Helicopter search for Travis Decker resumes in Kittitas County, triple homicide case deepens

A federal helicopter searched the foothills of the Teanaway Valley in Kittitas County overnight for Travis Decker, a man accused of killing his three young daughters at a campground near Leavenworth. A manhunt has been underway for Decker in Eastern Washington for two weeks.

A government-owned UH-72A Lakota Eurocopter made multiple circles in a specific area just north of the intersection of State Route 97 and State Route 970, which is about five miles from Cle Elum, Roslyn, and Suncadia, between 8:30 p.m. Monday and 12:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Travis Deckers’ manhunt continues

On social media, the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) said their deputies and tactical teams are actively searching for Decker. They are asking residents to be alert for a suspicious person, especially in the Teanaway Valley and Blewett Pass areas, to include Red Bridge Road, Teanaway, Swauk, Lauderdale Junction, and Liberty.

The renewed helicopter search comes nearly three weeks after the bodies of three young girls were discovered at a remote campground west of Leavenworth. The once-intense search for Decker, the three girls’ father, appeared to have slowed its fervent pace over the weekend. So far, our emails to the U.S. Marshal’s Office, which recently took the lead in search operations, have gone unanswered.

Last week, the U.S. Forest Service reopened multiple trails in and around that area of the Cascade Mountain Range. Last week, Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison said more hikers will mean additional eyes to possibly spot Decker or other tips for law enforcement to respond to quickly.

“Our tactics continue,” Morrison said during a recent press conference. “We’re just heading in a different direction.”

Monday marked the beginning of week three in the official search for Decker, a former Army Ranger believed to have received survival training during his military service. Authorities have scoured hundreds of square miles across mountainous terrain, lakes, and rivers near Leavenworth and the Enchantments — a popular rugged area of tall peaks and picturesque alpine lakes. While the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) confirmed it has handed over all active search operations to federal agencies, local deputies and prosecutors remain in charge of the criminal investigation.

“All we need is one mistake and one favor—I hope he’s watching,” Morrison said. “Mr. Decker is going to be the one to determine how this is going to end. We’ve encouraged him time and time again to give up and to give up peacefully.”

Decker crime scene

Details released last week shed light on the crime scene. Autopsies confirmed that the three girls—discovered at a secluded campsite 18 miles west of Leavenworth—died by suffocation. Investigators classified the case as a triple homicide. Deputies reported finding each girl with a plastic bag over her head, along with more plastic bags strewn around the campsite and inside Decker’s abandoned truck.

Authorities said they recovered personal items from Decker’s vehicle, and blood samples taken from the site matched his DNA. Other samples collected were determined to be non-human. Decker’s dog was also found at the campsite and has since been turned over to a local humane society.

Flight tracking data from Sunday, a week ago, showed a Washington State Patrol Cessna circling the Enchantments—an isolated alpine region south of the crime scene—from about 10:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. The next morning, helicopters from King County and the Washington National Guard resumed their sweeps of the area, which had remained closed to the public for more than a week. Still, the frequency and visibility of such flights have declined from earlier in the search, when air activity was nearly constant day and night.

At one point, investigators said Decker may have been planning to flee the country. A federal affidavit filed by U.S. Marshals revealed Decker had recently searched Google for how to “relocate to Canada” and searched for jobs there just four days before picking up his daughters from their mother’s home in Wenatchee.

Decker was supposed to return the girls that same day, but he never showed up. A judge had revoked his overnight custodial rights in September 2024 due to homelessness and unpaid child support. Authorities launched a search when the family reported the girls missing, leading to the discovery of their bodies the following Monday.

“We have not given up,” Morrison said. “We remain committed. We will not stop.”

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