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The Washington state father accused of murdering his three young daughters while they were on a visitation had recently searched online for information on how to get into Canada, according to a U.S. Marshals Service affidavit.
Travis Decker, 32, had searched “how does a person move to canada,” “how to relocated to canada” and “jobs canada,” according to the affidavit, first obtained by The Independent.
Global News has not independently verified the document.
The Independent reports that the officer who filed the affidavit, Deputy U.S. Marshal Keegan Stanley, said the searches were made late last month, just a few days before Decker’s final visit with daughters Paityn Decker, 9; Evelyn Decker, 8; and Olivia Decker, 5.
Decker also visited the Canadian government jobs website, Find a Job – Canada.ca, the affidavit said.
On Tuesday, officials announced that the siblings were found dead near a campground, a day after Washington State Patrol called off an endangered missing persons alert for the sisters.
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They were last seen on May 30, after leaving their home in Wenatchee for a “planned visitation” with Decker, who police have said is “homeless and living in his vehicle or at various hotels/motels or at campgrounds in the area.”
The following day, Washington State Patrol issued an endangered missing person alert, declared the girls and their father “at-risk/missing” and shared a photo of their dad’s 2017 white GMC Sierra pickup truck.
After scouring local motels, law enforcement turned its attention to a local campground near Leavenworth. Decker’s truck was discovered in the area, unoccupied.
A subsequent search led to the discovery of the girls’ bodies, their hands zip-tied and with bags over their heads.
Stanley’s affidavit, according to The Independent, notes that the children’s remains were found “relatively close to the Canadian border and approximately 11 miles from the Pacific Crest Trail, a well-established trail that leads directly to Canada.”
Meanwhile, an extensive, multi-agency manhunt is underway for Decker, and authorities announced Thursday that they were expanding their search efforts near the Pacific Crest Trail.
Global News has reached out to RCMP in B.C. to determine if they are assisting in the search and whether they believe there’s a chance Decker has crossed over the border. There has been no response as of press time.
Earlier this year it was announced that crossing the border on the Pacific Crest Trail is now prohibited, consistent with U.S. government policy, and people wishing to cross into Canada need to visit a Port of Entry.
Decker has extensive military training, police say, and has “training in navigation, woodland/mountainous terrain, long distance movements, survival and numerous other disciplines needed to be able to flee.”
He has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of kidnapping, in addition to custodial interference charges. A new charge was added this week: unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
The affidavit points out that the charges against Decker “are all very serious violent felonies which all carry significant prison sentences if convicted,” and that “those facing significant prison sentences have a propensity” to flee.
Authorities have asked anyone who lives in a remote area of Chelan, Kittitas, King, Snohomish, and Okanogan counties to lock all of their doors, secure any sheds or outbuildings, and leave their window blinds open and outside lights on.
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