True Crime Society - The tragedy of the Decker sisters

WASHINGTON STATE – Paityn (9), Evelyn (8), and Olivia (5) Decker were allegedly murdered by their father Travis Decker (32) during a court ordered custody visit.

The mother of the girls is Whitney Decker.

Travis previously served in the military. Authorities have said that he has ‘extensive training.’

The Washington National Guard confirmed that Travis served in the U.S. Army from 2013-2021 as an infantryman, according to a National Guard spokesperson. During his enlistment in the Army he deployed to Afghanistan.

They also confirmed that he has been pending a disciplinary discharge for not showing up to his monthly drills and the last drill he attended was roughly a year ago.

According to Fox 13, Travis likely has advanced infantry combat training.

Multiple Facebook and Instagram posts indicate that Travis was an airborne paratrooper who earned his elite ‘Ranger’ tab – meaning he has elite wilderness evasion and survival skills. A different social media profile under his name claims he qualified as an instructor at the US Army’s National Guard Warrior Training Center at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Whitney filed for divorce in November 2022 – around 3 years before the murders.

Primarily, Whitney said there was no need for protective or restraining orders. Whitney and Travis put initial parenting plans in place and those plans showed no allegations of abuse, neglect or emotional instability.

The divorce was finalized by March 2023 and Travis was granted alternating weekend custody.

By September 2024, things to have shifted dramatically for Travis. That month, Whitney filed to modify the custody agreement. She said there had been a ‘substantial change’ in Travis’ situation.

She listed him as a transient and expressed deep concern for their daughters’ emotional well-being, noting that “Travis just keeps getting more and more unstable.”

Her filings included the following incidents:

In August 2023, Travis reportedly declined his scheduled weekend with the girls and said they “walk on eggshells” around him.

In December 2023, Whitney said Olivia called her in distress, crying uncontrollably and unattended, after an accident in the armory gym where they were staying.

In July 2024, Travis allegedly hitchhiked to Whitney’s home and asked to stay in her basement, showing up hours late for a pickup.

Whitney said in the September filing “He has made huge sacrifices to serve our country and loves his girls very much, but he has got to get better for our girls. I do not want to keep Travis from the girls at all.”

“I do not want to keep Travis from the girls at all. To the contrary I have bent over backwards to facilitate that relationship. But I cannot have our girls staying in what is essentially a homeless shelter, at times unsupervised, with dozens of strange men, or staying in a tent or living in his truck with him both in extreme temperatures and unknown areas for their safety,” Whitney said.

Whitney alleged in court documents that Travis suffered from borderline personality disorder and narcissism, and that he lived intermittently in an RV and at the Wenatchee armory with other men. She said the girls were once found sleeping on mattresses at the armory and that Travis had burst into her home uninvited, yelling for the children.

“They are all happy, smart, well-adjusted girls with the exception of times when Travis brings them back to me after his visitations,” she wrote.

Whitney asked the court to intervene and requested a psych evaluation and counseling mandates for Travis. The court agreed, citing neglect and emotional instability as limiting factors, and revised his visitation rights to day visits only.

Travis did not comply with court orders for evaluations and he did not attend counselling.

The sisters all attended Lincoln Elementary School in the Wenatchee School District. Paityn was in third grade, Evelyn in second grade, and Olivia was in kindergarten.

At the time of the murders, Travis was permitted to see them every other week on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The visits were to occur in the Wenatchee Valley and not allowed to be overnight.

The girls were with Travis on Friday May 30 for a scheduled visit. He did not return them as planned after a few hours and Whitney became worried.

When Whitney called police, she said that the divorce had become more volatile as Travis had lost stable housing. She also said that she was worried that he was not taking his medication as prescribed.

Whitney did tell police the girls had a “good relationship with Travis and enjoyed their time with him.” She said Travis had never failed to return the kids before, according to the affidavit.

Whitney said the handoff Friday “occurred without issues” but that Travis was quieter than usual. She mentioned a recent traffic ticket had been a financial burden for him, along with garnished wages due to child support, and he has been talking about getting rid of his dog.

She said that the girls had no supplies with them for an extended visit. Court records indicated concern that their extended absence posed “substantial risk of illness or physical injury.”

Whitney made this post on social media:

The Wenatchee PD made an appeal regarding the girls. It seems based on this and the fact that Whitney reported them missing around 8pm, that the visit was only meant to last for a few hours?

The Wenatchee Police Department is asking for assistance in locating three juvenile females believed to be missing and unable to return home on their own. All three were last seen around 5pm on Friday May 30, 2025, as they left their home with the father for their planned visitation. They have not returned and contact cannot be made with the father.

The father, Travis Decker, is homeless and living in his vehicle or at various hotels/motels or at campgrounds in the area. The visitation was part of a parenting plan, but he has since gone outside the parameters of it which is not normal and cause for the alarm.

The current investigation has not met AMBER Alert criteria, but the situation being monitored closely. However, an Endangered Missing Person Alert (EMPA) has been issued through the Washington State Patrol.

It was announced on Monday May 2, that the EMPA had been cancelled. No other information was made public until Tuesday June 3. Authorities revealed that the girls were found dead in a campground in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.

The girls were found after a deputy spotted Travis’ truck near the campground off Icicle Road. They searched the area and found the bodies of the girls 75-100 yards (around 70 metres) from the truck.

The girls died of asphyxiation, according to a probable cause affidavit filed on Tuesday 3 June, 2025.

The tailgate of the truck appeared to have two handprints of blood, the affidavit stated. Phone records showed Travis’ phone was in the area Saturday, according to the court documents.

Travis has been charged on three counts of first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping. He was charged Monday in Chelan County Superior Court with three counts of first-degree custodial interference.

Travis has not been located as of the evening of 3 June, 2025.

He is described as 5 feet, 8 inches tall, weighing 190 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a light-colored shirt and dark shorts.

Please call 911 if you see Travis.