Editor’s note: Details in this story may be disturbing for some readers.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Court documents reveal disturbing details in the case of a father accused of killing his three daughters in central Washington state as the manhunt for him continued Wednesday.
Travis Decker took his three daughters, ages 9, 8 and 5, during a parental visit on Friday, but never returned them to their mother in Wenatchee.
Chelan authorities said on Wednesday evening that Decker was still missing, but are being assisted with help from federal agents.
Decker used to be in the U.S. Army and has extensive training; however, it’s unclear whether he’s armed at this time.
“He is well-versed in outdoor survival,” Chelan Sheriff Morrison said Wednesday evening.
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According to probable cause documents filed in the Chelan Superior Court, authorities were first alerted by the girls’ mother just after 9:30 p.m. on Friday that Decker never brought the girls back home based on their current parenting plan, which was to have them home by 8 p.m.
The girls’ mother “expressed concern because Decker reportedly has never done this before and further noted he is experiencing some mental health issues,” the affidavit stated.
The Wenatchee Police detective who filed the probable cause affidavit noted that the girls’ mother shared with the responding officer that Decker didn’t have a stable home and “is considered homeless” and that he was known to stay in hotels and motels and at campgrounds.
The probable cause document states that the officer ran Decker’s truck through a records search and noted the truck, which had been involved in crashes on May 4 and May 27, had been registered by automatic license plate readers northbound on the Wenatchee Bridge around 5:41 p.m. on Friday.
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The responding officer, identified in the document as Corporal Gonzalez, “noted this was likely after Decker picked up his daughters and suspected he may be headed to a hotel or campground in the north end,” according to the affidavit.
However, after Gonzalez checked with a park ranger at Confluence State Park, who confirmed Decker was not registered to stay at any campsite, and another police officer was not able to locate Decker’s truck in East Wenatchee, the mother was told by officers to call law enforcement if Decker appeared.
On Saturday, the affidavit stated a post on social media called for people to share Decker and the children’s whereabouts if they had been seen. A Wenatchee detective met with the mother, who told him she and Decker had been married for about seven years and had been divorced for a few years since then, according to the court documents.
The divorce was civil and Decker wasn’t homeless at the time and had been granted overnight visits, according to the affidavit.
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“However, when he lost housing, the parenting plan was readdressed to accommodate accordingly. [The girls’ mother] denied any domestic violence during their marriage, but did mention moments of power or control he used. She provided the examples of randomly leaving or waking her up by screaming at her in the middle of the night. She also said near the end of the marriage he was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder that she believes he currently does not take medications for,” the affidavit stated.
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The visit on Friday didn’t have issues, the girls’ mother told detectives, but she “noted Decker was quieter than usual which was out of character,” according to the affidavit filed on June 2.
An updated affidavit filed on Tuesday noted the girls had been found in the afternoon on Monday after their father’s truck was found by law enforcement near the Rock Island Campground close to Leavenworth.
The girls were found close to the truck and showed signs of being zip-tied before being asphyxiated by plastic bags, according to a preliminary examination reported in the affidavit.
Decker faces three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of first-degree kidnapping.
Stay with KOIN 6 News as this story develops.
