Found Deceased WA - Olivia 5, Evelyn 8 & Paityn Decker 9, found dead, Wenatchee, 30 May 2025 *father, Travis Decker 32, found dead* #3

  • #101

Coroner Clears Up Misconceptions About Travis Decker's Remains as Questions Remain​

"We must rely on scientific methods to establish positive identification," Chelan County Coroner Wayne Harris said of the investigation.

 
  • #102

Sheriff Mike Morrison says the Travis Decker Case is Still Under Investigation​


 
  • #103
  • #104

9/25/25

The press conference will happen on the Chelan County courthouse steps at 4 p.m. The update comes a day after the U.S. Marshals Service declared Decker dead after a months-long search, but Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison cautioned against drawing conclusions too soon.

KOMO News will livestream the press conference in this story and on the KOMO News YouTube page.
 
  • #105

Remains found near Rock Island Campground confirmed as Travis Decker


 
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  • #106

Chelan County Sheriff's Office press conference on Travis Decker's DNA result​

 
  • #107

LIVE: Chelan County sheriff to give Decker case update​


YT includes a recap of the investigation leading up to the presser. Begins at 5 min mark
 
  • #108
  • #109
Great news for a final confirmation!

Now, will we get to know the approx date he died or how?
 
  • #110
Dr. Stacy Cecchet, PhD, ABPP
Forensic & Operational Psychologist | Board Certified Psychologist | Criminal Behavioral Analysis

Cecchet is the profiler/psychologist Morrison referenced during the presser who was helpful in locating TD's remains-- right down to the elevation. Interesting that her focus is on child predators.


 
  • #111
Interesting....

"Authorities were ultimately led to Grindstone Mountain by Stacy Cecchet, a psychologist with expertise in operational psychology, criminal behavioral analysis, and human performance optimization, according to her website."

"Her insights and guidance led us to an important area to search, where we did eventually locate Mr. Decker," Morrison said.

 
  • #112
Dr. Stacy Cecchet, PhD, ABPP
Forensic & Operational Psychologist | Board Certified Psychologist | Criminal Behavioral Analysis

Cecchet is the profiler/psychologist Morrison referenced during the presser who was helpful in locating TD's remains-- right down to the elevation. Interesting that her focus is on child predators.


I posted about that too lol, just after you not knowing you were too :) Quite a feat and fascinating!
 
  • #113
Dr. Stacy Cecchet, PhD, ABPP
Forensic & Operational Psychologist | Board Certified Psychologist | Criminal Behavioral Analysis

Cecchet is the profiler/psychologist Morrison referenced during the presser who was helpful in locating TD's remains-- right down to the elevation. Interesting that her focus is on child predators.


OK, here's my dream. I'm on a flight and Stacy Gutchett (the contracted operational psychologist through the Washington State Patrol) is my seatmate. She feels like talking. A lot.

To suggest Grindstone Mountain for remains and even come close to estimating the correct elevation where they might be found---I need to hear all about her thought processes. Wow.

Edit: spelling of first name
 
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  • #114
Morrison said all indications are that Decker died in that location a while ago.

After the announcement of the discovery Thursday, the sheriff office said it had been in contact with the Decker family and is "providing them with support and updates as the investigation proceeds."

"We are praying that the remains found are confirmed to be Travis's. We continue to be grateful for law enforcement's efforts in this case and are forever appreciative of the entire world's love, compassion, and support for Whitney," said Arianna Cozart, the attorney for Whitney Decker, Decker's ex-wife and mother of the three girls killed
.

 
  • #115
A few new (to me) tidbits in a news story today:

"A dive team recovered a key fob from Icicle Creek, which was consistent with the key fob belonging to Decker's truck. Following this evidence discovery, a search team from U.S. Border Patrol and the U.S. Marshals Service located clothing and skeletal remains believed to be of Travis Decker on Sep. 18 at around 2 p.m."

"A shirt, pair of shorts, bracelet and chewing tobacco recovered from the scene were consistent with belonging to Decker..."

"Several bones were collected and sent to the Washington State Crime Lab for DNA testing."


All of this was happening in the worst conditions, between two large fires in Chelan County that are not contained. The air quality in the area where the divers, the Border Patrol and the US Marchals were working is horrible. Just to understand how selfless they were. I hope they are feeling OK after having toiled so hard.

ETA. I surely hope it is Travis, and most likely it is him. The searchers were exceptionally lucky to have found the remains. Many areas around the search zone are level 2 or even level 3 of evacuation now. The worst case scenario would have been the remains burning in the fire or buried under the mudslide. Wishing the inhabitants of eastern WA strong rain and less wind, and sooner.
 
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  • #116
Thanks for the update of the confirmation.
 
  • #117
OK, here's my dream. I'm on a flight and Stacy Gutchett (the contracted operational psychologist through the Washington State Patrol) is my seatmate. She feels like talking. A lot.

To suggest Grindstone Mountain for remains and even come close to estimating the correct elevation where they might be found---I need to hear all about her thought processes. Wow.

Edit: spelling of first name
Too late to edit, and I see that I have the psychologist's last name completely wrong. I copied it from a Fox 13 transcript of today's press conference and now notice the transcript was a bonanza of creative spelling. Not only was Cecchet incorrectly listed as Gutchett, but it shows up later on in the text as Chuckett. Wenatchee appears one time as Wenashee and Chelan County shows up once as Chelin. Oops.

Assuming the content itself of the presser is accurate at the link, I notice that during the Q & A period Sheriff Morrison was asked by a reporter:

"Sheriff, were there any clues to try to figure out whether he had been on the run all this time or if he went straight to the rescue route?"

The sheriff's response: "Based off the information we have, it appears that the potential of him going directly up Grindstone Mountain shortly after the event or within that day would be pretty consistent.

Would the information the sheriff refers to simply mean that the distance to Grindstone Mountain from Rock Island Campground is doable within the timeframe mentioned and TD likely didn't double back? My curiosity is piqued by "Based off the information we have...".

 
  • #118
Too late to edit, and I see that I have the psychologist's last name completely wrong. I copied it from a Fox 13 transcript of today's press conference and now notice the transcript was a bonanza of creative spelling. Not only was Cecchet incorrectly listed as Gutchett, but it shows up later on in the text as Chuckett. Wenatchee appears one time as Wenashee and Chelan County shows up once as Chelin. Oops.

Assuming the content itself of the presser is accurate at the link, I notice that during the Q & A period Sheriff Morrison was asked by a reporter:

"Sheriff, were there any clues to try to figure out whether he had been on the run all this time or if he went straight to the rescue route?"
The sheriff's response: "Based off the information we have, it appears that the potential of him going directly up Grindstone Mountain shortly after the event or within that day would be pretty consistent.

Would the information the sheriff refers to simply mean that the distance to Grindstone Mountain from Rock Island Campground is doable within the timeframe mentioned and TD likely didn't double back? My curiosity is piqued by "Based off the information we have...". What is it consistent wi
Sorry when I reply lots of your post is missing(?)

Great catch! Thanks for sharing that.

So sounds like he wasn't alive maybe no more than a day after and he possibly spent that time focused on getting atop that mountain. Still curious why that was his focus (or seems to be if psychologist led them that direction).

I don't think he had a firearm. If he did, was he getting up high enough to shoot police if they zeroed in? Did he pick a mountain top for suicide? Did he want to just get high to have a bird's eye view to avoid LE?

Still lots of questions I guess. Might never know.
 
  • #119
Sorry when I reply lots of your post is missing(?)

Great catch! Thanks for sharing that.

So sounds like he wasn't alive maybe no more than a day after and he possibly spent that time focused on getting atop that mountain. Still curious why that was his focus (or seems to be if psychologist led them that direction).

I don't think he had a firearm. If he did, was he getting up high enough to shoot police if they zeroed in? Did he pick a mountain top for suicide? Did he want to just get high to have a bird's eye view to avoid LE?

Still lots of questions I guess. Might never know.
Yes, pretty much all we can do is speculate. If there was no accident or incident and he indeed took his own life, it would have been easier to have done so at the crime scene. Since he didn't do that, what was going on?

He could have started hiking with the intention to flee but soon grew despondent. He could have known all along that he was going to take his life but wanted his body to be in a spot where it would not be discovered for a long time, if ever. A desire to keep fear going---in other words, revenge---could have been behind his choice of a location, though I have never felt too sure of that motive.

I think the person who would have the best educated guess about the why would be the psychologist who had the best educated guess about the where. That is one reason why I'd wish to have her as a talkative seatmate on a plane. Maybe she'll write a book someday.
 

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