The remains of Travis Decker, a Washington father accused of murdering his three daughters, have been positively identified, officials confirmed Thursday.
Decker, 32, was wanted for three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of first-degree kidnapping after allegedly killing his daughters at the Rock Island Campground in Leavenworth, Wash. Decker’s truck was left at the scene, sparking a three-month manhunt.
Remains and clothing believed to belong to Decker were found on Sept. 18 in a remote, wooded area of Grindstone Mountain, less than a mile from the scene of the crime, where searchers had to rappel in from a helicopter.
Both the DNA on the clothing and remains are a “positive match for Travis Decker,” Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison said during a Thursday press conference.
“He is deceased. Our DNA results confirm that, and this will bring a close to our case,” he said, while adding it could still take “months” for the coroner to determine how Decker died.
The announcement comes on the heels of the U.S. Marshals Service declaring Decker dead, despite the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office saying on Wednesday it was “not in a position to make a positive identification or confirmation of Mr. Decker’s status.”
Authorities had been looking for Decker since his daughters — 9-year-old Paityn, 8-year-old Evelyn and 5-year-old Olivia — were found dead in early June after not coming home from a scheduled custodial visit on May 30.
The Chelan County Sheriff’s Office said an autopsy determined the girls — who were found with plastic bags over their heads and their hands bound with zip ties — died by asphyxiation..
A widespread manhunt was launched for Decker, an Army veteran skilled in wilderness survival, but the shift focused to recovering his body after several weeks. He was the sole suspect in the case.
Whitney Decker, his ex-wife and the girls’ mother, had previously filed a petition to restrict Decker from having overnight visits with them until he found housing.
Sheriff Morrison, at the Thursday press conference, apologized to Whitney for how long it took to bring closure to the case, but said he hopes she can “rest easier at night knowing that Travis is accounted for.”
“This is not going to bring Paityn, Evelyn and Olivia back,” the sheriff added. “Our community is now down three young girls who would have been our bright future.”
