FBI requests closure of Leavenworth-area campgrounds as search for murder suspect Travis Decker continues
Aug 23, 2025, 11:15 AM | Updated: 11:16 am
A photo of Travis Decker superimposed over the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. (Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
(Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
Federal authorities have requested a three-day closure of several campgrounds, trail heads, hiking trails and forest service roads in the Leavenworth area as an intensive search continues for murder suspect Travis Decker.
The areas of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest will be closed for three days, beginning Sunday morning at 6:00 a.m.
Authorities say the closures will take place as the search continues for Decker, a Wenatchee man accused of murdering his three young daughters near the Rock Island Campground.
Deputies discovered the bodies of Paityn Decker, 9; Evelyn Decker, 8; and Olivia Decker, 5, near the campground in Chelan County, on June 2nd.
Police say the three sisters had left home for a planned visit with their father three days earlier.
According to the U.S. Forest Service, officials ordered the closures this weekend to allow the FBI to conduct an ongoing investigation.
The closures will last until 6:00 a.m. Wednesday, and will include forest service roads in the upper Icicle Road area, at the Ida Creek Campground. The Ida Creek campground will remain open.
The area where the closures will begin is approximately four miles east of the site of the murders.
Trailhead closures include the Jack Pine, Icicle Gorge, Icicle Gorge Upper Loop and Icicle Gorge Upper Loop Tie trailheads.
The three-day campground closures will include the Rock Island, Blackpine Horse and Chatter Creek campgrounds.
On August 6th, the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab reported “DNA profiles matching Travis Decker were found” at the crime scene, confirming he is the sole suspect.
The U.S. Forest Service announced the “Temporary Area Closure” on a Forest Service website:
CLOSURE AREA DESCRIPTION:
The Closure is defined as follows:
The closure area boundary begins at the junction of Forest System Road (FSR) 7600000 and 7600315 Ida Creek Campground. The closure will follow the 7600000 all the way to the end of the road. The closure will proceed along the 7609000. The closure area will go south along the boudry of 7600000 all the way to the where Jack Pine trail intersects the 7600000 and then in a straight line back to 7609000. The closure includes all of Rock Island Camp Ground and FSR 7600110, 7600000 and 7609000
FSR 7600000, will remain open to public up to the Ida Creek Campground during the closure period.
The following campgrounds, roads and trails are included in this closure order:
Roads Closed
• FSR 7600600
• FSR 7600550
• FSR 7600415
FSR 7600415A
•FSR 7609000
•FSR 7609110
•FSR 7600110
•FSR 7600615
•FSR 7600616
•FSR 7600915
•FSR 7600000
•FSR 7609400
•FSR7600810
Trail Heads Closed
•Jack Pine Trail 1558
•Icicle Gorge Trail 1596
•Icicle Gorge Upper Loop 1596.1
•Icicle Gorge Upper Loop Tie 1596.2
Camp Grounds Closed
•Rock Island Campground.
•Blackpine Horse Camp Ground
•Chatter Creek Camp Ground
