Travis Decker: Dad hunted over murder, kidnapping of three daughters
A desperate search for three sisters who went missing after a visitation with their dad has ended in tragedy, with the little girls found dead.
Their father, Travis Decker, a US veteran with extensive military training, is now the subject of a large-scale police hunt.
He collected daughters Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia, 5, for a scheduled visit on May 30, but mother Whitney Decker raised the alarm with police after he failed to return them at the agreed time.
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Mr Decker is now wanted for three counts of murder and kidnapping.
Police say Mr Decker is homeless and has been living in his car, or at various hotels/motels or at campgrounds around Wenatchee.
It is unknown if he is armed but police say he may pose a significant risk and should not be approached. A SWAT team has been mobilised to help with the manhunt.
Hours before her girls were found, Ms Decker had issued a heartbreaking appeal for their safe return.
“I just want the girls back home safe and sound — that is the most important thing to me,” she said in a statement to NCWLIFE.
“I am concerned about the safety and wellbeing of my girls and their dad. This is an unimaginable situation.” I am pleading for everyone to look out for them.”
Amy Edwards, a friend who set up a GoFundMe for the girl’s devastated mother, wrote that she had taught them at a drama group known as the Short Shakespeareans.
“Their light touched so many, and the pain of this loss is immeasurable,” she wrote.
