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NBC News
12 hours ago
- NBC News
Authorities search hiking area for Washington father accused of killing 3 daughters
Authorities believe they have tracked Travis Decker, who is accused of killing his three young daughters, to a hiking area in Chelan County, Washington. 'Tracking teams believe they are on Decker's trail, community support and tips are still needed!' the Chelan County Sheriff's Office said in a news release on Tuesday night. Authorities believe he may be in the Blewett Pass 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,' the sheriff's office said. The children, Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia Decker, 5, were found dead on June 2 near a campground east of Seattle after their father failed to bring them home from a visitation. According to an affidavit, the girls had bags over their heads and had been zip-tied. An autopsy attributed their deaths to suffocation. Decker's white pickup was found near the girls, according to authorities, who said it had two bloody handprints on it. A large amount of evidence was collected from the scene, along with Decker's dog, which was turned over to a local animal rescue, authorities said. An arrest warrant accuses him of first-degree murder and kidnapping. The manhunt has covered hundreds of square miles by air, land and water, the sheriff's office previously said. Decker, a military veteran and active member of the Washington State National Guard, was described by authorities as an outdoorsman known to go 'off-grid' for months. Authorities tracked him to the Blewett Pass area after receiving a tip from a hiking party who said they saw a lone hiker in the Enchantments area and that the person appeared to be ill-prepared for the trail and weather. The hiking party also said the person appeared to be avoiding others, the sheriff's office said. Tracking teams in a helicopter immediately responded and saw 'a lone, off-trail hiker.' The person ran from sight as the helicopter passed, the sheriff's office said. '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,' the release states. Authorities are continuing to search the area. Last year, a court ordered Decker to seek mental health treatment and domestic violence anger management counseling, according to the affidavit. It says Decker did not seek treatment and refused to sign a parenting plan imposed by the court. His ex-wife, Whitney Decker, described her relationship with her ex-husband as cordial and said he had never previously failed to return their children, according to the affidavit.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Feds take over manhunt for Washington father accused of killing 3 young daughters
After law enforcement officers spent days scouring a remote section of Washington state for a man accused of killing his three young daughters, the sheriff leading the manhunt turned the search over to federal authorities, officials said Monday. Since last week, the search for Travis Decker, 32, has covered hundreds of square miles by air, land and water, the Chelan County Sheriff's Office said in a news release, and the department has reached the point 'where we need to rest our local resources.' 'Our command staff continues to be engaged with the search command while we give our teams time off to rest and recuperate and be ready to rejoin the search for, and capture of, the suspect,' the sheriff's office said. The sheriff's office remains the lead agency in the criminal investigation into the deaths of Decker's three daughters, Evelyn, 8, Paityn, 9, and Olivia Decker, 5, the department said. The girls were found dead June 2 near a campground east of Seattle after Decker failed to return them from a visitation three days before. An arrest warrant accuses him of first-degree murder and kidnapping. An autopsy completed Friday attributed the girls' deaths to suffocation, according to Monday's release. A detective previously wrote in an affidavit in support of an arrest warrant that they had bags over their heads and had been zip-tied. Two bloody handprints were found on Decker's white pickup, which was found near the girls, and one of the blood samples recovered from the scene was that of a man, the department said. Another blood sample was nonhuman. The sheriff's office said additional DNA and fingerprint analyses are being conducted. Authorities said they have collected a large amount of evidence from the scene, along with Decker's dog, which was turned over to a local animal rescue. Authorities have described Decker, a military veteran and active member of the Washington State National Guard, as a longtime outdoorsman known to go 'off-grid' for months. The sheriff has warned people with cabins in the area to lock their doors and leave their lights on at night. The affidavit shows that Decker's ex-wife, Whitney Decker, described her relationship with her ex-husband as cordial and said he'd never previously failed to return their children. A parenting plan imposed by a court last year required him to seek mental health treatment and domestic violence-anger management counseling, but he hadn't done so, and he refused to sign the plan, according to the affidavit. Since the girls were found dead, Whitney Decker has called for reforms to the Amber Alert system, which sends out text messages to all cellphones in the area of missing children but wasn't used after she told authorities that her ex-husband had violated their parenting plan. A spokesman for the agency that manages the system, the Washington State Patrol, has said a request for an alert from local authorities didn't meet strict criteria required by the federal program. This article was originally published on
NBC News
2 days ago
- NBC News
Feds take over manhunt for Washington father accused of killing 3 young daughters
After law enforcement officers spent days scouring a remote section of Washington State for a father accused of killing his three young daughters, the local sheriff leading the manhunt turned over the search to federal authorities, officials said Monday. Since last week, the search for Travis Decker, 32, has covered hundreds of square miles by air, land and water, the Chelan County Sheriff's Office said in a news release, and the department reached the point 'where we need to rest our local resources.' 'Our command staff continues to be engaged with the search command while we give our teams time off to rest and recuperate and be ready to rejoin the search for, and capture of, the suspect,' the sheriff's office said. The sheriff's office remains the lead agency on the criminal investigation into the deaths of Decker's three daughters, Evelyn, 8, Paityn, 9, and Olivia Decker, 5, the department said. The girls were found dead June 2 near a campground east of Seattle after Decker failed to return them from a visitation three days before. An arrest warrant accuses him of first-degree murder and kidnapping. An autopsy completed Friday attributed the girls' cause of death to suffocation, according to Monday's release. A detective previously wrote in an affidavit in support of an arrest warrant that they had bags over their heads and had been zip-tied. Two bloody handprints were found on Decker's white pickup, which was found near the girls, and one of the blood samples recovered from the scene belonged to a man, the department said. Another blood sample was non-human. The department said additional DNA and fingerprint analyses are being conducted. Authorities said they have collected a large amount of evidence from the scene, along with Decker's dog, which was turned over to a local animal rescue. Authorities previously described Decker, a military veteran and active member of the Washington State National Guard, as a longtime outdoorsman known to go 'off-grid' for months. The sheriff has warned people with cabins in the area to lock their doors and leave their lights on at night. The affidavit shows that Decker's ex-wife, Whitney Decker, described her relationship with her ex-husband as cordial and said he'd never previously failed to return their children. A parenting plan imposed by a court last year required him to seek mental health treatment and domestic violence-anger management counseling but he had not done so and refused to sign the plan, according to the affidavit. Since the girls were found dead, Whitney Decker has called for reforms to the Amber Alert system, which sends out text messages to all cell phones in the area of missing children but was not used after she told authorities that her ex-husband had violated their parenting plan. A spokesman for the agency that manages the system, Washington State Patrol, has said that a request for an alert from local authorities did not meet strict criteria required by the federal program.
