The Decker sisters from left, Evelyn, 8; Olivia, 5; and Paityn, 9. They were found dead near Rock Island Campground in Washington state on June 2, 2025, three days after they were reported missing by their mother after failing to return from a planned visitation with their father, Travis Decker.

Federal officials have declared Travis Decker dead, months after he was charged with murder in the deaths of his three daughters in Washington state.

While authorities await the results of DNA testing to confirm the identity of human remains found last week, the U.S. Marshals Service declared Decker dead in court papers written to a federal judge, according to court documents obtained by USA TODAY. Prosecutors asked the judge to drop the arrest warrant.

The fugitive was sought in the killings of his three daughters, who were found dead near a Washington state campground in June.

According to court documents filed on Wednesday, Sept. 24, U.S. Attorney S. Peter Serrano with the Eastern District of Washington said the U.S. Marshals advised prosecutors that Decker is dead.

The same day of the court filing, Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison said he reviewed the court affidavit filed to the prosecutor's office, but said his office officials was still awaiting DNA results to confirm the man's identity.

"I will confirm he is deceased when they say his clothing and remains match DNA found at the scene," Morrison told USA TODAY on Sept. 24.

Local officials announced last week they found remains believed to belong to Decker in a remote wooded area near where the girls' bodies were found this summer. The body parts were found Thursday afternoon, Sept. 18, in an area south of Leavenworth, a village located in the Cascade Mountains of central Washington state, according to the Chelan County Sheriff's Office.

Decker vanished after the kidnapping and deaths of his three daughters Paityn Decker, 9; Evelyn Decker, 8; and Olivia Decker, 5, according to the Wenatchee Police Department.

Decker, a former U.S. Army member with extensive military training, was 32 when he disappeared. He had been wanted on charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping in connection with the suffocation deaths of the girls.

The children's mother, Whitney Decker, reported the children missing May 30, police said, after the siblings left their central Washington home in Wenatchee in Chelan County, about 150 miles east of Seattle for a planned visit for their father.

Washington State Patrol issued a statewide alert for the girls on May 31, and following a search, a Chelan County Sheriff's Office deputy found their father's white 2017 GMC Sierra truck near Rock Island Campground, about 40 miles northwest of Wenatchee.

Police said no one was inside, but they found the girls' bodies during a search near the truck June 2.

In addition to the sheriff's office and state troopers, law enforcement agencies including the U.S. Marshals Service, FBI, Border Patrol, and Forest Service aided in the search.

After the remains were found, the sheriff's office processed the scene with the help from WSP crime scene response team and the DNA analysis was conducted, the sheriff's office reported.

A motive in the killings remained under investigation, but police said the girls' father exhibited mental health issues prior to the girls' deaths, court filings obtained by USA TODAY showed.

Where were the Decker sisters found dead?

A Chelan County Sheriff's Office deputy found the girls' bodies June 2 at a campground just south of Grindstone Mountain in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, located on the slopes of the Cascade Mountain Range.

Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison previously said local, state and federal officials had received more than 500 tips and dozens of reported sightings of Decker, but none had been confirmed.

Where did Travis Decker live?

Before disappearing, Decker was homeless and staying primarily in his white 2017 GMC Sierra pickup truck in the Wenatchee region, according to officials.Investigators said Travis Decker exhibited mental health issues before the girls' killings. The girls were found dead on June 2 with plastic bags over their heads and evidence that their hands had been zip-tied near their father's truck.

When did the Decker sisters disappear?

State officials issued an Endangered Missing Person Alert (EMPA) for the sisters on May 31, one day after their mother reported them missing.

Troopers were originally contacted on May 30 to request an Amber Alert but the situation "did not meet the required criteria" at the time, Wenatchee police said. The next day, Wenatchee police detectives recontacted state patrol with additional information and the EMPA was issued, police said.

Police tracked Decker's truck and learned the vehicle had traveled west on Highway 2 from Wenatchee on May 30.

The search for the three girls continued until June 2, when a Chelan County deputy found the truck unoccupied near the Rock Island Campground.

Officers found the bodies of the three missing girls about 75-100 yards past the vehicle, down a small embankment, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by USA TODAY.

Their father was nowhere to be found, but investigators traced his cell phone, which revealed he had visited the same campground a day prior to the girls' kidnapping, the court papers show.

Decker sisters died by suffocation

On June 9, the Chelan County Sheriff's Office reported a medical examiner has ruled the girls' death as homicide by suffocation.

"Their wrists were also zipped tied or showed signs of being zip tied," according to the probable cause affidavit, and each sister was found with a plastic bag over her head.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US Marshals declare Travis Decker dead; DNA results still pending

Reporting by Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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