CHELAN COUNTY, Wash. — Human remains believed to be those of Travis Decker were discovered this week during a multi-agency search south of Leavenworth, according to the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO).
According to the CCSO, the remains were located in a remote wooded area.
RELATED | DNA links Travis Decker to crime scene where his 3 young daughters’ bodies were found
The CCSO, in a press release, noted that while positive identification has not been confirmed, preliminary findings suggest they may belong to Decker.
The Sheriff’s Office is currently processing the scene with the assistance of the WSP crime scene response team, to be followed up with DNA analysis,” wrote the CCSO. “Chelan County Sheriff’s Office has been in contact with the Decker family and is providing them with support and updates as the investigation proceeds, and is asking for continued privacy and respect for the family.
The CCSO concluded its press release by saying that updates will be provided as more information becomes available through the ongoing forensic examination and investigation.
ALSO SEE: Sheriff’s office scales back search for Travis Decker as leads dwindle in Chelan County
BACKGROUND
Local and federal law enforcement searched for the 32-year-old father from the air and on the ground after the bodies of his daughters, 5-year-old Olivia Decker, 8-year-old Evelyn Decker, and 9-year-old Paityn Decker, were discovered at a campground near Leavenworth on June 2. The girls were first reported missing on May 30 after Decker failed to return them to their mother as part of their court-ordered visitation plan.
The Chelan County medical examiner determined the girls’ cause of death was suffocation, and the manner of death was homicide.
The bodies of all three girls were found about 75 to 100 yards away from where Decker’s vehicle was found at the Rock Island Campground near Leavenworth. Court documents say investigators found zip ties and plastic bags scattered throughout the area. The girls’ wrists were zip-tied, or appeared to have been zip-tied, and each had a bag over their head.
On July, 1, the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office said a bloody fingerprint on the tailgate of the truck found at the campground where the bodies of Decker’s three daughters were discovered match the DNA profile investigators believe is Travis Decker’s.
DNA samples from items believed to be Decker’s, taken from the scene near the Rock Island campground on June 2, were analyzed by the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab. The sheriff’s office confirmed on July 15 the DNA samples from those items matched the DNA from the blood samples on the truck’s tailgate.
Decker was charged with three counts of murder and kidnapping. Federal prosecutors also charged Decker with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. Court documents obtained by KOMO News say Decker Google searched “how does a person move to Canada,” “how to relocate to Canada,” and “jobs Canada” in the days before he kidnapped his daughters.
Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) said dozens of agencies and organizations, hundreds of people, and thousands of hours have been put into the search.
Decker was an infantryman in the Army from March 2013 to July 2021 and deployed to Afghanistan for four months in 2014.
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