check them or submit a tip to the US Marshal's tip line with a location of the camera for law enforcement to check. While federal agencies lead the continued searched, CCSO detectives remain strongly engaged on the murder investigation, processing evidence and tracking down more potential evidence to build a strong case for prosecution. We want to sincerely thank the hard work of our Detective Division led by Sgt. Lewis, and East Cascade SWAT Team led by Sgt. Frank, Sgt. Foreman and Deputy Eakle, who have put in several hundred combined hours of work since locating Evelyn, Paityn, and Olivia deceased on June 2, 2025. For our citizens and communities, we are grateful for the outpouring of support you have given to all of our members. A special thank you to the Wenatchee Blue Family, Soup Ladies, and other local entities that have provided all the law enforcement personnel with meals, snacks, drinks, coffee, bug spray, sun screen, and other countless essential items that keep us moving. We also want to thank Governor Ferguson for authorizing the National Guard to assist with the search. For clarification, they are providing air assets to fly in support of the search and logistical support to search teams. CCSO remains steadfast in our commitment to conduct a thorough investigation and the capture of Mr. Decker. United States Border Patrol has taken over operations and command for the search of Mr. Decker. Under their direction, they are continuing to follow up on tips from the community while working closely with other federal entities while we, along with our regional partners, remain available to assist where it is needed. We ask that the public report tips regarding Mr. Decker's whereabouts to the US Marshal's Service via their tip line and website, which is below. The United States Marshals Service is offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading directly to Travis DECKER's arrest. The suspect should be considered armed and dangerous. If you see Travis Decker, please call 911 immediately and do not attempt or contact or approach him. Anyone with information is urged to contact the nearest U.S. Marshals office, the U.S. Marshals Service Communications Center at 1-800-336-0102, or USMS Tips at Sheriff Morrison, along with a representative from the US Marshal's Service, will be conducting a press conference at the Chelan County Courthouse stairs on 6/11/2025 at 4 pm. Source: CCSO He was an infantryman in the US Army from 2013 to 2021. In 2014, he was deployed to Afghanistan for four months. Cops warned the public about his survival and navigation skills due to his training. He once spent two and a half months living off the grid, which sparked fears that the search for him could last months. 9 9 9 Anyone who sees Decker is told not to approach him as he's dangerous. It's unclear if he's armed. The manhunt has covered hundreds of miles since June 2, when Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia Decker, 5, were found at a campsite outside Leavenworth. The girls had been bound with zip ties and had plastic bags over their heads, cops said. Decker had failed to return the girls to their mom, Whitney Decker, after what was supposed to be a scheduled custody visit three days earlier. Timeline of the missing Decker girls Paityn Decker, 9, Evelyn Decker, 8, and Olivia Decker, 5, were found dead at a campground after they were last seen on a custody visit to their dad. Below is a timeline of events: Monday, May 26 Travis Decker searches online for "how does a person move to Canada," a Canadian job website, and "how does a person move to Canada." Thursday, May 29 Decker's cell activity shows that he drove to and from the Rock Island Campground. Friday, May 30 5 pm - The three girls are picked up from their mom's house by their dad. 8 pm - Decker is supposed to return the girls but doesn't. Their mom's calls to him go straight to voicemail. 9:45 pm - Whitney Decker calls the Wenatchee Police Department to report her daughters missing. Decker's truck is seen driving westbound on Highway 2. Washington State Patrol is contacted for an Amber Alert but said the situation didn't match their criteria. Saturday, May 31 WPD issues an Endangered Missing Persons Alert. Monday, June 2 3:45 pm - Decker's truck is found empty with bloody adult-sized hand prints at Rock Island Campground. 5 pm - Cops search the area and find the bodies of the three girls. Tuesday, June 3 9:30 am - WPD notifies the public that they are still searching for Decker. 2 pm - WPD tells the public that the three girls were found dead and that Decker is still on the loose. Friday, June 6 The girls' autopsy report confirms that they died by suffocation. Sunday, June 8 6 pm - Chelan County Sheriff's Office hands the search for Decker to the federal authorities. Cops have faced backlash from authorities because they didn't issue an AMBER Alert for the girls after their mom reported them missing on May 30. However, officials responded they didn't think the siblings were in imminent danger because Decker had no history of violence toward the girls. Decker was homeless at the time of the alleged killings and was living out of his truck. 9 9 In September, Whitney filed a petition modifying her parenting plan with her ex-husband claiming that Decker's mental health had declined. She asked for permission to keep the girls from having overnight visits with Decker until he found housing. Whitney said Decker suffered from PTSD after his time in the military, and that his mental instability led to their divorce in 2022. However, Whitney insisted Decker was a good dad who had never failed to return the children after a scheduled visit until the tragedy. A GoFundMe for Whitney has now raised over $1 million.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
National Park Service firings hit Mount Rainier, Olympic, North Cascades
An entrance to Mount Rainier National Park. (Photo by) About half a dozen employees at each of Washington's three national parks are believed to have been laid off as part of the Trump administration's government-wide push to slash staff. Mount Rainier and North Cascades national parks each saw six employees let go last week, while Olympic National Park lost five, said Bill Wade, the executive director of the Association of National Park Rangers. It's been difficult for anyone to figure out the extent of layoffs at Washington's parks. Even the park superintendents have been kept mostly in the dark. Wade got information from 'reliable sources, such as other employees in the parks, or from one who is terminated and knows how many others in the park were terminated.' The cuts at Mount Rainier included the popular park's only plumber, Wade said Thursday. The Trump administration also laid off one employee at the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area in northeast Washington, Wade said. Nationwide, more than 1,000 National Park Service probationary employees have been let go as Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has taken a buzzsaw to the federal workforce in recent weeks. About 3,400 U.S. Forest Service workers have also lost their jobs. Hundreds of employees in the Forest Service's Region 6 in Washington and Oregon are among them. This included chopping the team that manages the Enchantments in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness from 13 people to three, according to the Washington Trails Association. Gregg Bafundo was the lead wilderness ranger at the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest until last Friday. He'd been with the Forest Service for nearly a decade, but a recent promotion turned him into a probationary employee — a category that includes federal workers who've only been in their jobs a year or two. 'In the simplest terms, we save lives, we protect our environment, we protect the American people and the very dirt that our country is built upon,' Bafundo told reporters Wednesday. 'I've saved lives dangling off of cliffs in the North Cascades. I saved a life of a cardiac patient on the Naches loop trail just outside Mount Rainier National Park.' National parks elsewhere have already started to see the consequences of a reduced workforce. For example, lines to get into Grand Canyon National Park this weekend were twice as long as usual, with some people waiting 90 minutes to enter, The Washington Post reported. Winter is a slower time of year for Washington's national parks so the immediate effects are less clear. But as spring and summer approach and more visitors flock to the parks, trouble could come, said Rob Smith, the northwest regional director for the National Parks Conservation Association. 'It creates a very uncertain future for our national parks,' Smith said, questioning 'whether facilities like bathrooms will have enough rangers to clean them, whether someone will be at visitor centers or search and rescue will be adequate.' It could also mean closed campgrounds and trails. More immediately, Smith wondered whether Mount Rainier would have enough snowplow operators to keep the road open to the beloved Paradise area on the south side of the park. The layoffs come as the nation's parks are growing in popularity. Mount Rainier, for example, had nearly 2.5 million visitors last year, up from less than 1.9 million a decade earlier. Meanwhile, the Park Service's workforce had already dropped significantly in the past decade. At the North Cascades National Park, advocates had previously been sounding the alarm over lack of staffing. The North Cascades Conservation Council recently circulated a petition to reopen the visitor center in Stehekin after it was indefinitely shuttered last year. Even less staff could mean increased risks for the backcountry travelers who venture into the park, known for its remote terrain and glaciated peaks. 'It is appalling to us to see the Park Service, known as 'America's best idea,' gutted of staff crucial to the visitor experience by what will doubtless be known as 'America's worst idea,'' the conservation council's president, Phil Fenner, wrote in an email. The Park Service didn't respond to a request for comment on the number of people laid off in Washington.
