Cops Believe They Spotted Dad Accused of Killing His Daughters

Travis Decker has been on the run for more than a week
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 11, 2025 3:00 AM CDT
Cops Believe They Spotted Dad Accused of Killing His Daughters
This undated photo provided by Whitney Decker shows Paityn, Olivia and Evelyn Decker.   (Courtesy of Whitney Decker via AP)

Authorities say they believe they spotted Travis Decker, an ex-soldier wanted in the deaths of his three daughters, near a remote alpine lake in Washington state, after receiving a tip from hikers who said they saw a lone person who appeared to be ill-prepared for the conditions, the AP reports. The Chelan County Sheriff's office said in a Facebook post Tuesday that tracking teams responded immediately, and a helicopter crew spotted a hiker near Colchuk Lake, in a popular Cascade Range backpacking area called The Enchantments. The off-trail hiker ran from sight as the helicopter passed, the sheriff's office said. Teams later found a trail, and K-9 teams tracked the person to the area of the Ingalls Creek Trailhead, south of Leavenworth.

Authorities did not say when they spotted the subject, but late Monday night they issued an alert for residents in the Ingalls Creek and the Valleyhi community to lock homes and vehicles and to be on the lookout for Decker. Decker, 32, has been the target of a large manhunt ever since June 2, when a sheriff's deputy found his truck and the bodies of his three daughters—9-year-old Paityn Decker, 8-year-old Evelyn Decker, and 5-year-old Olivia Decker—at a campground outside Leavenworth. He had failed to return the girls to their mother's home in Wenatchee, about 100 miles east of Seattle, following a scheduled visit three days earlier.

(More Washington state stories.)

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