Is Travis Decker still alive? WA search continues for man suspected of killing his 3 daughters

The massive manhunt for Travis Decker, who is suspected of killing his three daughters and disappearing into the wilderness west of Leavenworth, continues. But officials say the lack of new leads suggests Decker is either dead or no longer in Eastern Washington.

“At this time, there is no certain evidence that Decker remains alive or in this area,” the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release Monday. “Seemingly strong early leads gave way to less convincing proofs over the last two weeks of searching.”

The press release said the search continues, but it suggests that after dozens of agencies and hundreds of people spent 24 days scouring the wilderness, the focus of the investigation has shifted.

“Some search resources are being redirected to find and recover Decker if he died in the rugged wilderness during this intense search—a possibility that increases every day,” the statement explains. “The US Marshals service has turned their fugitive-finding resources to the task of finding Decker if he’s left our area.”

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Decker, 32, has been the focus of a massive manhunt since June 2, when a sheriff’s deputy found his truck and the bodies of his three daughters — 9-year-old Paityn Decker, 8-year-old Evelyn Decker, and 5-year-old Olivia Decker — near Rock Island campground in Chelan County.

Decker had failed to return his daughters to their mother’s home in Wenatchee three days earlier.

Decker served for eight years in the U.S. Army, including a four-month deployment to Afghanistan, and has military training in navigation and survival skills. He once spent two months living off the grid in the backwoods.

Last September, his ex-wife, Whitney Decker, petitioned to have their custody arrangement modified because she said Travis Decker’s mental condition had worsened and he had become increasingly unstable, sometimes living out of his truck. She sought to restrict him from having overnight visits with their daughters until he obtained stable housing.

An autopsy of the girls found they died from suffocation. They were found with their hands bound with zip ties and with plastic bags over their heads.

Two weeks ago, the Chelan County Sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post that a helicopter had spotted a man who might have been Decker near Colchuk Lake, a popular backpacking area in the Enchantments about 12 miles from where the bodies of the Decker girls were discovered.

The man ran from sight after he was spotted and K-9 teams tracked the person to the Ingalls Creek Trailhead south of Leavenworth. After that, the trail went cold.

The Kittitas Sheriff’s Office assured the public Monday that, even though the search mission has now shifted, authorities remain committed to finding Decker.

Those sentiments were echoed by the Chelan County Sheriff's Office in a Facebook post thanking Kittitas County officials for their support and collaboration during the past month.

"Their support, expertise, and shared commitment to justice have been vital as we continue to navigate the complex, logistical, physical, and emotional demands of this case," the statement reads. "Together we remain united in our mission to bring justice for Paityn, Evelyn, and Olivia. No one involved in the search has given up and we will not."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.