TWO months after the manhunt for Travis Decker began, cops have said that their ‘helper’ theory is likely how he has successfully evaded capture.
The 32-year-old man is accused of killing his three daughters during a custody visit on May 30 in Washington and leaving their bodies at a deserted campsite.
Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia, 5, were suffocated to death and found near Icicle Creek on June 2, sparking a major manhunt for their father.
As the search enters its third month, Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison, who is in charge of the investigation, has shared their current theory about Decker’s whereabouts.
“There’s a chance that he could have someone more sympathetic to him who is helping him out,” Morrison explained to People.
“We put the message out that we don’t think that’s a wise decision, but we get that everyone’s going to make their own choices.”
To this point, the search for the former Army Ranger has led to the discovery of his empty truck with two bloody handprints at the Rock Island campground, along with some incorrect reports of sightings in Idaho.
One individual who was mistaken for Decker while camping and hiking in the Sawtooth National Forest recounted how he unknowingly avoided police for days.
But since those alleged sightings from Fourth of July weekend were debunked, the multiple-agency hunt for the alleged killer has cooled.
On July 25, the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office said there was a “decrease in leads and tips” regarding any possible locations where Decker could be.
As a result, the search has been pulled back with cops stumped as to if he is even alive.
“There is insufficient information to suggest that he is alive, nor if he is deceased,” the office said.
“Until he is found, there remains the possibility that he is alive and actively avoiding capture,” Morrison stated in his conversation with People.
“Right now, you’re in a pretty leisurely time for our country that you could be outdoors and probably live decently comfortable.
“We get that the probability that if he is still out there, he’s going to be looking to obtain supplies, food, other resources, which right now we’re not getting any reports of anything like that missing.
“The probability of him just surviving off foraging or trapping — not likely.”
However, again the helper theory is possible with the idea Decker hitchhiked out of the area either by a knowing or unknowing driver.
“If someone wasn’t paying attention, they might’ve provided a ride to him not knowing what he was associated with,” Morrison said.
“Or maybe they did know, and they did provide him a ride.”
‘SPECIAL FORCES GURU’
Decker’s army experience and survival training has long played a role in the manhunt, with experts weighing in on how long he could survive alone in the mountainous and rugged terrain.
He is said to have lived off-grid before and one survival expert suggested Decker could have made it to the Canadian border just a couple of weeks after the girls’ bodies were found.
Four days before his disappearance, Decker made several Google searches related to Canada, investigators previously revealed.
Decker made online searches for “how does a person move to Canada,” “how to relocate to Canada” and “jobs Canada.”
However, last month experts said that if Decker is hiding out in the wilderness, his survival tricks would likely be running dry.
Cops have previously lashed out at the “glorification” of Decker’s survival abilities, with Morrison saying that the wanted man is not a “special forces guru”.
“He could get lucky at times, and eventually luck runs out.”
Meanwhile, Whitney Decker, the girls’ mom has revealed her ex-husband’s struggles with mental health, insisting “something broke” in him after the scheduled custody visit on May 30.
Decker suffers from PTSD after his time in the military, and has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, but was a good dad to the girls, she said.
The latest search took place in the Icicle River in Leavenworth, Washington, on Wednesday, but the Chelan County Sheriff’s Swiftwater Rescue Team confirmed they found nothing.
Despite leads drying up and admitting that the manhunt has been “frustrating”, Morrison insists that he and his team are “optimistic that we will get closure.”
Decker faces charges of kidnapping and first-degree murder and there is currently a $20,000 reward by the U.S. Marshals Service on offer for information leading to his arrest.
He should still be considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached, cops have said.
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 also said near the end of the marriage he was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder that she believes he currently does not take medications for.”
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.
