Travis Decker: Ex-soldier suspected of killing his daughters must be dead, say police

There is no evidence a former soldier wanted in the deaths of his three young daughters is alive, police said today.

Travis Decker failed to return nine-year-old Paityn Decker, eight-year-old Evelyn Decker and five-year-old Olivia Decker to their mother's home following a scheduled visit. Their bodies - and Decker's truck - were later discovered at a campsite near Leavenworth, Washington, and a missing persons' probe escalated.

A group of hikers - again in Washington - saw a man who fitted Decker's description around one week later but he evaded police. Officers now believe the 32-year-old dad has either died or left Washington. The Kittitas County Sheriff's Office said in a social media post: "There is no certain evidence that Decker remains alive or in this area. Seemingly strong early leads gave way to less convincing proofs over the last two weeks of searching. Still, we can’t and won’t quit this search; Paityn, Evelyn, and Olivia Decker deserve justice. And Decker remains a danger to the public as long as he’s at large."

Police recognise leaving the state would have been a challenge for Decker, an infantryman in the US Army from March 2013 to July 2021, because he was ill-equipped for Washington's treacherous rural terrain.

READ MORE: Travis Decker: Ex-soldier wanted for 'murdering daughters' has chilling secret, brother says

Now, dogs trained to find human remains have been deployed across Washington. Sheriff's Inspector Chris Whitsett said: "Because of the ruggedness, the remoteness of the of that country, and some of the conditions that we’ve observed, it’s clear that the longer he stays out there — the longer anybody stays out there — the greater the chance that something’s gonna happen, and whether he intends it or not, that he’s gonna die."

The US Marshals Service is working to track down Decker if he managed to escape the region, the sheriff's office said, and extra patrols have been on duty. The killings occurred in neighboring Chelan County, but backcountry trails link the area to Kittitas and to the Pacific Crest Trail, which runs from Canada to Mexico.

It would not be unprecedented for Decker to evade a search in the rugged, remote region for three weeks; the area is dotted with abandoned buildings as well as unoccupied vacation homes in which he might find shelter, as well as caves and former mines.

In 2020, Jorge Alacantara-Gonzalez, who was wanted in the killing of a turkey hunter, spent 23 days on the run in much of the same terrain. He was finally caught when someone called police to report seeing someone in a cabin that should have been unoccupied.

Authorities looking for Decker say they are similarly relying on tips from the public to help find him. They have asked people to be alert in the backcountry and to check surveillance or game cameras on their properties.