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

[Lalalacasbah]

Yes, federal law enforcement can go arrest someone on reservations if there is a federal crime. And we know that the feds have charged TD with being a fugitive from justice.

Travis Decker now sought on federal warrant related to daughters' murders

SPOKANE — Travis Caleb Decker is now a federally wanted fugitive, as well as a man sought on local charges in the murders of his three daughters.

www.nbcrightnow.com

edited for typos

Thank you for confirming! I tried to look online but admit was a bit overwhelmed by the legal docs and deciphering lol...

 

[tlcya]

I'm catching up on this case so forgive me. Is it possible that the father didn't kill them? Trying to find an explanation for the bloody handprints if the girls died by asphyxiation?

Maybe dad tried to hurt himself and failed after killing the girls and that explains the blood.

LE later clarified the bloody hand print was that of an adult male. They found some blood that was identified as animal blood and some that has been attributed to an unidentified male via DNA.

I will find a link to add to this post

ETA:

• One sample is believed to belong to the girls' father, Travis Decker, who remains at large
• A second blood sample was confirmed to be nonhuman; forensic testing is ongoing

Male Blood Found at Campsite Where 3 Sisters Were Killed — and Authorities Believe It May Be Their Father's

He may have either intentionally or unintentionally hurt himself. But not enough blood evidence was found to suspect he is dead. (my understanding of it)

 

[oceanverde]

Thank you very much @tlcya!

That article says this

"In a news release shared with PEOPLE, the Chelan County Sheriff's Office confirmed that one blood sample recovered from Rock Island Campground — where the bodies of Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia, 5, were discovered — was identified as male.


A second sample tested as non-human, the office said."

"According to the same release, two bloody handprints were found on the truck's tailgate. DNA and fingerprint analysis is ongoing, the department said."

Unless I missed it, I didn't see where they said any more than that.

 

[tlcya]

investigators discovered that he had allegedly searched online for "how to relocate to Canada" and visited a Canadian government employment site in the days leading up to the killings.
Male Blood Found at Campsite Where 3 Sisters Were Killed — and Authorities Believe It May Be Their Father's

I am glad I went searching for that link because it also contained the above which I had somehow missed thus far. He was researching Canada and employment? Not sounding like a guy who planned to die anytime soon JMO

 

[tlcya]

Thank you very much @tlcya!

That article says this

"In a news release shared with PEOPLE, the Chelan County Sheriff's Office confirmed that one blood sample recovered from Rock Island Campground — where the bodies of Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia, 5, were discovered — was identified as male.


A second sample tested as non-human, the office said."

"According to the same release, two bloody handprints were found on the truck's tailgate. DNA and fingerprint analysis is ongoing, the department said."

Unless I missed it, I didn't see where they said any more than that.

no worries, What I posted was the bullet points listed at the top of the People article. the one below has a link directly to the LE statement about the blood - hope it is helpful

Decker's truck was left at the campsite, and it had two bloody handprints on the tailgate. In a news release Monday, the Chelan County Sheriff's Office said tests revealed that one blood sample taken from the scene belonged to a male, and another turned out to be from an animal.
Man's blood found at campsite where 3 young sisters found dead as search for their father continues in Washington state

 

[NuttMegg]

LE later clarified the bloody hand print was that of an adult male. They found some blood that was identified as animal blood and some that has been attributed to an unidentified male via DNA.

I will find a link to add to this post

ETA:

• One sample is believed to belong to the girls' father, Travis Decker, who remains at large
• A second blood sample was confirmed to be nonhuman; forensic testing is ongoing

Male Blood Found at Campsite Where 3 Sisters Were Killed — and Authorities Believe It May Be Their Father's

He may have either intentionally or unintentionally hurt himself. But not enough blood evidence was found to suspect he is dead. (my understanding of it)

I don't think they have released a time frame on the bloody prints. For all we know it could have been from days before he even picked them up. Also we don't know if it was from the inside or outside surface of the tailgate, whether the prints were physically near each other, etc.

 

[tlcya]

I don't think they have released a time frame on the bloody prints. For all we know it could have been from days before he even picked them up

true. the animal blood maybe because he had been hunting sometime prior to the visitation and he may have cut or otherwise harmed himself while handling or skinning the animal.

I also wondered if his dog may have received some sort of injury either prior to or during the event. We haven't been told of the dog's condition but he may have had an injury when located.
------------------------
Decker's dog was also found near the scene, and has since been turned over to the local humane society, per the sheriff's office.
(From People article linked above)

 

[NuttMegg]

true. the animal blood maybe because he had been hunting sometime prior to the visitation and he may have cut or otherwise harmed himself while handling or skinning the animal.

I also wondered if his dog may have received some sort of injury either prior to or during the event. We haven't been told of the dog's condition but he may have had an injury when located.
------------------------
Decker's dog was also found near the scene, and has since been turned over to the local humane society, per the sheriff's office.
(From People article linked above)

Or fishing.

 

[sunflowermomma]

Or the handprints could be trying to stage the scene, trying to get the cops to think he was violently attacked or something so they're thrown off his trail and he had more of a head start and/or to be used at trial.

 

[RedHaus]

I'm catching up on this case so forgive me. Is it possible that the father didn't kill them? Trying to find an explanation for the bloody handprints if the girls died by asphyxiation?

Maybe dad tried to hurt himself and failed after killing the girls and that explains the blood.

I'm in the same position as you, @oceanverde. And the preliminary bloody hand print data also has me scratching my head. Especially with Decker's dog appearing uninjured in its shelter pic.

Of course DNA data will tell much more. But in the absence of that additional information, a thought crossed my mind. I debated sharing this, since today's escalating search efforts appear to indicate LE is narrowing in on Decker.

So, as silly as this may sound, I wonder if there was more to the gruesome events at the campsite where the girls were found. What if Decker had killed his daughter's and sought a campsite occupied by a vulnerable solo camper to steal an escape vehicle?

And what if Decker killed that solo camper and his dog with a knife, and left handprints of their blood on the tailgate of his truck as he loaded supplies into the stolen vehicle as well as their bodies so the identity of the vehicle is obscured until someone reports the camper missing?

IOW, could Decker be on the run in a stolen vehicle or two or three? Far fetched perhaps. But in the spirit of sleuthing I thought I'd share this...

IMO.

 

[MizStery]

an Amber Alert might not have saved the girls. But we will never know. Even if he took their lives prior to the time he was meant to return them, if one had been issued TD wouldn't have three days heads start on authorities. MOO

The following is accurate to the best of my knowledge if I have made an error please flag my post.I am only summarizing.

On three separate occasions the Wenatchee Police requested an Amber Alert. Not one time. Not two times, but three times. May 30. May 31. June 1. Don't tell me the Wenatchee Police do not understand the Washington State Police Amber Alert protocol. Friday night Whitney worked with the Wenatchee Police Department to file a second request which was submitted Saturday Morning. The Washington State Patrol said it did not meet AA criteria but subsequently have backtracked and admit they do have a certain amount of leeway. On Saturday they agreed with Wenatchee Police that it did rise to the level of ‘cause for alarm’.Washington State Police issued an Endangered Missing Persons Advisory which unfortunately does not have Amber Alert cell phone ‘push notification’. Would it have made a difference in locating the truck sooner perhaps not but we shall never know.

In the interim the FBI thankfully provided Wenatchee Police with immediate assistance with pings/phone locations. Washington State Police has the technology (likely gained through DOJ funding) but did not use it. I believe as soon as asked Homeland Security provided resources to Wenatchee Police.

My Opinion Only

 

[crhedBngr]

Live Flight Tracker - Real-Time Flight Tracker Map | Flightradar24

King County Sheriff's helicopter circling.

JMVHO.

 

[Miss Poovy]

I think it's possible they were already deceased before his scheduled visit ended. So it's possible no AA could have saved them.

Travesty all the same.

JMO

I also believe this to be true, if for no other reason, it gave him a head start on getting away.

 

[unimog]

King County Sheriff's helicopter circling.

This copter echo comes and goes because they are flying loops at 5300 feet with a 7000 foot plus mountain range between them and the radar tower sometimes.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

 

[Boxer]

Wow, @Boxer!! Wake up call for me cuz I'm not up on how far someone physically fit & practiced at hiking rough terrain & raring to go with intention & adrenaline could go... 45 miles a day!! Wowza!! That's like (only doing the maths in my head) around 4+ miles an hour around 12+ hours a day, which sounds reasonable now that I think on it.

In his situation, that's probably an underestimate, really... wow, 4 miles per hour is just the top of the "average walking pace (2.5 - 4 miles)", so he could be that much farther out, already wherever he was headed days ahead of his truck & murdered daughters' bodies being found

I saw it also.

So Icicle Creek is only 15 mile hike from Rock Island Campground.
Lower Johnny Creek Campground is on the trail between them.

Sounds to me like they are tracking him and he is getting closer to Leavenworth's outskirts. Trail cams will be out there more often.

Since he isn't making good time, MOO he must know they are on his trail, and is taking cover that is slowing him down. Mystery that he didn't get further faster.

 

[Snoop Sister]

dbm

 

[Snoop Sister]

This copter echo comes and goes because they are flying loops at 5300 feet with a 7000 foot plus mountain range between them and the radar tower sometimes.

Ok that explains it. I was wondering why the helicopters I was following kept disappearing on me.

 

[Snoop Sister]

So Icicle Creek is only 15 mile hike from Rock Island Campground.
Lower Johnny Creek Campground is on the trail between them.

Sounds to me like they are tracking him and he is getting closer to Leavenworth's outskirts. Trail cams will be out there more often.

Since he isn't making good time, MOO he must know they are on his trail, and is taking cover that is slowing him down. Mystery that he didn't get further faster.

I am wondered if he is injured. He is not making very good time at all.

 

[ttjo]

I think the bigger issue here is the courts. While it feels like maybe an AA could have saved them, if his intent was to kill them when he picked them up, I don't see how an AA hours later could prevent it. I also think if an AA is issued every time a parent is late bringing kids back, then people might not respond as quickly to AA's when they are issued. I think the court failed here because he was ordered to have an evaluation and that was in August and here it is end of May, so 9 months later and he didn't have the evaluation. To me that should have terminated his visits until a professional examined him and determined if it was safe for him to have unsupervised visits. I am not sure how a court can require something and then nothing is done to the person if they don't follow the order of the court. I don't think mom could predict this and neither could the court, but there was enough concern for the court to agree he needed a mental evaluation and then there was no repercussions when he didn't do it. If mom was legally required to send the girls with him, then what could she do if the court didn't change his visitation due to not getting the mental eval?

I still don't think mom felt he would intentionally harm them. It seems he was just careless and maybe the concern was more of the situations they could be in while in his care.

I agree and I hate to say this, but a lot of people use children and visits as a weapon, calling police over what amounts to a power struggle between parents. IF people would stop abusing it, then maybe it would be easier to get, because its abused police have to decide what is a parental dispute/ power struggle or a missing kid legitimately. Ive seen people try to get visits changed because they were dropped off and the parent didnt wait for them to go in, or were an hour late or because a new partner was present. it can get ugly. .