A recent forensic examination verified that human remains discovered last month on an isolated mountain in Washington state belonged to Travis Decker, a former soldier sought in connection with the tragic deaths of his three young daughters. Officials confirmed this information on Thursday. Decker’s remains were found in a wooded area in central Washington, south of the city of Leavenworth, according to the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office.
For over three months, law enforcement personnel had been searching for Decker, who initially came under suspicion following the discovery of the bodies of his daughters—nine-year-old Paityn Decker, eight-year-old Evelyn Decker, and five-year-old Olivia Decker—in early June. These remains were found along with his truck at a campground.
The medical examiner’s report concluded that the young girls had died from suffocation; their bodies were found bound with zip ties and covered with plastic bags.
Decker had been scheduled to spend time with his daughters but never returned them to their mother, who had previously expressed concerns over his deteriorating mental health and requested restrictions on his visitation rights until he secured stable housing.
An Infantryman in the army from 2013 to 2021, Decker served a four-month deployment in Afghanistan in 2014. His military training included skills in navigation and survival, a fact which led to speculation that he could potentially live off the grid or be skilled at evasion.
The search efforts, which spanned several months and hundreds of miles of rugged and inaccessible terrain, involved a significant force from various state and federal agencies, including the US Marshals Service. The service even offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to his capture. At one point during the search, authorities briefly thought they had located Decker near a remote alpine lake based on a tip from hikers, but ultimately, this lead did not pan out.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/25/washington-state-remains-body
