Police find remains thought to be Travis Decker, accused of killing 3 kids – National

Police believe that they have found the remains of Travis Decker, the Washington state father accused of killing his three young daughters.

The Chelan County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Thursday that it was processing the discovery with the assistance of the Washington State Patrol crime scene response team and will follow up with DNA analysis.

Police said that the U.S. Marshals Service Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force headed up a search that involved multiple law enforcement agencies, including U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Forest Service, Spokane County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI.

“During the search, human remains were located in a remote wooded area south of the town of Leavenworth,” the statement said. “While positive identification has not yet been confirmed, preliminary findings suggest the remains belong to Travis Decker.”

The Chelan County Sheriff’s Office said they have been in contact with the Decker family and are providing them with support and updates as the investigation proceeds. They also asked for “continued privacy and respect for the family.”

Decker, 32, has been wanted by police since June 2 after a sheriff’s deputy found his truck and the bodies of his three daughters —  nine-year-old Paityn Decker; eight-year-old Evelyn Decker and five-year-old Olivia Decker  — at a campground after attending a planned visit with their dad. His daughter’s bodies were found with their hands zip-tied and bags over their heads.

Decker had failed to return the girls to their mother’s home in Wenatchee three days earlier following the scheduled visit.

“We are praying that the remains found are confirmed to be Travis’s,” Arianna Cozart, the lawyer for Whitney Decker — Decker’s ex-wife and mother of three girls killed — told ABC News.

“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.”

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On June 11, Chelan County police said they were “closing in” on Decker nine days after his daughters were found dead.

Police had warned that as a former member of the U.S. army, Decker had been trained in survival skills and navigation, giving him the tools to survive in Washington’s unforgiving wilderness for an extended period.

In June, it was reported that a U.S. Marshals Service affidavit said that Decker had searched “how does a person move to canada,” “how to relocated to canada,” and “jobs canada” in the days leading up to his daughters’ deaths.

The affidavit noted that the children’s remains were found “relatively close to the Canadian border and approximately 11 miles from the Pacific Crest Trail, a well-established trail that leads directly to Canada.”

The charges against Decker include three counts of first-degree murder, one count of kidnapping and a charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

The affidavit pointed out that the charges against Decker “are all very serious violent felonies which all carry significant prison sentences if convicted,” and that “those facing significant prison sentences have a propensity” to flee.

— With files from Global News

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