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Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Why wasn't an Amber Alert sent for the 3 sisters found dead in Washington?
The deaths of three girls in Washington state whose mother reported them missing after their father didn't return them from a custodial visit, has prompted cries for reform because an Amber Alert was never sent for the sisters. The bodies of Paityn Decker, 9; Evelyn Decker, 8; and Olivia Decker, 5, were discovered on June 2 – just days after they were reported missing by their mother, Whitney Decker. The three girls did not return home from a planned visitation with their father, Travis Decker, a former military member who is homeless and was living out of a pickup. Authorities found the girls' bodies about 75 to 100 yards away from their father's unoccupied vehicle near the Rock Island Campground in Chelan County, about 148 miles east of Seattle. The FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Marshals, and U.S. Border Patrol have joined the search for Travis Decker, whose whereabouts remain unknown. Now, Whitney Decker is calling for changes to Washington state's Amber Alert system and improvements in mental health care for veterans as the search for the man stretched into its sixth day on June 6, according to reports. Washington State Patrol was originally contacted on May 30 to request an Amber Alert, but the situation "did not meet the required criteria" at the time, Wenatchee police said. The agency instead issued a statewide Endangered Missing Person Alert (EMPA) for the girls on May 31. As authorities intensify the search for Travis Decker, 32, a family attorney told local media outlets that Whitney Decker believes her daughters might still be alive had an Amber Alert been issued in the hours after they were reported missing. "She really feels that the system let her children down," Attorney Arianna Cozart said in an interview with KING 5. "It was the inadequacies in the services for our veterans that killed those children." Court filings revealed that Travis Decker had exhibited mental health issues prior to the girls' deaths. Cozart told The Seattle Times that Travis Decker had been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and complex post-traumatic stress disorder after leaving active service. "They did not see him as an immediate physical danger to his children, despite the fact that he had a well established history of mental health issues," Cozart added. "And had they had seen it that way, those children might still be alive. And that's the thing that is so brutal, and the one thing she's really hoping can be changed in this tragedy." Cozart did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment on June 5. 'One too many': Death of 3 girls in Travis Decker's custody is a familiar tragedy Chris Loftis, spokesperson for the Washington State Patrol, reiterated to USA TODAY that the request for an Amber Alert did not meet the system's guidelines, which are set by the U.S. Department of Justice. He said that, similar to other states, Washington's system has "specific criteria" to ensure that features of the program are only used in instances where the standards have been met. According to Loftis, the criteria include: "The person(s) must be 17 or younger." "The incident must be investigated by a law enforcement agency, and the subject must be entered into the National Crime Information Center." "There must be enough descriptive information that activating the alert will assist in the recovery." "There must be reason to believe the person has been abducted." "The missing person(s) must be known to be in danger of imminent serious bodily injury or death." While the first three criteria were met, Loftis said Travis Decker had limited custodial rights, and there was not immediate legal presumption that the girls were abducted when the Amber Alert requests were submitted on May 30 and May 31. He added that law enforcement does not "automatically have clear indication that the children are in danger" in situations where a custodial parent is late returning children to another parent. Loftis noted that discussions with local law enforcement did not mention danger as a concern. Citing notes from the intake specialist for Washington State Patrol's Missing and Unidentified Persons Unit, Loftis said initial and follow-up reports from local police stated there was no threat of great bodily harm or death to the children at the time. The notes also showed that Travis Decker had previously "never diverted from the parenting plan in the past" and "no alarming mental health status" had been mentioned in the reports, other than "he may be 'going through a lot' after leaving the military and weathering housing and employment issues." Though the case did not meet the Amber Alert threshold, Loftis said there was "ample concern" and State Patrol had enough information to issue the EMPA. Unlike an Amber Alert, the EMPA does not send a push notification or text message to all cell phones in the targeted area about missing children. According to Loftis, issuing an EMPA allows law enforcement to post electronic fliers, send text messages and emails to listservs of people who have requested notification on all alerts, post vehicle information on highway reader boards, and promote coverage by state broadcasters. "The State of Washington handled this incident no differently than any other state with the information they had available. But all of that said, nothing, no process, and no set of standards can protect us from all evils and horrors," Loftis said in a statement to USA TODAY. "We learn from every tragedy, and I'm sure we will review and learn from this set of tragedies, but the depth of this sorrow is beyond a learning opportunity right now, it is a tragedy first and forever." Community mourns amid manhunt: Who were Olivia, Evelyn and Paityn Decker? The three girls were found dead by apparent suffocation in a remote campground, according to the Wenatchee Police Department. Whitney Decker had reported the children missing on May 30 after they left their central Washington home to visit their father. On June 2, a Chelan County deputy found an unoccupied truck at about 3:45 p.m. local time near the Rock Island Campground. Officers found the bodies of the missing girls soon after, down a small embankment, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by USA TODAY. While Travis Decker was nowhere to be found, investigators traced his cell phone, which revealed that he visited the same campground the day before the kidnapping, the court documents show. Travis Decker is wanted on charges of kidnapping, first-degree murder, and custodial interference in connection with the deaths, according to the Wenatchee Police Department. In an update on June 4, Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison said Travis Decker may have scoped out a hiding location before going off the grid using his extensive military and outdoor survival training. Contributing: Natalie Neysa Alund, Anthony Robledo, and Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Death of 3 Decker sisters: Why wasn't Amber Alert issued?
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
Authorities are searching for a Washington state father of 3 dead girls
WENATCHEE, Wash. — A man in central Washington state is wanted on suspicion of murder after his three young daughters were reported missing and then found dead. Authorities have asked the public for help finding Travis Decker, 32, who is wanted on three counts of murder and kidnapping, according to police in Wenatchee, about 100 miles east of Seattle. Police said it was unknown whether Decker, a former Army soldier with 'extensive training,' was armed. On Friday, the mother of the girls, ages 9, 8 and 5, reported that their father did not return them after a planned visit, police said. Over the weekend authorities looked for the children and for Decker, who was believed to be living out of a white 2017 GMC Sierra pickup with Washington plates. Police said Decker's unoccupied truck was found Monday near a campground west of the city of Leavenworth, which is about 20 miles northwest of Wenatchee. According to an affidavit, Chelan County Sheriff's Office deputies found the girls' bodies about 75 to 100 yards 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. Anyone who may have seen Decker since Friday or knows his current location was asked to call 911. 'Due to safety concerns do not attempt to contact or approach Decker,' police said. The Wenatchee School District said that the girls were students at Lincoln Elementary and that counseling services were available. The mother told police that Decker picked the girls up around 5 p.m. but had not returned them by 8 p.m., and his phone went straight to voicemail, court documents said. A 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 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, 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 that 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,' Loftis said. 'Everybody always looks to how we can improve.' The alert systems are constantly evolving and this could prompt further change, Loftis said: 'Obviously it didn't work this time. Obviously we have three children that are dead.' Decker joined the Army in 2013 and transferred to the Washington National Guard in 2021, Washington Military Department spokesperson Karina Shagren told the Associated Press. He was a full-time member of the Guard until 2023 or 2024, when he switched to part-time. Decker stopped attending mandatory monthly drills slightly more than a year ago, and the Guard was in the process of a disciplinary discharge for him, Shagren said. 'This is an absolute tragedy,' 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 U.S. Marshals to locate and apprehend Decker. A reward of up to $20,000 was available for information leading directly to his arrest. Kelleher writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Lisa Baumann in Bellingham, Wash., contributed to this report.
