Found Deceased Olivia 5, Evelyn 8 & Paityn Decker 9, found dead, manhunt on for father, Travis Decker 32, wh 2017 GMC Sierra PU, Wenatchee, 30 May 2025 #2

Agree.
They saw him and lost him.
Not sure why.
Well, I'm not sure we have any confirmed LE sighting of TD as of yet.

The best I could find in this latest article:

"Search crews have been focusing on the Enchantments wilderness and surrounding areas, including Colchuck Lake and the Teanaway Valley, where Decker was potentially spotted by a helicopter. "

That to me means no confirmed eyes on TD yet.
 
This video from a couple of days ago highlights the lone hiker theory and specifically talks about his apparel and what he did to draw attention to himself. If you don't want to watch the whole video go to 6:30 minutes in.

 

Child safety advocates and state lawmakers gathered near the front steps of Seattle City Hall on Friday to demand immediate reforms to Amber Alert protocols and family court practices. This comes following the deaths of three young girls allegedly killed by their father during a custody visit in Wenatchee.

*****


 
Video at the link. From the video:

LE is taking a different approach and Border Patrol is taking the lead on field operations.

 
Video at the link. From the video:

LE is taking a different approach and Border Patrol is taking the lead on field operations.

As the Sheriff stated recently in a pressor. Resources are not inexhaustible. I wonder how much longer the search will continue? Has anyone heard anything on that?
 
Thank for posting, @Dotta.

While it is the DM, I found these bits fascinating and appropros to our current discussion.

I think this tells us a lot.

"...And even now, with Travis on the run and wanted for their murders, DailyMail.com can reveal that Whitney still feels 'almost purely empathy' for her ex-husband, who she believes was failed by a broken system."

" 'She knows that the monster that came and out and killed her babies is not Travis,' her attorney Arianna Cozart, who has spoken with the grieving mom extensively since the kids' bodies were found last week, told DailyMail.com."

" 'She has a lot of empathy still for Travis,' Cozart said as she recalled Whitney telling her to 'think about what he must have fought and struggled with all these years'."

" 'For this to come out of this man who was a loving father, he's broken, a broken man. It's not him,' said Cozart."

" 'She just wants him to come back to humanity here because obviously he suffered some sort of break.' "
Jeez my heart shatters any time I think about Whitney. While I truly believe she was blindsided here and NEVER, even with some red flags and concerns, thought he was capable of killing those kids, some of these quotes are shocking. The fact that there is absolutely no anger in them… is there any chance those are “coached”?? That she’s being told to seem extra empathetic towards him publicly so if by chance he sees that he’s more likely to turn himself in or give up as opposed to hurting more people (including himself)?
 
Jeez my heart shatters any time I think about Whitney. While I truly believe she was blindsided here and NEVER, even with some red flags and concerns, thought he was capable of killing those kids, some of these quotes are shocking. The fact that there is absolutely no anger in them… is there any chance those are “coached”?? That she’s being told to seem extra empathetic towards him publicly so if by chance he sees that he’s more likely to turn himself in or give up as opposed to hurting more people (including himself)?
Maybe not. She may be one of those people that can see things as they are individually, and not as a whole. IOW... Be sad and mad at what was done to her children, but at the same time understand the underlying reasons. Why he snapped and how he had tried to get help. I can see her being sad for him, and mad that he couldn't get the help he needed. I totally get it but that's JMO.
 
the welts described in earlier articles are more fully described in this one with a quote attributed to WD.

She recalled a time Olivia FaceTimed her 'screaming, crying Travis was nowhere in sight,' and describing how her sister Paityn was left 'unattended in the armory with Olivia' who was playing with a machine and had 'smashed Olivia's fingers'.

Another time, daughter Evelyn came back from the weekend 'with welts between her legs that looked like what happens when you sit in an accident for too long'.
Mother's tragic mistake that led to ex-husband killing their daughters

Not sure what to think of the neighbor's statements about physical abuse of WD during the marriage but IMO it would align with what I have come to believe about TD's issues.
The information about the welts between the child’s legs, that really hurts my heart. That and the fact that the children had stayed overnight at the armory with TD. That is not a place for young children. It really reflects TD’s judgement, in my opinion.
 
RSBM
This starts to sound like Stockholm Syndrome for WD, as @Rescuedawg posted about ^^^. :(
Thank you. I was thinking this agan, that is sounded like another manifestation or Stockholm Syndrome. It’s heartbreaking, because many times family violence victims can learn to see through the trauma bonds that they have with abusers, they can do that if they have enough psychological support. This is why I wish that every county had a dedicated family violence program staffed with therapists and social workers and legal advocates. Some counties in the US have those programs and the services are grant funded and donations funded. But we need more resources. Also, family violence includes many types of abuse, coercion and stalking. The act of inciting fear by yelling, destruction of property, controlling finances or withholding financial support, disrupting a person’s sleep …so many things that are destabilizing to victims. All of those things are more are considered family violence.


And I also wonder if there was an open child protective service case. There need not be physical abuse for a case to be substantiated. And often those the child protective service agency can advocate with the court to put a pause on visitation with a parent who is not mentally stable. Those agencies get various pools of money that they can use to pay for a parent’s psychological eval and recommended treatment. Those things do typically go through juvenile court or family court and sometimes the judge who oversees divorce and custody matters is in a different court. And sometimes judges get upset when they feel like the family court is interfering. But these barriers and egos and all need to go away. Too many children are forced into unhealthy and unsupervised visitation. And this is one of many things that must change.
 

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