Travis Decker has been declared dead bringing a close to the three-month manhunt for the Army veteran suspected of murdering his three young daughters — but authorities have yet to confirm the human remains found in Washington state last week are a positive match for his DNA.
“The United States Marshals Service has advised the Defendant Travis Caleb Decker is deceased,” US Attorney Peter Serrano and assistant US Attorney Caitlin Baunsguard wrote in a Tuesday court filing asking to dismiss his case in the Eastern District of Washington on Tuesday, the Seattle Times reported.
Travis Decker, 32, has been officially declared dead after
a three-month search for the only suspect in the killing of
his three young daughters. APDespite the announcement from federal officials, Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison is urging patience as the state crime lab awaits the results of DNA tests on Decker’s suspected remains, the outlet reported.
Two feet, femurs, and vertebrate were discovered near clothing known to belong to Decker in a wooded area near the Icicle River Drainage on Sept. 18, federal and local law enforcement officials announced last week.
Investigators turned up Army Ranger shorts, a bracelet Decker was known to wear, and his preferred brand of chewing tobacco near those remains.
Decker’s body was found less than a mile from the scene of the crime, but was at an elevation of 1,200 feet with crews
needing a helicopter to recover his scant remains. APSheriff Morrison asked for two separate DNA tests — one for the bodily remains and one for the clothing, the Seattle Times reported.
“We are optimistic that these results will confirm we’ve located Mr. Decker,” the sheriff said after the discovery. “We think we’re one step closer.”
The site of the remains was less than one mile from where Decker’s daughters were found dead on June 2, near their father’s truck, which was parked at the Rock Island Campground.
Decker’s three daughters were found on June 2 with plastic bags over their heads and zip ties around their wrists. Facebook/Whitney DeckerDespite being so close, the remains were about 1,200 feet in elevation and crews needed to descend from a helicopter to reach and remove them, the Seattle Times reported.
The three Decker girls — Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia, 5, — were found with plastic bags over their heads and zip ties on their wrists three days after their dad took them for a planned custody visit.
A lawyer for grieving mother Whitney Decker revealed that the armed forces veteran experienced a deterioration in his mental health over the last two years and had his custody rights reduced to alternate weekends several months before the killings.
