Red flags with 'killer dad' that went missing before murdering his three daughters

Three young girls were found dead on June 2 as authorities launched a manhunt for their father Travis Decker after the family vanished without a trace.

On May 30, Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8 and Olivia, 5, vanished during a "planned visitation" with their father, only to be found dead three days later. On June 6, friends and community members gathered in their hometown of Wenatchee Valley, Washington, to honor the young girls.

Now, the Chelan County Sheriff's Office who have been searching for missing Travis Decker, 32, have confirmed that human remains have been found in a remote, wooded area outside of Leavenworth. "They were the kind of children that everyone rooted for, looked for, looked forward to seeing and held close in their hearts," family friend Amy Edwards said at the memorial for the girls in June.

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"They are cherished, not just by the family, but by our entire community who watched them grow, perform, learn and love. We ache with the love we still carry for them, and we always will."

There has been an ongoing search for Travis, who was facing charges related to his daughters' deaths.

According to ABC News, Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison had a message for him during a June 3 press conference: "Travis, if you're listening, this is your opportunity to turn yourself in, do the right thing, do what you need to do and take accountability for your actions."

"We're not going to rest, and we're going to make sure we find you," he continued. "You will be brought to justice, those young ladies deserve it."

In an emailed statement to PEOPLE on June 6, attorney Arianna Cozart, who represents Whitney, Travis' ex-wife and the mother of the young girls, gave some insight into the former couple's relationship.

She shared that Travis and Whitney were married for a little over seven years, but ultimately split in 2022 as a result of "his mental health struggles, including his feelings of isolation, paranoia and Borderline Personality Disorder."

Cozart noted that Travis, who was an Army veteran, was seeking mental health care but was unable to obtain it.

In September 2024, Whitney sought to limit Travis' time with their young daughters. A separate filing claimed that Travis had "neglected his parental duties towards a child" and "has a long-term emotional or physical problem that gets in the way of his ability to parent."

He was granted visitation rights for three hours on Fridays and eight hours every other weekend, as long as he remained in Wenatchee Valley.

The girl's mother also requested that he undergo anger management and domestic violence evaluation, as well as a comprehensive psychiatric assessment by a licensed psychiatrist to determine any potential diagnoses.

On May 26, Travis conducted online searches about how to move to Canada, as well as looking on a Canadian job site.

Just four days later, the Decker sisters were reported missing while on a planned visitation with their father.

According to Wenatchee Police Department's statement, the "visitation was part of a parenting plan," noting that he had "gone outside the parameters of it which is not normal and cause for alarm."

Their mother reported them missing on May 30 around 9.45pm, with Travis usually dropping them off back home by 8pm.

"It was late enough that she felt the need to call police because it was out of the ordinary," Capt. Brian Chance of the Wenatchee Police Department said, per the outlet.

According to the affidavit, his ex-wife told the police she was concerned because Travis was "currently experiencing some mental health issues."

Per Wenatchee Police Department's statement, Travis is "homeless and living in his vehicle or at various hotels/motels or at campgrounds in the area."

On May 31, the Wenatchee Police Department released an endangered missing persons alert and said that the young girls were "believed to be missing and unable to return home on their own," explaining that they headed out with their dad around 5pm the day before and hadn't been heard from or seen since then.

The statement also noted that the investigation had "not met AMBER Alert criteria" at the time.

Tragically, the girls were found dead on June 2. In a press release, the Wenatchee Police Department shared that authorities located their father's car near the Rock Island Campground in Chelan County, Washington, and found Paityn, Evelyn and Olivia dead at 3.45pm.

Fox 13 Seattle reported that his vehicle was found "with two bloody handprints" nearby where the girls' deceased bodies were located. The outlet also reported that various personal items were found inside, including blankets, food, car seats and a wallet "on the center console."

According to court documents obtained by Fox 13 Seattle, Travis' cell phone activity reportedly showed "he drove to and left the same campground a day prior to the kidnapping."

Following the sisters' death, police said during a press conference that Travis had been charged with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of kidnapping.

"It is unknown whether Decker is currently armed, but he may pose a significant risk, if approached," police said in their press release, adding that he has former military experience.

Whitney's lawyer told ABC that the system "failed" Travis, who struggled with mental health issues, including PTSD, and was unable to receive help through veterans' resources.

"The courts didn't fail these girls. It wasn't the judge and it wasn't Whitney; it was our system," Cozart said. "[Whitney] feels like the system really let Travis down. If somebody would have provided Travis with the help that he needed, those girls would be alive."

The attorney continued, "He had some mental health issues and some instability in his life that really led to the restrictions as far as overnight visitation or him taking them out of the area, but other than that, he loved those girls very much and him and Whitney were able to communicate on a regular basis, not just as co-parents, but as friends."

After an autopsy was completed on June 6, authorities shared the official causes of death for the three young girls in a press release on June 9.

"The cause of death was determined to be suffocation and the manner of death was determined to be homicide," the release stated.

On September 18, the Chelan County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that human remains - which they believed to be Travis' - were found in a remote wooded area.

"While positive identification has not yet been confirmed, preliminary findings suggest the remains belong to Travis Decker," they said, adding that they are working with the Washington State Patrol response team and are "currently processing the scene."

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