Fugitive Father’s Elusive Escape: How a Monthslong Manhunt Brought Investigators Full Circle

Fugitive Father Manhunt: The summer was spent searching the Washington Cascades wilderness for Travis Decker, the man suspected of killing his three young children at a campsite at the end of May. As authorities tried to find the missing father, professional search teams, aircraft, and dogs were deployed against a background of untamed mountains and picturesque trails. As leads were sought, the search even crossed the border into Canada and Mexico.

However, detectives were less than a mile from the abandoned campground where the girls’ deaths were recovered on June 2 when they uncovered pieces of bone thought to be Decker’s on Thursday. Each girl had died with several plastic bags over her head.

Monthslong Search for Fugitive Father Ends in a Full-Circle Revelation for Investigators

Officials warned locals that Decker, an Army veteran with wilderness survival skills, could be seen as hazardous after the horrific fatalities rocked the well-known tourist attraction.

The fact that Decker had a three-day head start in a remote location west of Leavenworth that is renowned for its untamed beauty and dangerous terrain in the Cascade mountain range has hampered the hunt for him.

As police authorities searched the forest for any indications of the bearded Army veteran, drones, a rapid water team, cadaver dogs, and GoPros broke the stillness in the serene and spectacular mountains and led to the closure of the Enchantments, a popular location for backcountry hiking and camping.

This week, a drone flying above saw something strange in a tree grove while investigators searched a remote and almost inhospitable location on Grindstone Mountain.

We had not previously had the opportunity to conduct such a thorough search in that particular location. That’s where we had targeted our next search after deploying drones and other resources,” Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison told CNN on Friday.

The sheriff described the terrain as “steep.” It has a heavy brushing. It isn’t inhabited. It isn’t a path for travel. It is not a place where people usually go.

When investigators descended to the scene, they found personal belongings, such as the shirt and shorts that Decker was wearing when he was last seen, as well as bone pieces and other remnants. Morrison said that the bone pieces were dispersed and were probably the product of animals scavenging.

A grueling months-long search effort that cost millions of dollars may come to an end with the finding, but many questions remain over the case. It is unknown how or when Decker passed away, and the remains have not yet been conclusively recognized as his.

Since failing to return his kids, Olivia, Evelyn, and Paityn, ages five, eight, and nine, to their mother, Whitney Decker, during a three-hour planned custody visit on May 30, Decker has not been seen.

The Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office, who helped with the search, said they had no proof Decker was still alive or in the vicinity of the murder site, almost one month after he vanished.

Morrison said on Friday that since the girls were slain, there has been no sign of him, including no phone activity or credit card activities.

An unexpected discovery

Just under ¾ of a mile separates the murder site where the Decker sisters were found from the area of Grindstone Mountain where the bone pieces were located, which is just over 4,000 feet above sea level.

That’s a steep climb. Morrison said, “You’re looking at a little over 1,000 feet of elevation gain in a little bit of distance.” “Based solely on the terrain and the rock formations, hiking in there would take nearly three hours.”

This location is bleak in contrast to other Cascades regions, where there are many campsites and hundreds of hikers use the Pacific Crest Trail.

Morrison said, “There was nothing in that area.” Campsites weren’t present. There are no climbing routes or trails. It is only wildness. Detectives landed on the mountaintop and then climbed for an hour to down the steep, unpaved slope.

“Fortunately, our detectives are in fairly good condition,” Morrison said. They are used to the terrain since they hunt in the wilderness. They also agreed to take up the assignment.

Search operations were complicated by the large and rugged search region around the campsite, according to Guy Mansfield, a lifelong volunteer for search and rescue in Washington state and head of the Washington State SAR Planning Unit, who spoke to CNN.

“A 2-mile radius around the campground would require an area close to 3,000 acres of rough terrain for a thorough search,” he added.

Mansfield, who was not engaged in the search, said it probably would have been challenging to send K-9 units and ground teams to the isolated slope where the bodies were discovered.

He stated that it is considerably more difficult to identify remains that have been dispersed by animals, as seems to have occurred with the remains discovered on Thursday.

According to Mansfield, searchers also had to prepare for two very different scenarios: either Decker was very far away from the murder site or he was quite near to it. According to him, “this would have spread search resources thin.”

“A motionless body would be very difficult to identify in heavy brush, even from a drone,” said Trey Werner, founder and executive director of Wilderness Search Investigations, located in Washington.

Unanswered questions

Morrison said it’s hard to determine how long the corpses had been on the slope. According to him, decomposition was “well, well in place.”

The circumstances behind Decker’s disappearance are still unclear to the public and the bereaved family members. Morrison said that more details about the cause and time of death would be provided later by the coroner’s office.

According to the sheriff, he had asked to speed up the laboratory testing required to identify the remains. However, they are still unsure of when they will get such answers.

According to Dr. Nicole Jackson, attending pathologist and head of Autopsy & After Death Services at the University of Washington Medicine Hospital, DNA profiles are the most accurate way to identify skeletal remains. However, it may take weeks or even months to find a match, and it may be more difficult to identify remains that are more damaged.

Jackson went on to say that since it’s so hard to pinpoint the exact moment a person died, forensic pathologists often provide ranges rather than exact dates.

Depending on the circumstances, skeletonization might take weeks, months, or even years, she told the reporters. The reason why authorities believe Decker murdered his daughters has likewise not been disclosed. According to the sheriff, no note was discovered among the personal belongings of the deceased.

According to Morrison, the case is emotionally taxing for both himself and his deputies, for whom he is obligated to see psychiatrists in order to address their mental health. He said, “It definitely hit home, even though these weren’t my daughters.”

A veteran on the run with survival skills

Authorities had warned that Decker should be regarded as dangerous when the quest for him started, but they were unsure whether he was armed.

Additionally, his aptitude for the outdoors may have made him more difficult to locate: According to a deputy US Marshal’s court declaration, the army veteran, who served eight years, including a tour in Afghanistan, was an enthusiastic hiker and hunter who had previously lived “off the grid in the backwoods” for as long as two and a half months at a stretch.

Morrison told CNN that he probably fled on foot after leaving his vehicle close to the girls’ corpses. Additionally, he left his dog and equipment behind, so unless he hid supplies in the woods, he was unprepared.

Nevertheless, the statement said that Decker had received “training in navigation, woodland/mountainous terrain, long distance movements, survival, and numerous other disciplines needed to be able to flee from the Eastern District of Washington.”

Werner, who did not participate in Decker’s search, told CNN that he would have needed to have a thorough understanding of the local flora that were safe to consume as well as how to hunt and prepare game for consumption in order to live for weeks. In order to live in a variety of weather situations, he would have also need a supply of water and some kind of shelter.

Whitney Decker informed detectives that he had been homeless at the time of his disappearance, staying in hotels and on campsites.

Despite Decker’s past, the sheriff warned that he couldn’t stay hidden indefinitely.

We’re not going to exalt his skills. Morrison had said, “We don’t believe that he is some sort of special forces guru.” “He might be fortunate occasionally, but eventually good fortune runs out.” According to local officials, there was no indication that Decker was receiving assistance.

Whitney Decker informed investigators that her ex-husband had been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder a number of years before. According to the Cleveland Clinic, the diagnosis may include “extreme mood fluctuations, instability in interpersonal relationships, and impulsivity.”

She informed police that Decker had refused to sign his and Whitney’s most recent parenting agreement, which called for him to get anger management and mental health therapy.

Nevertheless, the document states that Whitney Decker said her ex-husband’s girls and his dog “are the two big positives in his life.”

He participated actively in all of their extracurricular activities, including dance and soccer matches. In the past, her family lawyer has said that “he was very involved.”

Travis Decker seemed well, albeit he was a touch quieter than normal when she last saw him. Unaware that it would be her last sight of their girls alive, Whitney Decker said them farewell with her usual embrace and kiss.

thorough search

According to Morrison, they gradually broadened their search, beginning within a quarter-mile of the campsite and working their way out.

Morrison estimated that “well over” $6 million had already been spent on the hunt in July. Without the assistance of other organizations, such as the US Marshal Service, FBI, US Customs and Border Protection, National Park Service, and National Forest Service, it would have cost half of his department’s annual budget.

Decker was accused with murder and abduction when the remains of his children were found, and federal and local investigators apparently used every tool in their toolboxes in their search for him.
Even as far north as Canada and as far south as Mexico were included in the search.

According to the US Marshals’ court petition, Decker had Googled “how does a person move to Canada” and related terms in the days before to abducting his kids. Marshals pointed out that the Pacific Crest Trail, which “leads directly to Canada,” was less than a dozen miles from Decker’s encampment.

Morrison earlier told media, “We collaborated with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.” “They were investigating some leads we had in Canada.” According to Morrison, they also got tips in Mexico and tried their best to follow up. Several false alerts that gave optimism that Decker had been located broke up the months-long hunt.

Decker was said to have been seen in McCall, Idaho, in June. However, Morrison then confirmed that Decker was not the individual.

Additionally, when doing a grid search for Decker in late August, the FBI found bones. However, a further investigation proved they weren’t human.

For information that resulted in Decker’s arrest, the US Marshals Service had offered a $20,000 reward. He was thought to be the only suspect in the murders of his daughters.

The sorrow of a mother

While the search for Decker may be finished, his family will always be affected by the tragedy.

According to the GoFundMe page for Whitney Decker, the three girls’ “light touched so many, and the pain of this loss is immeasurable.” More than one million dollars has been donated by the fundraising to assist the bereaved mother in “covering final expenses, supporting time off from work, and giving her space to heal without financial pressure.”

Arianna Cozart, Whitney Decker’s lawyer, told ABC News, “We hope the remains are identified as Travis’s.” We will always be thankful for the love, kindness, and support that the whole world has shown for Whitney, and we will continue to be grateful for the work that law enforcement has done in this case.

The girls’ favorite colors—purple, pink, and green—were worn by those attending a public funeral ceremony in June. Three lively kids who enjoyed theater and were quick to laugh were the subject of anecdotes told by teachers, friends, and relatives.

All three “brought something special into the lives they touched,” according to Tyler Scharlau, who worked with the girls at their primary school and at the YMCA.

He recalled that when a new student initially came at the school, Peyton had been the first to show her around.

Not because she had to, but because it was just who she was, Scharlau said, “she had a way of making others feel included, making sure no one was left behind.” Whitney Decker expressed her gratitude for the time she had with her girls before to their untimely deaths. She sobbed as she said, “I sincerely hope that the legacy of the girls’ lives lives on in everyone’s heart forever.” “They were amazing.”