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Authorities have closed a wide range of popular campsites and backpacking areas along Washington’s Pacific Crest Trail.
Dozens of additional law enforcement officials from numerous agencies participated in the investigation and on Friday, the girls – 9-year-old Peychindecker, 8-year-old Evelyndecker, and 5-year-old Olivia Decker, were found dead in a remote camp outside Leavenworth.
The girls’ mother reported that she missed the night of May 30 when she was unable to return Decker to Wenatchee’s home about 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of Seattle after a scheduled visit.
Gov. Bob Ferguson announced Friday night that he was ordering the state National Guard to assist in the search, saying, “We will provide helicopter transport to law enforcement when they search remotely.”
“The brutal murders of these young children shocked our condition,” he added in a statement on social media. “I am committed to supporting law enforcement because they want justice for Paichin, Evelyn and Olivia.”
The Chelan County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that it covered the sturdy terrain of the Cascade Mountains in central Washington, with more than 100 officers involved in the search, which had more than 500 hints poured into by the public.
“From the abundant attention, we will be notified to the surrounding counties if Mr. Decker moves through the woods to a juris address and work together,” the statement said.
Decker was an Army infantry soldier from March 2013 to July 2021 and was deployed in Afghanistan for four months in 2014, according to Army spokesman Lt. Col. Ruth Castro. From 2014 to 2016 he was an automatic rifleman of the 75th Ranger Regiment at the joint base at Lewis McCord, Washington.
Last September, his ex-wife, Whitney Decker, wrote in a petition to amend his parenting plan that his mental health issues had worsened, and that he had become increasingly unstable and often lived out of his truck. She tried to limit him from making overnight visits with girls until he found a home.
“He has made great sacrifices to serve our country and loves his girl so much, but he needs to get better,” she wrote. “I don’t want to protect Travis from girls at all…but we can’t stay in an essentially homeless shelter for our girls.
Authorities warned people to keep an eye on Deckers and asked those with far-flung homes, cabins or buildings to keep their blinds open so that law enforcement can look inside and leave their exteriors on.
It was unclear if Decker was armed, but the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office said he should be considered dangerous. A reward of up to $20,000 was provided for information that led to his arrest.
Whitney Decker’s online fundraiser raised over $1 million, and Edwards, a friend who taught the girls in a theatrical program called “Short Shakespeareans,” thanked supporters at a press conference Thursday.
“Their laughter, curiosity, spirit left a mark on us all,” Edwards said. “They were like kids that everyone was ingrained in, and they looked forward to seeing them in their minds.”
Edwards and Belton said Whitney Decker hopes the tragedy will encourage changes to the state’s Amber Alert System and improve mental health care for veterans. On the night the girls were reported missing, Wenatchee police asked the Washington State Patrol to issue an Amber Alert, but said the case didn’t meet one standard as a custody without any immediate threat.
The next day, the Patrol issued “Endless Missing Persons Alerts,” which do not send notifications to mobile phones.
As the girls’ search expanded last weekend, the sheriff’s aide found decker’s pickup in the area of the Rock Island Campground northwest of Leavenworth. There were two bloody bills on the tailgate. The girls were found on a nearby embankment, according to an affidavit filed in support of the murder and lure charges against Decker.
County Coroner Wayne Harris said Friday that his office was waiting for pathology results to determine when and how the girl was killed.
Authorities issued a closure notice the day before that camp area in Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest and its camp area in a large strip of rugged territory to the north. This includes trails and campsites along the Pacific Crest Trail, located from the Canadian border to Mexico, in the northern tip of Lake Chelan.
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