WENATCHEE, Wash. — The results are in: The Chelan County Sheriff’s Office says a body found near Leavenworth belongs to Travis Decker.
He’s the man accused of picking up his daughters for a scheduled visitation in May and murdering them. There’s been a massive manhunt underway ever since. The Chelan County Sheriff confirmed the DNA results on Thursday afternoon.
In court documents on Wednesday, the U.S. Marshals Service has advised District Court of Eastern District of Washington that Travis Decker is dead.
The documents were a motion to dismiss the federal murder charges against Decker because the “United States Marshals Service has advised the Defendant TRAVIS CALEB DECKER is deceased.”
However, according to the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Marshals “jumped the gun.”
KIRO 7 News has been told the DNA results the U.S. Marshals got back were for the clothing found on the bones that were found last week.
According to Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison, the WSP crime lab confirms that the bones found were also Decker’s.
Morrison said they didn’t find all of his remains, but they found most of them.
“He succumbed to those injuries, whatever those injuries were,” Morrison said during a press conference. If a medical examiner is able to do so, they will identify a cause of death.
Morrison says it looks like he went up to the mountain after the girls were murdered, but a medical examiner will try to determine that.
Where was the body found?
Last week, the US Marshals Service Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force headed up a search, including Chelan County Sheriff’s Office, Washington State Patrol, US Border Patrol, US Forest Service, Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, and the FBI.
On Sept. 15, the group found a body on Grindstone Mountain, off Icicle Road – which is a few miles away from where Decker’s children were found dead.
Crews were dropped in by a Spokane County helicopter because the terrain is so rough in that area.
Drones and cadaver dogs helped the team find the remains.
Sheriff Mike Morrison told KIRO 7 that some items found near the body were similar to what Decker was wearing the last time he was seen alive.
Some personal items were found, like a key FOB that matched that of his truck. Deputies didn’t specify which other personal items were found.
What happened?
Law enforcement says Decker kidnapped and killed his three young daughters: 9-year-old Paityn, 8-year-old Evelyn, and 5-year-old Olivia.
He picked the girls up on May 30 from their mother’s home for a scheduled custody visit— and never came back.
On June 2, Decker’s truck was found abandoned near the Rock Island Campground.
The girls’ bodies were found nearby – and no sign of Decker.
That’s when law enforcement began their manhunt, offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to him.
In an exclusive interview with KIRO 7, the girls’ mother, Whitney Decker, said there had never been any problems with visitations with Travis in the past.
According to documents filed for custodial interference, the couple was married for seven years but eventually divorced. She told KIRO 7 that it ended civilly.
She told investigators that they had a parenting plan in place through the courts. She said when Travis lost his housing, those plans changed to accommodate that.
She also denied any domestic violence incidents in their marriage, but said that he would have moments where he tried to exert power or control over her.
According to court filings, he was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder toward the end of their marriage, but she didn’t believe he was on any medication.
The filings also noted that Decker was supposed to seek out mental health treatment and anger management but never did.
An outpouring of support
On June 2, a family friend started a GoFundMe for Whitney to help with funeral costs for the girls and other expenses. At last check, it’s raised over $1.2 million.
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