Found Deceased Olivia 5, Evelyn 8 & Paityn Decker 9, Endangered Alert, visitation w/ homeless dad Travis Decker 32, wh 2017 GMC Sierra PU, Wenatchee, 30 May 2025

[Bounceycat]

Did she file the day the girls were found? Maybe before it was announced?

It says it was filed June 3, and the girls were found on June 2.

 

[dotr]

 

[ttjo]

It definitely sounds like whatever starting manifesting occurred after he left the military. And that is not uncommon with PTSD. What they perceived would be a way to slow down in life and reduced stress, became more stressful.

I dont know if I understand correctly but I dont think leaving the military was his choice, I know he went from fulltime to part time,but was that because he didnt make the cut in ranger school?

Even good stress, new house, new community, more time with family can still be interpreted by the body as stress. I am sure income levels changed, the prescription and paternal life of the enlisted, the community and colleagues gone, pandemic isolation, did they suddenly have to home school, lack of employment, feeling like a failure etc...again his whole life changed...I am not sure they totally realized as a couple how much stress, grief, and loss this could cause. I also haven't read anywhere that it was total chaos all the time.

I dont think it was chaos all the time, I'm sure there were some good times. but as stressors built maybe the chaos got worse.
waking her up to yell at her, or to soak the bed would be chaos, his erratic and unpredictable outbursts would be chaos.
Im sure not making the rangers, might have turned into more chaos ( for others) ,
his coping skills or lack of would likely mean chaos( for others)
the kids were calling home crying over problems at the vists (something about him and the way he treated the dog?) ,
and puting them in situations where they know they are not suppsed to be ( sleeping at the barracks) and expecting them not to tell their mom, or expecting thm to keep secrets is chaos also.
its just enough already.
it is like walking on a floor made of eggshells.
Uggh, now Im even starting to be mad about it, so Im not even going to think about what a mess he was.
I am mad at the whole situation, how walking on eggshells can make someone afraid to speak up. She must have been scared to death, between her instincts and trying to maintain peace. I dont know if she was being nice cause she wanted to help him, I bet it was because she was scared to death of what would happen if she didnt.

Sounds like he was reaching out for a connection with someone, brother dad, and I don't know what happened with that. He hadn't spoken to his brother in years ( why?) , and the relationship with the pastor he talked to for hours a day ended abruptly. (why?)
Does he have a short fuse? Does he hold grudges? There's more info to be had before we can understand.
wonder what the bullying at work was about?
I understand how someone can only take so many hits before they cant take it anymore. I'm sure Whitney was his sounding board and without her it would have been difficult for him but that's no life for her either. He sounds like he was a ticking time bomb

 

[ttjo]

With heat seeking drones he should be the only one standing out like a sore thumb.

what about if the canopes of the trees are very dense, will they still be able to detect heat?

 

[Sillybilly]

Google map for Okanogon County (red dotted line)

Solid black line is Canada/US border.

Screenshot I took from above map to show (red square) where I project he could/would illegally cross the Canadian border, given his outdoor survival skills. Solid red line on left of the square is south of Hope, BC and solid red line on right of the square is Manning Park area.

Don't quote me, but a little bit of folklore about Hope, BC.

At one time had an exceptionally high rate of suicide, believed to be because people who had lost all hope thought they might find it there.

 

[ttjo]

Don't quote me, but a little bit of folklore about Hope, BC.

At one time had an exceptionally high rate of suicide, believed to be because people who had lost all hope might find it there.

wow Ive never heard that about hope before.
That's sad, because with the high rate, obviously they didn't find it.

 

[Charlot123]

The girls' mother has filed a protection order against TD.

"A protection order petition filed by the mother of three murdered Wenatchee girls exposes the escalating behavior of Travis Decker in the weeks before their disappearance. The June 3 court filing details Decker's unraveling behavior and provides the clearest timeline yet of events leading to the tragedy."

Wenatchee mother's restraining order reveals Travis Decker's escalating behavior

CHELAN COUNTY, Wash. — A protection order petition filed by the mother of three murdered Wenatchee girls exposes the escalating behavior of Travis Decker in the weeks before their disappearance.

www.kxly.com

This article has some other new details. A few that stood out to me:
- TD "faced bullying and isolation from colleagues" at work.
- TD received daily counseling from a Georgia pastor for months, speaking several hours each day. Four weeks before the murders, he abruptly ended these phone calls.

Several hours a day of pastoral counseling seems... unusual. I wonder if this was a friend who was providing phone support on a more informal basis?

The whole article feels like he was planning suicide.

My thoughts would be:
- whatever he was prescribed for BPD or more likely, PTSD, he stopped.
- the irony is, he could have stopped it because it worked too well! He felt normal, thought about going back to the army and knew he won’t be accepted on the medication into the army. Then it dragged him into the vortex of paranoia/paychosis.

I can’t comment on several hours a day of pastoral counseling but it could be a men’s group online?

 

[Charlot123]

I dont know if I understand correctly but I dont think leaving the military was his choice, I know he went from fulltime to part time,but was that because he didnt make the cut in ranger school?

I dont think it was chaos all the time, I'm sure there were some good times. but as stressors built maybe the chaos got worse.
waking her up to yell at her, or to soak the bed would be chaos, his erratic and unpredictable outbursts would be chaos.
Im sure not making the rangers, might have turned into more chaos ( for others) ,
his coping skills or lack of would likely mean chaos( for others)
the kids were calling home crying over problems at the vists (something about him and the way he treated the dog?) ,

By soaking the bed, do you mean bed wetting in the sleep?

That’s neurology, IMHO.

Here is the US Marshals Service affidavit with the Google search history of Travis Decker ("how to relocate to canada", "how does a person move to canada", "jobs canada", etc.

Travis Caleb Decker

www.documentcloud.org

Another question. We had a situation before when a person stopped her medication before relocating to a different country because pre-existing condition would disqualify her from emigrating.

Could the same happen here?
If he planned to relocate to Canada for whatever reason but for quite a while…then maybe was stopping a medication related to a Canadian “green card”?

 

[ttjo]

By soaking the bed, do you mean bed wetting in the sleep?

That’s neurology, IMHO.

I dont know, the article just said " soaking the bed" I dont know exactly if that means. peeing. sweating. pouring water? The article was posted in here but now I cant remember which one it was? Ill go look.

 

[Boxer]

There shouldn't be other hikers. Trails are closed down to the public, and I'm sure they'll close even more if they have to.

With heat seeking drones he should be the only one standing out like a sore thumb.

Manhunt for Travis Decker: North Cascades trails, including part of PCT, closed as search ramps up

Because of the manhunt for Travis Decker, the man accused of killing his three young daughters, several camps, sites and trails within Chelan County and the North Cascades National Park have been closed to the public.

www.kiro7.com

A space blanket can hide your heat signature, I am sure he is up on the latest evasion techniques.
They just caught the Ozark ex-police escapee hiding in Arkansas wild lands.

I remember the murder of a brother and a mother to kidnap a SoCal girl.
They were found more than a 1000 miles away in Idaho. The girl was miraculously saved by a great FBI tactical team.

 

[Boxer]

I dont know if I understand correctly but I dont think leaving the military was his choice, I know he went from fulltime to part time,but was that because he didnt make the cut in ranger school?

I dont think it was chaos all the time, I'm sure there were some good times. but as stressors built maybe the chaos got worse.
waking her up to yell at her, or to soak the bed would be chaos, his erratic and unpredictable outbursts would be chaos.
Im sure not making the rangers, might have turned into more chaos ( for others) ,
his coping skills or lack of would likely mean chaos( for others)
the kids were calling home crying over problems at the vists (something about him and the way he treated the dog?) ,
and puting them in situations where they know they are not suppsed to be ( sleeping at the barracks) and expecting them not to tell their mom, or expecting thm to keep secrets is chaos also.
its just enough already.
it is like walking on a floor made of eggshells.
Uggh, now Im even starting to be mad about it, so Im not even going to think about what a mess he was.
I am mad at the whole situation, how walking on eggshells can make someone afraid to speak up. She must have been scared to death, between her instincts and trying to maintain peace. I dont know if she was being nice cause she wanted to help him, I bet it was because she was scared to death of what would happen if she didnt.

Sounds like he was reaching out for a connection with someone, brother dad, and I don't know what happened with that. He hadn't spoken to his brother in years ( why?) , and the relationship with the pastor he talked to for hours a day ended abruptly. (why?)
Does he have a short fuse? Does he hold grudges? There's more info to be had before we can understand.
wonder what the bullying at work was about?
I understand how someone can only take so many hits before they cant take it anymore. I'm sure Whitney was his sounding board and without her it would have been difficult for him but that's no life for her either. He sounds like he was a ticking time bomb

But why choose killing your children over killing yourself?

 

[ttjo]

from here Father who killed 3 daughters was 'active dad' but the 'system failed' him, ex-wife's attorney says

This one is also worth a re- read.

Court records reveal custody issues for Travis Decker

Court records expose custody challenges faced by Travis Decker, shedding light on his personal struggles and family dynamics.

mynorthwest.com

 

[Charlot123]

I dont know, the article just said " soaking the bed" I dont know exactly if that means. peeing. sweating. pouring water? The article was posted in here but now I cant remember which one it was? Ill go look.

I think it is bedwetting. If he were perspiring, they’d say so. Same with pouring water on the bed. Bedwetting is where you want to bypass the details.

From day one, I felt it was more neurology. It could be TBE, of course. But it could also be some form of seizures manifesting as a mood disorder, or even encephalitis. We don’t know that much about him. All I can see from the story is that he was not deployed in “hot spots”. There are former vets who have a true reason to have PTSD. Maybe his was also more “him” than “service-related”? I mean, Italy or WA are not exactly Iraq or Afghanistan. But you can get ticks in Eastern WA these days. Seldom, but possible.

 

[ttjo]

But why choose killing your children over killing yourself?

Very good question, what kind of rage was going through him ?
Could it be that he wanted to hurt the mom, for her to suffer because he is.
or take away all that is important to her?
I cant even begin to understand this.

 

[TMich6811]

I think it is bedwetting. If he were perspiring, they’d say so. Same with pouring water on the bed. Bedwetting is where you want to bypass the details.

From day one, I felt it was more neurology. It could be TBE, of course. But it could also be some form of seizures manifesting as a mood disorder, or even encephalitis. We don’t know that much about him. All I can see from the story is that he was not deployed in “hot spots”. There are former vets who have a true reason to have PTSD. Maybe his was also more “him” than “service-related”? I mean, Italy or WA are not exactly Iraq or Afghanistan. But you can get ticks in Eastern WA these days. Seldom, but possible.

Bed wetting is a common ptsd symptom even for adults

 

[TMich6811]

I guess soaking the bed was a respectful way to phrase it.
it was mentioned earlier in this thread that he did serve some time in afghanistan, but i dont know for how long, or if thats what the ptsd is from,

I understand that. I believe the poster is saying he didn’t have respectable time
In the military that would have resulted in trauma to have ptsd and that bed wetting would be cause by a physical ailment not ptsd

 

[ttjo]

I get

I understand that. I believe the poster is saying he didn’t have respectable time
In the military that would have resulted in trauma to have ptsd and that bed wetting would be cause by a physical ailment not ptsd

I get it and youre saying, there are other things that happen that can cause PTSD, doesnt have to be afghanistan. ( like you said in your comment).

 

[Sundog]

I think it is bedwetting. If he were perspiring, they’d say so. Same with pouring water on the bed. Bedwetting is where you want to bypass the details.

From day one, I felt it was more neurology. It could be TBE, of course. But it could also be some form of seizures manifesting as a mood disorder, or even encephalitis. We don’t know that much about him. All I can see from the story is that he was not deployed in “hot spots”. There are former vets who have a true reason to have PTSD. Maybe his was also more “him” than “service-related”? I mean, Italy or WA are not exactly Iraq or Afghanistan. But you can get ticks in Eastern WA these days. Seldom, but possible.

IIRC, he served in Afghanistan.

 

[Sundog]

At some point I hope we hear from TD's father, his employer and maybe his pastoral counselor, but I assume that not much information can be shared by his pastoral counselor due to confidentiality issues. Perhaps it will depend on the outcome of whether or not TD is found alive, or not.

 

[ttjo]

At some point I hope we hear from TD's father, his employer and maybe his pastoral counselor, but I assume that not much information can be shared by his pastoral counselor due to confidentiality issues. Perhaps it will depend on the outcome of whether or not TD is found alive, or not.

I know we think hes a monster, at the same time you cant help but wonder for what he must have gone through to make him like this.
I hope that there is some learning from this for the people who should be taking care of vets,
I have read 2 articles one says he refused care, one says he was unable to get it? I dont know which one is true.
Ive read that borderrlines have an intense fear of abandonment .
he was searching for connections and then killed the 3 best connections he could have had.