By @genjustlaw
June 2025 — In a quiet mountain town known for alpine festivals and postcard views, a horror unfolded that shattered all illusions of peace. Travis Caleb Decker, a 39-year-old military veteran and father of three, stands accused of one of the most shocking crimes in recent U.S. memory: the calculated murder of his own daughters Paityn, Evelyn, and Olivia before disappearing into the wilderness.
Now, he’s the target of an escalating multi-agency manhunt. And the public wants answers.
“I trusted him. I never imagined this.”
That’s how Whitney Decker, Travis’s ex-wife and the mother of the victims, described the betrayal in an emotional statement to the press. The couple had shared custody of the children, despite what Whitney later described as concerning signs of instability in Travis.
On May 27, 2025, Travis was scheduled to return the girls to their mother. He never showed. Later that evening, the children’s bodies were discovered in his residence each of them bearing signs of trauma, and all pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities quickly identified Travis as the prime suspect. But by then, he was gone.
Travis Decker, a U.S. Army veteran with survivalist training, disappeared into the Cascade wilderness. Police found his vehicle abandoned near the Enchantments trailhead, a rugged terrain stretching deep into central Washington’s alpine wilderness.
Within days, the FBI joined the search. On June 3, a federal warrant was issued charging Decker with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. The arrest affidavit revealed chilling new details: internet searches on “how to move to Canada” and “how to disappear” in the weeks leading up to the killings.
Officials say Decker may be attempting to cross the border. The Enchantments region has since been closed to hikers, and armed units are sweeping the terrain with drones, dogs, and infrared equipment. Still, he remains at large.
At a vigil for the girls, Whitney Decker didn’t mince words: “The system failed my daughters.” Despite warning signs including previous mental health episodes and concerning behavior, Travis Decker retained access to the children through shared custody.
Court documents reportedly show no history of physical violence. But friends of the family have described a pattern of emotional volatility and post-traumatic stress that worsened in recent months.
“We have to do better for veterans—and for children caught in the crossfire of untreated trauma,”Whitney told reporters
Born and raised in Washington, Decker served multiple tours in the Middle East and returned home with what relatives describe as “a changed personality.” He reportedly struggled with reintegration into civilian life, job loss, and depression. He’d been seen visiting remote survivalist forums online and had taken several solo hikes in wilderness areas before the murders.
His current status is unknown. But police believe he is armed, potentially suicidal, and dangerous.
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