CHELAN COUNTY, Wash. — The FBI search for Travis Decker, a Wenatchee man accused of killing his three daughters at a campground near Leavenworth, has turned up bones.
“The bones were found during the grid search by one of the 100 personnel… it was inconclusive at the time if they were animal or human, so it was sent off to Central Washington University in their anthropology department to do a confirmation,” Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison told KOMO News over the phone Friday.
If the bones are determined to be human, further testing will be conducted.
RELATED | Details released on Decker sisters crime scene; father Travis remains sole murder suspect
The FBI Seattle Office led the latest search around the Rock Island Campground along Icicle Creek in difficult and rugged terrain.
The bodies of Decker’s three children, ages 5, 8, and 9, were discovered at the campground on June 2 after they were reported missing when their father didn’t return them after a scheduled visitation.
Plastic bags were placed over their heads, and their wrists were zip-tied, according to the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office.
MORE | KOMO News’ ongoing coverage of the murders of the Decker sisters and the manhunt for their father
Since then, local and federal authorities have combed parts of Chelan and Kittitas counties looking for signs of the former Army Ranger with a history of PTSD, borderline personality disorder, and other trauma.
The latest effort in the months-long search involves 100 personnel working under the FBI including:
- Special Agents, Intelligence Analysts, and Task Force Officers.
- Specialty units such as the Evidence Response Team, SWAT, electronics technicians, medical personnel, and a mobile command post.
- Experts from the FBI’s Critical Incident Response Group (CIRG) and Laboratory Division, who bring national expertise in child abduction cases, crisis response, and forensic analysis.
FBI officials said they would first conduct a thorough grid search within a mile of the crime scene.
“The areas being searched are extremely challenging with steep hillsides, dense brush, minimal cell service, and unpredictable conditions. Over the past three months, investigative teams, led by your Sheriff’s Office Investigative Unit, have pursued every lead and searched vast, remote areas in the hope of locating Travis Decker or any evidence that might bring us closer to answers. This has been a painstaking and difficult task, and I want to personally commend all involved for their dedication,” Morrison said at Monday’s news conference.
Morrison said there is no evidence indicating whether Decker is dead or alive, but the search will continue until every possible avenue has been exhausted and authorities can bring closure to the case.
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