Bones have been found in the search for Travis Decker, the man accused of murdering his three daughters before he vanished.
Police have been on the lookout for Decker since early June after he allegedly suffocated his daughters, Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia, 5, before a custody handoff with his ex-wife in Leavenworth, Washington.
The FBI announced on Thursday that they had wrapped up a comprehensive two-day search of the Rock Island Campground within the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, the location where the girls’ bodies were discovered.
Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison said bones were among the discovery, but it’s not clear whether they belonged to a human or animal.
The remains were sent to Central Washington University’s anthropology department, Morrison added.
Authorities stressed that there had been no break in the case and they still haven’t determined whether Decker is still alive.
Travis Decker has been missing since early June following accusations of suffocating his daughters, Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia, 5, preceding a custody exchange with his ex-wife in Washington
The FBI marked off large sections in and around the Rock Island Campground on Monday and Tuesday to execute a thorough search for the elusive father
Decker is accused of killing his daughters by tying plastic bags over their heads, their bodies were found in a campground in Leavenworth, Washington
Morrison stated, ‘Locating this potential evidence highlights the importance of having different teams comb through an area multiple times, especially under challenging conditions.’
Decker, a former soldier, has been a wanted individual since June 2, after a sheriff’s deputy discovered his truck alongside the bodies of his three daughters at a campground.
The discovery came three days after he failed to return the girls to their mother’s home in Wenatchee, about 100 miles east of Seattle, following a scheduled visit.
Search crews, comprised of officers from two sheriff’s offices, the US Marshals Service, two police departments and Central Washington University’s anthropology department, used electronic mapping to document the scope of their search.
They ultimately went beyond their planned perimeter to cover as much ground as they possibly could.
Morrison insisted investigators ‘have not given up’ on finding him.
‘We understand the frustration, we feel it as well,’ he said at a news conference Monday night.
‘We will not relent, we will not give up until Travis Decker is taken into custody.’
Several items discovered in the Washington wilderness are being examined by the FBI to determine whether they’re linked to Decker, including bones
The mission was to locate Decker or discover signs that he had been in the area, or otherwise new evidence about the crimes he is accused of committing
‘This is not going to go away until Travis is located, whether he is alive or not,’ the sheriff continued, as he expressed doubts about the former soldier’s ability to survive in the wilderness this long despite his military survival training.
‘He has to be perfect every single day,’ Morrison explained. ‘We just have to be perfect once.’
Police said he was also homeless and living out of his car by the time he picked up his three girls from their mother’s house on May 30.
His ex-wife Whitney told police she didn’t believe Decker was dangerous, and that he loved his daughters, with whom he had a ‘good relationship’.
The US Marshals Service is offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to Decker’s capture.
