Three young sisters who vanished during a “planned visitation” with their father were found lifeless in Washington, authorities confirmed Tuesday.
Their troubled and homeless father, Travis Decker, is the prime suspect in the tragic case.
“How could anyone, I mean anyone, do such an evil demonic act?” the internet asked after the girls were alleged victims of a violent crime by “someone they trusted and loved.”
Highlights
- Paityn Decker, 9, Evelyn Decker, 8, and Olivia Decker, 5, were found lifeless in Washington State.
- Their bodies were found near a campground close to their father's pickup truck.
- The dad, Travis Decker, had picked them up for a “planned visitation” before they went missing.
- “I just want the girls back home safe and sound,” their mother begged when she couldn't contact the father.
Paityn Decker, 9, Evelyn Decker, 8, and Olivia Decker, 5, were found lifeless near a campground in Wenatchee, Washington
Image credits: Whitney Decker
The bodies of Paityn Decker, 9, Evelyn Decker, 8, and Olivia Decker, 5, were found on Monday, June 2, at Rock Island Campground in Chelan County, Washington.
Their mother, Whitney Decker, begged for their safe return before they were located lifeless near their father’s truck.
Image credits: KREM 2 News
The girls were last seen alive on May 30 when they left for a “planned visitation” with their father, Travis Decker, 32.
Officers began searching for the girls after Whitney alerted authorities about her daughters not being returned home on the night of May 30.
The frantic search included SWAT teams, the US Forest Service, and a Homeland Security helicopter.
The girls were last seen alive as they left their home for a “planned visitation” with their father, Travis Decker
Image credits: Whitney Decker
“I just want the girls back home safe and sound – that is the most important thing to me,” the heartbroken mother said in a statement, begging for her girls’ safe return.
“I am concerned about the safety and well-being of my girls and their dad,” she continued. “This is an unimaginable situation. I am pleading for everyone to look out for them.”
Image credits: Wenatchee Police Department
The Decker sisters’ bodies were found on Monday, and the manhunt for Travis has intensified since.
“Their light touched so many, and the pain of this loss is immeasurable,” said a GoFundMe page, which has so far raised nearly $337,800 for Whitney’s “expenses and legal costs.”
“I just want the girls back home safe and sound,” heartbroken mother Whitney Decker said when her daughters went missing
Image credits: Wenatchee Police Department
The Wenatchee Police Department said the fugitive father has former military experience, and it is “unknown whether Decker is currently armed.”
Travis is “homeless and living in his vehicle,” a 2017 white GMC Sierra pickup truck, or “at various hotels/motels or at campgrounds in the area,” the police said after the girls went missing.
Image credits: Wenatchee Police Department
The visitation was “part of the parenting plan,” but the father could not be contacted after the girls were not dropped back home.
Travis went “outside the parameters” of the parenting plan, “which is not normal and cause for the alarm,” authorities said.
Whitney and Travis were married for seven years, and the visitation was “part of the parenting plan”
Image credits: FOX 13 Seattle
Whitney and Travis were married for seven years, and the father was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder towards the end of their marriage.
They were divorced for several years before their daughters’ tragic, untimely end.
Image credits: Wenatchee Police Department
Court documents revealed that Travis was supposed to seek mental health treatment and anger management counseling under their parenting plan but never did.
When her daughters were missing, Whitney said she never had problems with her ex and denied any domestic violence incidents in their marriage. However, she said there were certain instances where he attempted to control her or exert his power.
The father-of-three is wanted on charges related to the Decker sisters' tragic passing
Image credits: Wenatchee Police Department/CBS 58
“Travis has really struggled since he left the military, and his mental health can be hard sometimes,” she told KIRO7 before the search led to three corpses.
“I think that he is impulsive, and he loves his children very much,” she added.
Image credits: Whitney Decker
The Wenatchee Police Department urged the public to help locate Travis, who is wanted on several charges related to the girls’ tragic passing.
He was last seen wearing a light-colored shirt and dark shorts. He is described as 5-foot-8 tall and weighs 190 pounds.
Whitney denied any domestic violence incidents in their marriage but said Travis sometimes tried to control her
Image credits: KING 5 Seattle
“Due to safety concerns, do not attempt to contact or approach Decker,” they said, asking members of the public to call 911 if they have any information about his whereabouts.
Netizens expressed grief over the devastating turn of events.
Image credits: Outdoor Project
“I hope they find him. So sad. Those girls didn't deserve this,” one said.
“How could anyone hurt their own child is beyond me,” one said, while another wrote, “My heart hurts for the family.”
“How could he do that to his little girls?” one wrote online
Image credits: KREM 2 News
“This is devastating. The courts really failed these girls. I’m sick about this,” said another.
“Those beautiful babies didn’t deserve that. My heart is completely broken. How could anyone, I mean anyone, do such an evil demonic act,” one wrote online.
Netizens expressed grief online after the girls' bodies were found
