This is such a tragedy. A mom who loved her children and her estranged ex-husband and believed that the love he had for his children provided a protection to them because to think the alternative was unimaginable. She believed allowing unsupervised visits kept the communication open and didn't want to be that person who denied her children access to their dad out of spite.
And I think it worked up to a certain point. But as kids get older, they recognize that the situation is abnormal because their dad doesn't live in a house or apartment, he camps or stays in motels or even worse in his vehicle. So I see maybe the older daughter complaining about being driven about and wanting to go home while the younger ones may have seen it as an adventure.
I want to believe he snapped but I know that's not true because he came prepared with zip ties and plastic bags. I want to believe he felt remorse over his actions and acknowledge that remorse by laying them down gently removing the plastic bags that suffocated them but I know that's not true because he dumped them over a steep embankment to rest hundreds of feet from the vehicle. I'm interested in where he killed them. Was it at the location where they were found or did he do somewhere else? And if it was somewhere else? Where?
I want to believe he's dead, overcome by guilt and despair, but I think his body would have been found by now if he committed suicide.
On Google earth it states the park is temporarily closed but that would have been after they found the girls. Depending on when he murdered them he could have had at least two days to be in the wind. Or two days to find an isolated spot miles and miles away and kill himself there.
If he isn't dead how far could he have gotten on foot? Could he have hitched a ride with a good Samaritan and commandeered the vehicle? Or just driven with them far enough so the driver wouldn't have thought him suspicious. But what about the blood left on the exterior of his truck? Was it his blood? He probably had clothes in his own vehicle he could have changed into. If he took another person's vehicle are there any recent missing persons from the area?
As an active military member in the NG would he be allowed having weapons after being diagnosed with mental health issues? I know I've read several times how difficult it is for military members to have to give up their arms. Esteban Santiago who shot and killed several people in the Fort Lauderdale airport in 2017 had informed his superior officers in Alaska of his deteriorating mental health and his disturbing thoughts about killing but no one was interested in taking his weapons from him. I also read a veterans news site re the hoops they had to through to take weapons away from mentally disturbed individuals who are more likely to kill themselves than others. Unfortunately, in the US weapons are easily available.
One thing I've noticed about TD's physical appearance is that he looks like he may be aboriginal and wondered whether if he is, if he's made his way to one of many First Nation Reserves in Washington State. There are many reserves in the general area closer to the coast. I've read that some aboriginals or Indians which is how the majority of First Nations here in Canada refer to themselves, seek out protection against LE on reserve land depending on the crime. However, the cold-blooded murder of three little girls, his OWN children would probably be reason enough for someone to blow the whistle on him. This is my speculation only.
The mom's journey to peace, if that's even possible, can only start when she knows where he is and if he's alive. I hope for her sake he is not and that finding him dead will at least close one chapter of her nightmare. MOO IMO