Killer dad Travis Decker dies three months after daughters' deaths, authorities say

Travis Decker, the father accused of killing his three young daughters, is dead, authorities announced after a months-long manhunt. The U.S. Marshals Service said Decker, 33, was deceased, with remains discovered in a remote wooded area near Leavenworth, Washington. A federal law enforcement source told TMZ that DNA confirmed the remains belonged to Decker, who had been sought by police since June on suspicion of the killings.

The case centers on Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia, 5, who were found dead at a Washington campground on a timeline that sparked a nationwide search. Police said Decker had picked up the girls from their mother’s home in Wenatchee on May 30 and failed to return them three days later. By the time investigators began focusing on a possible disappearance, Decker was described as homeless and living out of his car.

Authorities have said Decker had extensive wilderness survival training from his background as a Army veteran and later as a member of the Washington National Guard. He joined the Army in 2013 and served in Afghanistan before transferring to the Washington National Guard in 2021. The Guard was in the process of a disciplinary discharge due to absences when the killings occurred, according to investigators familiar with the case. The hunt intensified as officers searched remote terrain, relying on ground teams and air support to track a man who had been described as highly mobile in wooded areas.

Decker’s ex-wife, Whitney, told police she did not believe he posed a danger to others and said he loved his daughters and had maintained a good relationship with them. She said the man had been dealing with mental-health issues and had recently been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. Court records and prosecutors had previously indicated Decker had been ordered to undergo mental-health treatment and domestic-violence counseling, though he had refused.

As the search continued over the summer, authorities publicly conveyed growing concerns that Decker could still be alive and hiding in wilderness terrain. By late September, investigators shifted to confirming whether remains found in the Leavenworth area were linked to Decker, which DNA testing later established.

The development brings to a close a chapter that drew attention to the intersection of military service, mental health care, and family violence in the United States. Experts note that cases involving veteran status and documented treatment refusals often underscore broader policy debates about access to mental-health resources, accountability measures for caregivers, and the support structures available to families affected by domestic violence.

Authorities have not released a cause of death or confirmation of how the deaths occurred, and investigators said they would continue reviewing the evidence surrounding the case. The timeline remains under review as investigators work to reconstruct the sequence of events from May 30 through June 2 and verify the full extent of Decker’s movements in the ensuing weeks. The community in Wenatchee and beyond continues to seek answers about what happened to the three young girls and what, if any, systems might better prevent similar tragedies in the future.