Travis Decker, Washington man accused of killing his daughters, is dead, DNA results confirm, ending monthslong search

Kai Uyehara, The Seattle Times on Sep 25, 2025

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SEATTLE — Travis Decker is dead, the Chelan County sheriff said in a news conference Thursday afternoon, officially putting an end to a nearly four-month hunt for the Army veteran accused of killing his three daughters near Leavenworth, Washington.

Highly anticipated lab results positively linked Decker’s DNA to human remains found less than a mile away from where his daughters — Olivia, 5; Evelyn, 8; and Paityn, 9 — were found dead in June, Sheriff Mike Morrison said outside of the Chelan County Courthouse in Wenatchee.

The news comes two days after federal prosecutors said in a court filing that they were advised by the U.S. Marshals Service that Decker was dead. Morrison had said Wednesday that the prosecutors’ declaration was a bit premature, given the test results had not come back.

Authorities discovered the remains a week earlier on a steep, densely vegetated slope.

The remains included feet, femurs, a finger, rib bones and parts of a spinal column, as well as clothing from the last outfit Travis Decker was seen wearing — a green shirt, Army pants and a bracelet, Morrison said last week. They had been there long enough to decompose.

Results from the Washington State Patrol crime lab linking DNA found on the clothing to that of Decker’s came back on Monday, but Morrison wanted to wait for results identifying the bones.

He had asked the lab to conduct two separate tests on the bodily remains and clothing to dispel any rumors that Decker had killed another person and dressed the body in his clothes to throw off authorities.

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