Three sisters met with a tragic end during their visit with their father in Washington state, according to officials, who claim the sisters were suffocated.
Three little lasses, aged nine, eight, and five - Paityn, Evelyn, and Olivia Decker - met their tragic end near a Washington campground during a supposed visits with their pop, according to authorities. The heart-wrenching discovery was made on June 2 at the Rock Island Campground in Chelan County, Washington, following a thorough search.
An autopsy completed on June 4 confirmed the girls' cause of death was suffocation, making their deaths a homicide, stated the Chelan County Sheriff's Office.
Each of the children was found with bags over their heads and their wrists bound with zip ties, court documents revealed.
Tragedy continues as their father, Travis Decker, remains at large, with a warrant for his arrest on three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of first-degree kidnapping. Travis Decker's truck was retrieved from the scene where his kids were found.
Investigations are underway, and authorities have collected numerous items of evidence from the suspect's truck, although the analysis of the evidence poses more questions for investigators to explore. Blood samples taken at the scene showed traces of both human and non-human blood. The tailgate of the truck reportedly had what appeared to be "two hand prints of blood."
Deep into the woods and through various structures, law enforcement personnel have investigated areas Decker was last known to be inhabiting. Decker, a homeless military veteran who was last seen wearing a light shirt and dark shorts, is described as 5 feet 8 inches tall, black-haired, and brown-eyed.
The manhunt for Decker is now in the hands of the U.S. Border Patrol, with numerous agencies pooling their resources, including FBI, local police, U.S. Marshals, and a drone actuated by the National Guard.
Arianna Cozart, the attorney for Whitney Decker, the ex-wife of the accused murderer, spoke to our website last week. Cozart mentioned that Decker struggled with mental health issues such as PTSD but couldn't receive help from veterans' resources.
The Coordinated Tactical Team, a specialized unit often used in high-risk searches, has been deployed as Decker is believed to be a skilled survivalist and expert at evading capture in wild and mountainous areas.
The public can receive a $20,000 reward for any helpful information leading to Decker's arrest. The hunt continues into its second week, with no sign of the troubled father yet.
our website Megan Forrester contributed to this report.
- The autopsy results revealed that the cause of death for the Decker girls was homicide, and further analysis of the evidence collected from the suspect's truck could provide more insight into the events surrounding their deaths.
- As the manhunt for Travis Decker, the accused murderer and father of the deceased girls, continues, there is growing attention on the involvement of war-and-conflicts, politics, and crime-and-justice in the circumstances leading to the tragic incident.
- In light of the ongoing search for Decker, concerns about the lack of access to mental health resources for military veterans, as well as the impact of immigration status on access to general news and support during times of crisis, have been raised.
