Forensic analysis is underway to determine if bones found during an intense manhunt and crime scene search this week belong to the 33-year-old father suspected of killing his three young daughters near a Washington State campground in late spring.
The bones, “found near a Cascade Mountains campground in Washington State” are being analyzed to determine if they’re human, the FBI told news outlets on Friday. It is the same campground where the little girls’ bodies were found in early June.
The lifeless bodies of murder suspect Travis Decker’s three daughters – Paityn, 9; Evelyn, 8; and Olivia, 5, were found at the Rock Island Campground in the rugged Wenatchee National Forest on June 2.
The bodies were found three days after they were reported missing by their mother, who had given them to her ex-husband for a planned custody visit.
Decker’s abandoned pickup was found nearby on land police described as “rugged and heavily forested terrain.”
Decker is wanted on three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of kidnapping in connection with the deaths of his daughters.
The brutality of the case generated national headlines. Authorities reported the three girls were “found zip-tied and with plastic bags over their heads” in the vicinity of the campground, located near the town of Leavenworth about 150 miles east of Seattle.
A county medical examiner ruled the cause of the deaths as homicide and the manner of death suffocation, authorities have said.
Police have been trying to find Decker, an Army veteran, for three months. They said he is well-versed in outdoor survival and would “sometimes go off the grid” for months at a time.
A statement from the FBI’s Seattle office detailed the extent of the search held this week:
More than 100 personnel were deployed in multiple search teams for a full two days in remote outdoor terrain while daylight was available. Temperatures approached 100 degrees. Despite the dense vegetation and challenging topography, personnel from the FBI Seattle field office, with the support of FBI headquarters and partner agencies, thoroughly searched and documented over 1,000,000 square meters, or 247 acres.
Chelan County Sheriff Michael L. Morrison has been looking for the Decker as well, and his department also took part in the most recent effort.
So far authorities remain at a loss as to the suspect’s status.
“At this time, no conclusive evidence has been found to indicate whether Travis Decker is alive or deceased,” the sheriff said. “We continue to follow every credible lead.”
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the author of the New York Times true crime best seller House of Secrets and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
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