Months-Long Manhunt May Have Ended After Human Remains Found

CHELAN COUNTY, WA - Human remains believed to belong to Travis Decker were found in a remote wooded area outside Leavenworth, a Bavarian-themed village in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains in central Washington.

On Thursday, September 18, the Chelan County Sheriff's Office (CSCO) shared a press release via Facebook detailing what the search teams found. "While positive identification has not yet been confirmed, preliminary findings suggest the remains belong to Travis Decker," the CSCO said.

"The sheriff's office is currently processing the scene with the assistance of the Washington State Police crime response team, to be followed up with DNA analysis." The remains were found during a search this past week led by the U.S. Marshals Service Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force, according to Kitsap Sun. 

The search effort included help from CSCO, the Spokane County Sheriff's Office, Washington State Patrol, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Forest Service, and the FBI. The release did not expand on the findings that potentially link remains to Decker, 32. CSCO said that authorities have kept in contact with the Decker family and are providing support.

Decker has been wanted on charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping in connection with the suffocation deaths of Paityn Decker, 9; Evelyn Decker, 8; and Olivia Decker, 5. 

The human remains believed to belong to Decker were found on Grindstone Mountain off Icicle Road, just a "few miles away where the bodies of Decker's three daughters were found," as noted by CSCO Sheriff Mike Morrison. Clothing found near the remains resembled what Decker was known to be wearing, and unspecified "personal items" were also found.

In an interview with FOX 13, Morrison said the remains were "found about 0.74 miles away from the initial crime scene." He added that the area was "still outside of the initial three search areas" where the search was conducted in the investigation throughout the summer. "This was just an expansion of the search area," he said.

During the months-long manhunt, federal and state agencies searched hundreds of square miles, looking through remote and mountainous terrain. The search was taken over by the U.S. Marshals Service, which deployed personnel and oversaw interviews and assessments.

Decker was last seen alive with his three daughters on May 30, according to authorities. Morrison previously said that a decline in tips had hindered the search and also suggested that there was a possibility that Decker was dead. 

In late August, the FBI said they were working to determine whether recently discovered bones around the Rock Island Campground belonged to Decker. The agency later confirmed on September 3 that the remains were not human.  

Whitney Decker was married to Travis for seven years, but got divorced several years ago, according to NBC News. Whitney Decker reportedly told detectives that her ex-husband had always been communicative about their children and previously returned them when he was supposed to.

A parenting plan in effect since September 2024 required Travis to seek mental health treatment and domestic violence anger management counseling, but he had not done so, according to court documents. 

In June, Whitney Decker spoke publicly about her daughters' killings for the first time. "They were incredible," she told a crowd of thousands of mourners. "I truly hope that the legacy of the girls' lives lives in everyone's heart."