WENATCHEE, Wash. (WJW) — The search is still on for Travis Decker, the former U.S. Army soldier wanted for the murder of his three young daughters in Washington state.
As authorities continue to comb through the mountains for a sign of the 32-year-old, People spoke with a next-door neighbor, Binh Nguyen, about seeing Decker before his disappearance.
Friday, May 30, Decker had come to pick up his daughters, Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia, 5, from the Wenatchee home he used to share with his ex-wife Whitney.
Nguyen told People he was outside watering the lawn when he saw Decker.
“He was skinny. He had long hair and a beard. I said, ‘Is that you, Travis?’” Nguyen told People, explaining they caught up for a while and that he seemed distracted the entire time.
“It was kind of weird,” Nguyen said. “He had a sad face.”
Decker was supposed to drop the girls off at 8 p.m., but never did.
The girls’ bodies were found on June 2 at a camp ground outside of Leavenworth with plastic bags around their heads. The county medical examiner would later determine they all died of asphyxiation.
Authorities offered an update on the search for Decker, who reportedly spent time off the grid in the backwoods before, earlier this week.
“There is no certain evidence that Decker remains alive or in this area,” the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post. “Seemingly strong early leads gave way to less convincing proofs over the last two weeks of searching. Still, we can’t and won’t quit this search; Paityn, Evelyn, and Olivia Decker deserve justice. And Decker remains a danger to the public as long as he’s at large.”
Resources are being shifted to look for Decker’s remains, according to the sheriff’s office.
