Recently released police video captures Travis Decker engaging in conversation with an officer and another motorist, just days before he allegedly committed the murder of his three children.
Decker, who is now a fugitive, appeared to be nervous and admitted he feared going to jail while talking in a supermarket parking lot.
The dad slammed into a car while at a stop light in Wenatchee on May 27 – three days before he had a planned custody visit.
In a segment of the footage released by the Wenatchee Police Department, Decker, dressed in light blue shorts and a shirt, is spotted with his hand resting on his hip.
His head was tilted while a cop was noting down details and in other moments of the footage, Decker looked bored.
The driver who Decker crashed into said his body language looked “intimidating.”
And, he suspected nothing seemed right.
The man recalled how Decker seemed “nervous” and said he was fidgeting.
“I could tell he was not in his full senses,” the driver told the NBC affiliate KING-TV.
Decker gave bizarre responses to questions, according to the man.
And, the driver had to reassure Decker he wouldn’t be locked in a police cell.
Decker offered to shake the man’s hand following the accident and repeatedly asked if he would be OK.
The pair’s handshake lasted around nine seconds and the driver described Decker’s grip as “tight.”
Decker was caught up in two car accidents in May.
Decker rear-ended a couple’s truck on May 4, but carried on driving.
Police were able to track the vehicle to the dad.
Decker collected his daughters, Paityn, nine, Evelyn, eight, and Olivia, five, on May 30 from his ex-wife Whitney Decker.
The three children were found suffocated to death on June 2 in a rural Washington campground.
Decker has been at large since the girls’ bodies were found at the site – located around an hour outside of Wenatchee.
His truck was found around 100 yards away from the childrens’ bodies and there were two bloody handprints on the tailgate.
Investigators uncovered that Decker researched moving to Canada on the internet in the run-up to the custody visit.
He also looked on a Canadian job website, according to police.
Hikers can venture into Canada without being spotted.
Timeline of the missing Decker girls
Paityn, 9; Evelyn, 8; and Olivia Decker, 5, were found dead at a campground after they were last seen on a custody visit to their dad.
Below is a timeline of events:
May 29: Cell phone activity shows that the girls’ dad, Travis Decker, drove to the Rock Island Campground and left.
May 30: 5 pm – Travis Decker picks the three girls up from their mom, Whitney Decker.
8 pm – Travis Decker is supposed to return the girls but doesn’t. Whitney Decker calls him and it goes to voicemail.
9:45 pm – Whitney Decker calls the Wenatchee Police Department to report her daughters missing.
Travis Decker’s truck is seen driving westbound on Highway 2.
Washington State Patrol is contacted for an Amber Alert but said the situation didn’t match their criteria.
May 31 : WPD issues an Endangered Missing Persons Alert.
June 2: 3:45 pm – Travis Decker’s truck is found empty at Rock Island Campground with two bloody handprints and items inside.
5 pm – Cops search the area and find the bodies of the three girls.
June 3: 9:30 am – Cops notify the public that they are still searching for Decker.
2 pm – WPD tells the public that the three girls were found dead and that Travis Decker is still on the loose.
June 8: Federal authorities take over search efforts.
June 9: Autopsy results confirm three girls were murdered by suffocation.
June 13: An affidavit revealed Whitney described Travis as having “recent mental health concerns.”
“She provided the examples of randomly leaving or waking her up by screaming at her in the middle of the night,” it read.
“She mentioned that towards the end of their marriage, he was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, and she suspects he is currently not taking medication for it.”
June 17: New audio of Travis in court fighting for custody of his daughters is released.
“I understand that my current position when I’m by myself isn’t ideal, but my daughters aren’t a part of that,” he said in September 2024.
“I only get to see them over the weekends and camping is something that the four of us have done since the three of them were in diapers.”
June 20: Memorial is held where Whitney speaks publicly about girls for first time.
July 5: A family spotted a man believed to be Travis Decker in the Sawtooth National Forest in Idaho.
July 9: US Marshals call off the search in Sawtooth National Forest after locating and questioning the man believed to be Travis Decker and confirming it isn’t him.
Whitney revealed something was not quite right regarding her ex-husband’s behavior when he collected the children.
In court papers, she said he was quieter than usual.
She grew concerned when Decker didn’t call her when he was supposed to return the children.
The children were supposed to be dropped off at 8pm on May 30 – three hours after Decker had collected them.
Decker reportedly tried to rekindle his marriage with Whitney even though the pair had been divorced for several years, as reported by the ABC affiliate KFSN-TV.
A manhunt for Decker was launched after he vanished and the girls’ bodies were found.
He’s wanted for three counts of murder and three counts of kidnapping.
Cops warned Decker has survival skills training and military experience having served in Afghanistan.
FALSE SIGHTINGS
Sightings have been reported but Decker has not been found – either dead or alive.
Investigators combed an area of the Sawtooth National Forest in Idaho – around 600 miles from where the Decker girls were found – after receiving a tip-off.
And, Idaho resident Jennifer Rice recalled spotting a man who looked out of place in the area, according to the ABC affiliate KIVI-TV.
She spotted the man on June 18 – more than two weeks after the Decker girls were found.
He was carrying a black backpack but it didn’t seem big enough for him to be hauling a sleeping bag.
Cops called off the search of the Sawtooth National Forest.
The cost of the search for Decker stands at more than $6 million.
