Found Deceased WA - 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

[Gemmie]

Adding to my post above since the time has passed for an edit: in the video that I've been referring to (Nate Eaton, at 32:26), Sheriff Morrison, speaking about the possibility of Travis having had some things cached for long-term survival, stated, "If he really had planed this out, which----I have some questions---there's some things that lead me to believe he did not plan this out...."

What things, I wonder?

If he didn't plan it out then he must always carry a bag of zip ties and plastic bags around in his truck.

 

[RedHaus]

If he didn't plan it out then he must always carry a bag of zip ties and plastic bags around in his truck.

Well, as OPs have opined ^^^, as an unhoused person, living out of his truck at a campground, it is not surprising if TD had all his possessions with him, including items to repair or fasten stuff (zipties) and plastic bags (trash bags, grocery bags) to contain things like food, cloths, trash, hardware, zipties, etc.

That said, I remain in the box that TD had a psychotic break triggered by some event(s) at the campsite. But that he had the native skills and self preservation instincts to get the he!! out of dodge.

IMO.

 

[waitin'4thewrld2chg]

If he didn't plan it out then he must always carry a bag of zip ties and plastic bags around in his truck.

I took the sheriff's remark about having doubts to be about the idea of the caching of supplies for long term survival.

One possible reason for the sheriff's doubts that I can imagine could be that stockpiling items takes money and Travis might have been low on cash. Little cash for caching.

 

[Boxer]

I took the sheriff's remark about having doubts to be about the idea of the caching of supplies for long term survival.

One possible reason for the sheriff's doubts that I can imagine could be that stockpiling items takes money and Travis might have been low on cash. Little cash for caching.

Dollar store?

 

[waitin'4thewrld2chg]

Dollar store?

Yeah, there's that. The dollar (and a quarter) store has a lot.

 

[Sundog]

Well, as OPs have opined ^^^, as an unhoused person, living out of his truck at a campground, it is not surprising if TD had all his possessions with him, including items to repair or fasten stuff (zipties) and plastic bags (trash bags, grocery bags) to contain things like food, cloths, trash, hardware, zipties, etc.

That said, I remain in the box that TD had a psychotic break triggered by some event(s) at the campsite. But that he had the native skills and self preservation instincts to get the he!! out of dodge.

IMO.

I, too, think that TD had a psychotic break and if he is still alive, I think he's also still in a psychotic state. But he may have taken his own life after taking the lives of his daughters, especially if he gained some lucidity shortly after. The knowledge of what he did would have been unbearable to live with.

 

[Snoop Sister]

I, too, think that TD had a psychotic break and if he is still alive, I think he's also still in a psychotic state. But he may have taken his own life after taking the lives of his daughters, especially if he gained some lucidity shortly after. The knowledge of what he did would have been unbearable to live with.

In a court custody related docket posted several threads back regarding TD, I believe it was stated that TD had tried to commit suicide twice previously. Hence, it is why I believe TD killed himself after killing his daughters.

 

[nao]

Moo...if you frequent mountains n camps, it is necessary to carry supplies. I have shovel, big and little pruners, machete, duct tape, garbage bags, zip ties and wire (in case my exhaust gets loose) the list is long. And I just go up the hills to run my dogs.....moo

 

[Boxer]

dbm

 

[girlhasnoname]

If he didn't plan it out then he must always carry a bag of zip ties and plastic bags around in his truck.

Agree, I think TD planned this out. For whatever reason...his own MH issues, anger towards his Ex, feelings of inadequacy and frustration from not being able to live with and provide for his family, the recent super restricted visitation with the girls? IDK

TD has managed to evade capture through one of the biggest manhunts in that part of the country for months now. He's out there somewhere, dead or alive. I just wish there was a conclusion to this story and justice for his precious daughters.

JMO

 

[iamshadow21]

Agree, I think TD planned this out. For whatever reason...his own MH issues, anger towards his Ex, feelings of inadequacy and frustration from not being able to live with and provide for his family, the recent super restricted visitation with the girls? IDK

TD has managed to evade capture through one of the biggest manhunts in that part of the country for months now. He's out there somewhere, dead or alive. I just wish there was a conclusion to this story and justice for his precious daughters.

JMO

It's entirely possible he won't be found at all. Nearly two years after murdering his wife, Aaron Pennington is still unaccounted for, and they know where he likely entered the woods, because they found his car. Plenty of searches, nothing.

The fact is, that searches are imperfect (no matter how skillful the searchers and the precision of technology employed) and nature is very good at tidying away human remains.

Unless Decker and Pennington did complete the perfect getaway, their fates may be unknown unless some hiker or hunter finds bones in years to come.

MOO

 

[FromGermany1]

In a court custody related docket posted several threads back regarding TD, I believe it was stated that TD had tried to commit suicide twice previously. Hence, it is why I believe TD killed himself after killing his daughters.

bbm
Maybe, he tried again, but wasn't successful with it. I believe, he is a coward and fears pain. He also fears a suffocation, done by himself, otherwise he could have done it immediately on site after the murder of his 3 sweet girls. MOO

 

[FromGermany1]

I, too, think that TD had a psychotic break and if he is still alive, I think he's also still in a psychotic state. But he may have taken his own life after taking the lives of his daughters, especially if he gained some lucidity shortly after. The knowledge of what he did would have been unbearable to live with.

It's unclear, who exactly he's maybe trying to prove something to with his clever escape (in his extreme state of mind). Himself? His father? His brother? His former army colleagues? His former superiors in the army?
Speculation only.

 

[CrimeDawg123]

I don't think he planned any type of escape. Once he killed the children, it was over and he had won. He was done.

 

[Sundog]

Good study here on parental filicide. Study includes discussion of altruistic filicide among psychotic fathers and mothers, and also the few cases of parents who are acutely psychotic and act in a psychotic frenzy. The killing of their children for altruistic reasons (in their minds) is seen as an extension of their suicide. Filicide with the motive of revenge on a partner usually doesn't result in suicide, since the parent who commits filicide usually likes to stay alive to see the impact of his/her actions on the other parent.

The parents in our study who killed their children and themselves appeared overall to have high rates of mental illness. The motives were primarily altruistic and occasionally acutely psychotic. As expected, there was a lack of evidence of fatal maltreatment, unwanted children, or desire for revenge on a spouse in these filicide-suicides. The finding that the most common motive for filicide-suicide was altruistic was similar to the results in a smaller study.<a href="Filicide-Suicide: Common Factors in Parents Who Kill Their Children and Themselves">18</a>

We further separated altruistic cases into psychotic altruistic and non-psychotic altruistic cases. While some parents clearly killed due to a psychotic belief that the child was suffering, other parents killed when the child was truly suffering from a severe disease. Furthermore, some killed out of “love” when there was real evidence that the family did not have financial means to support themselves. In some altruistic filicides, the parent was depressed and the primary goal was an extended suicide (which would also include the children) rather than a homicide.

Filicide-Suicide: Common Factors in Parents Who Kill Their Children and Themselves

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to identify commonly occurring factors in filicide-suicide offenders, to describe this phenomenon better, and ultimately to enhance prevention of child murder. Thirty families’ files from a county coroner’s office were reviewed for commonly...

jaapl.org

 

[roche.analisa]

This is new, right? Or is it the bones we already knew about?

Travis Decker update: Bones located by campsite where girls were found Bones found in search for Travis Decker near campsite where daughters were found dead

 

[RedHaus]

Good study here on parental filicide.

Filicide-Suicide: Common Factors in Parents Who Kill Their Children and Themselves

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to identify commonly occurring factors in filicide-suicide offenders, to describe this phenomenon better, and ultimately to enhance prevention of child murder. Thirty families’ files from a county coroner’s office were reviewed for commonly...

jaapl.org

RSBM
Thanks for posting.

Yes, this is precisely how I've come to understand this ugly phenomenon in human civilizations.

These, IMO, are key facts to consider when profiling TD's motive and strategy.

>> "Filicide with the motive of revenge on a partner usually doesn't result in suicide,"

>> "The killing of their children for altruistic reasons (in their minds) is seen as an extension of their suicide."

So....

1. If his motive was revenge against ex-wife, dept. of defense, courts, family, etc. then odds are TD is still alive and long gone.

2. If he had an acute psychotic or non-psychotic altruistic motive (stemming from other mental illness), odds are TD killed himself, as you stated ^^.

IOW, the data here does not support theories that mix and match motive and strategy (e.g. revenge and suicide; psychotic break and escaping).

IMO.

 

[Sundog]

RSBM
Thanks for posting.

Yes, this is precisely how I've come to understand this ugly phenomenon in human civilizations.

These, IMO, are key facts to consider when profiling TD's motive and strategy.

>> "Filicide with the motive of revenge on a partner usually doesn't result in suicide,"

>> "The killing of their children for altruistic reasons (in their minds) is seen as an extension of their suicide."

So....

1. If his motive was revenge against ex-wife, dept. of defense, courts, family, etc. then odds are TD is still alive and long gone.

2. If he had an acute psychotic or non-psychotic altruistic motive (stemming from other mental illness), odds are TD killed himself, as you stated ^^.

IOW, the data here does not support theories that mix and match motive and strategy (e.g. revenge and suicide; psychotic break and escaping).

IMO.

Agree, I was thinking the same thing when I read the study and that's why I posted it. It makes a lot of sense. All very tragic.

 

[RedHaus]

This is new, right? Or is it the bones we already knew about?

Travis Decker update: Bones located by campsite where girls were found Bones found in search for Travis Decker near campsite where daughters were found dead

Same bones, IMO. Waiting on DNA analysis and perhaps a big announcement from LE.

 

[waitin'4thewrld2chg]

I find myself studying every eyebrow wiggle of the sheriff in hopes I can catch him revealing something he didn't plan to reveal. Along those lines......the weekend edition of the Wenatchee World just hit my front door. I reread the headline story "Bones Found in Search for Travis Decker", which is the same story I posted two days ago---post #1281 currently. (The newspaper is not published daily.)

In the front page article, Chelan County Sheriff Morrison is quoted as saying, "I believe that most likely we'll have another effort coming here in September that's going to expand out even further".

OK, he's saying "most likely".

Might mean he suspects those bones are animal bones, or the bones are too old or too clean, or who knows. Or it might mean nothing.

In an effort to be non-committal, I might expect him to say to the media regarding 'another effort in September' that "we plan to" or "we expect to"....."we are looking to"....something like that.

(Keeping my nails long so I can grasp at straws.)