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.

Officials confirmed human remains found in a remote wooded area of Washington state last week were those of Travis Decker, the former U.S. Army soldier wanted for the deaths of his three daughters.

In a kidnapping case that garnered national headlines, the confirmation came exactly one week after officials located human remains and a green T-shirt the father fugitive was last seen wearing, in a wooded area of Washington state.

Decker's remains, identified through DNA testing conducted by a state crime lab, were discovered on Thursday, Sept. 18, not far from where his children — Paityn Decker, 9; Evelyn Decker, 8, and Olivia Decker, 5 — were found suffocated to death on June 2.

"We hope that you can rest easy at night knowing that Mr. Decker is accounted for," Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison said at a news conference.

Decker, age 32 when he disappeared, had been wanted on charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping in connection with the girls' brutal killings. At the time of their deaths, the girls lived with their mother in Wenatchee in Chelan County, about 150 miles east of Seattle.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Marshals Service declared Travis Decker dead, according to court papers obtained by USA TODAY, though official DNA confirmation remained pending at the time.

Morrison stated that the Chelan County Coroner is "doing the best they can" to determine a cause and time of death from the partial remains.

"We're hoping that they are able to determine that because we know that's something the community wanted to know, but as of now, we don't have those answers," Morrison said

Law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Marshals Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Border Patrol, Forest Service, and Washington State Patrol, found his remains during a ramped-up hunt using drones and police dogs.

A planned visit, a missing pickup, and 3 bodies

The children's mother, Whitney Decker, reported the children missing on May 30, police said, after the siblings left their home for a planned visit to 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.

No one was inside, but a deputy later found the girls' bodies during a search near Travis Decker's pickup.

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

Travis Decker, a former U.S. Army member with extensive military training, was wanted on charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping in connection with the suffocation deaths of the girls.

Where was Travis Decker's body found?

Travis Decker's remains were found in an area near Leavenworth, a village in the Cascade Mountains of central Washington state, according to the sheriff's office.

His finger, feet, rib cage and other bones were found on a steep, wooded slope part way up Grindstone Mountain in central Washington, Morrison told USA TODAY. The area is less than a mile (1.6 km) from where the girls bodies were found.

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 months-long search.

After Travis Decker's remains were found, the sheriff's office said it processed the scene with the help of the Washington State Patrol crime scene response team, and the DNA analysis was conducted.

Morrison said at the news conference that he asked the crime lab to take more samples of the remains than usual to "shut down conspiracy theories."

"Mr. Decker did not bring anyone else up there and leave the remains behind. This is Mr. Decker's remains ... that is the end of the conversation," he added.

Where were the sisters found dead?

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

Morrison previously said that 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, Travis 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 for the sisters on May 31, a 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 following day, Wenatchee police detectives recontacted the state patrol with additional information, and the alert was issued, police said.

Police tracked Travis 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 to 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 before the girls' kidnapping, the court papers show.

Sheriff: Sisters died by suffocation

On June 9, the Chelan County Sheriff's Office reported a medical examiner had ruled the girls' deaths 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.

Prosecutors on Sept. 24 asked a federal judge to dismiss an arrest warrant for Decker.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Rest easy at night': Fugitive Travis Decker is dead, sheriff says

Reporting by Natalie Neysa Alund and James Powel, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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