Investigators said they are “closing in” on the fugitive ex-soldier wanted in the killing of his three young daughters after they found items they believe belong to him near a popular Washington hiking area.
Authorities launched a frantic manhunt for Travis Decker, 32, after he failed to return his daughters to his ex-wife following a May 30 custody visit. The three sisters — Paityn, 9; Evelyn, 8; and Olivia, 5 — were found dead at a Wenatchee campground three days later.
“We have found items that are of interest to us that we perceive could be from Mr. Decker,” Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison said during a press conference Wednesday. “We have also followed up with some of his friends and family and we believe that we are closing in on his trail.”
The press conference followed a possible sighting of the alleged killer dad, who is homeless and has outdoor survivalist skills, in the same area earlier this week.
Backpackers alerted authorities to a lone hiker near Colchuck Lake who was ill-prepared for the conditions.
The Chelan County Sheriff’s Office deployed ground teams and K-9 units to investigate the hiking area near the alpine lake in the Cascade Range known as The Enchantments.
The lone hiker sprinted away when a police helicopter flew to the scene, and K-9 units led investigators to a trail at the Ingalls Creek Trailhead — which was closed off for a short time as investigators combed over its footpaths, according to the sheriff’s office.
“We feel pretty confident that it could be him,” Morrison said during Wednesday’s press conference. “But again, we’re not going to say 100% until we have him in our grip.”
The manhunt for Decker entered its twelfth day as the sheriff announced that his team was going to switch up its approach.
“You will see a change in our tactics as we proceed forward,” Morrison said. “You will not see the amount of resources that we have had out there, but you are seeing a different element of our approach as we continue to track down Travis, following leads, and making it very clear that every single day Travis is out there, he’s going to have to aim for perfection.”
But he stressed that the search will continue until the suspect is found.
“We’ll continue to hunt,” he said.
Decker is charged with three counts of aggravated murder after the bodies of Paityn, Evelyn, and Olivia were found with their hands zip-tied and plastic bags wrapped around their heads, according to the autopsy report.
The girls were reported missing on May 30 when Decker never returned his daughters to their mother’s home following a scheduled visit. A frantic search ended when the girls’ bodies were discovered on June 2.
Decker — who is considered armed and dangerous — is a resourceful survivalist who has lived off the grid for months at a time, police said, and he was an infantryman in the US Army from March 2013 to July 2021.
He was deployed to Afghanistan for four months in 2014. He has training in navigation, survival and other skills, authorities said. He once spent more than two months living in the backwoods off the grid.
Despite his survivalist skills, Decker’s time is running out, Morrison said, adding that international, federal, state and local law enforcement are not going to give up until he has been captured.
“He is surrounded,” he said. “Washington state knows who he is. Eventually, he’s going to tire; he’s going to make a mistake.”
Last September, Whitney Decker, the suspect’s ex-wife and mother to the three girls, asked the court to modify their parenting plan. She noted that her ex’s mental health had grown worse and that he had become unstable.
At some point, the dad had become homeless, she told the court in a petition, and had started living out of his truck. She wanted to restrict him from having overnight visits with their daughters until he found a place to live.
Morrison said ultimately it’s Decker to decide how the manhunt concludes.
“Mr. Decker is going to dictate how this ends,” he said.
“We have encouraged him time and time again to give up, to do so peacefully, that’s what we’re aiming for.”
Until then, he added, the combined law enforcement resources will keep going until they find justice for the three girls.
“Their memories continue to motivate us and continue to inspire our agency to seek justice and be their voice,” he said. “We have not given up.”
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