U.S. Marshals Service, Chelan County Sheriff’s Office Find Remains Believed to Belong to Travis Decker

Leavenworth, WA – At approximately 2 p.m. Sept. 18 the U.S. Border Patrol’s BORSTAR Human Remains Detection Canine team and USMS Special Operations Group team members located clothing and skeletal remains believed to be that of Travis Decker, the father suspected of kidnapping and murdering his three young daughters in May.

Between Sept. 15-19, the U.S. Marshals Service, in close collaboration with the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office, led a large-scale, multi-agency expanded search of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest near Leavenworth. The coordinated effort focused on the Rock Island Campground areas as part of the ongoing investigation into fugitive Decker.

The operation brought together local, state, and federal partners to maximize resources and expertise. Participating agencies included the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Border Patrol, Spokane County Sheriff’s Office Air Support Unit, Drone Team and Marine/Dive Unit, the U.S. Forest Service, Washington State Patrol, the FBI, Washington State of Department of Corrections, and other supporting agencies.

Throughout the week, law enforcement teams conducted expanded grid searches supported by aerial drone assets. U.S. Border Patrol’s Human Remains Detection canine units were deployed along trails, riverbanks, and wooded areas. The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office Marine and Dive Unit performed underwater searches of Icicle Creek, beginning at the crime scene and extending several hundred yards downstream. During this search, the dive team recovered a key fob consistent with the key fob that would belong to Decker’s truck. During the same period, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office and the Washington State Patrol provided drone support to the operation. Interagency teams searched high into the mountains utilizing helicopter resources from the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, King County Sheriff’s Office, and the National Park Service.

“This operation underscores the value of collaboration and teamwork,” said Gavin Duffy, Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Washington.  “By maximizing the resources available across the public safety community, we were able to support the Chelan County Sherriff’s Office and bring some closure to this unspeakable tragedy.”

Decker was wanted by the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office for Murder in the First Degree (three counts) and Kidnapping in the First Degree (three counts). In addition, the U.S. Marshals Service, working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington, obtained a federal Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution (UFAP) warrant for Decker.

The Chelan County Sheriff’s Office will provide specific information about the evidence recovered in the coming days.

The Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force is a U.S. Marshals-led partnership comprising federal, state, and local law enforcement officers from Washington, Oregon, and Alaska. The task force’s primary mission is to locate, arrest and return to the justice system the most violent and egregious federal and state fugitives.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the nearest U.S. Marshals office, the U.S. Marshals Service Communications Center at 1-800-336-0102, or USMS Tips.