CHELAN COUNTY, Wash. – Law enforcement said late Thursday they found human remains believed to be Travis Decker, an ex-soldier wanted in the deaths of his three daughters.
The discovery less than one mile from the scene of the triple murder comes after an on and off search that lasted months.
Decker has been wanted since June 2, when a deputy found his truck and the girls’ bodies at a campground outside Leavenworth.
Keep reading for FOX 13 Seattle’s interview with Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison on Thursday night just after the news broke that Decker’s remains were believed found near the site of the triple murder.
Sheriff Morrison on human remains found near site of triple murder
Alejandra Guzman, FOX 13 Seattle: Authorities in Chelan County believe they found the remains of Travis Decker. He’s accused of kidnapping, then murdering his three young daughters, Peyton, Evelyn and Olivia earlier this summer. According to the sheriff’s office, the human remains were located in a remote wooded area south of the town of Leavenworth. While positive identification has not yet been confirmed, preliminary findings suggest the remains belong to Travis Decker. I just finished speaking with Sheriff Mike Morrison. Here is that full interview Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morris and joining me now. Thank you for taking the time to give us the latest on this case. And I think there are many questions that we have right now. Specifically, what led you to this area, where those remains were found? How far is this from the Rock Island Campground?
Sheriff Mike Morrison, Chelan County: Well, as we mentioned before, the previous searches, we were going to continue to do what we needed to do last week. We had Washington State Patrol and our detectives out this week. We had the U.S. Marshal Service, FBI, Border Patrol. Our detectives continuing to do searches as we promised we would until we find Travis Decker.
Alejandra Guzman, FOX 13 Seattle: You mentioned that this was an area south of Leavenworth. Had this area not been searched before, I think the last time you and I spoke, you talked about there potentially being another search, a fourth search happening and scheduled for this month. Was this part of that already planned search when you guys found these remains?
Sheriff Mike Morrison, Chelan County: This was.
Alejandra Guzman, FOX 13 Seattle: Can you share a little bit about what the state of the remains is given the condition of those remains? Can you tell how long Travis Decker was on the run?
Sheriff Mike Morrison, Chelan County: We had severe decomposition. We also had a spread of the remains, which is consistent with animals getting into it, which we figured we would find if we were at this point of the search.
Alejandra Guzman, FOX 13 Seattle: I think I want to ask you again, where exactly and how far were the remains found from the Rock Island campground, specifically where the bodies of Peyton, Evelyn, and Olivia were found?
Sheriff Mike Morrison, Chelan County: Yeah, and I apologize. My connection is not the greatest. We’re about 0.74 miles away from the initial crime scene. Round around elevation about 4,000 feet. So it was still outside of the initial three search areas that we conducted earlier throughout the summer. And this was just an expansion of the search area.
Alejandra Guzman, FOX 13 Seattle: So this was not part of the first initial three searches that you conducted with the US Marshals and again with the FBI.
Sheriff Mike Morrison, Chelan County: This was just an expansion. Initially, we did the first one Washington State Patrol’s crime lab and also with our detectives. The second one was with the US Marshal service and volunteers and some of our force service deputies along with other volunteers, and then our final ones with the FBI and, of course, the US Army’s intelligence agency.
Alejandra Guzman, FOX 13 Seattle: Some of the information that you guys have already been sharing online is that preliminary information leads you to believe that this is in fact Travis Decker. What is the certainty of that? What indicators did you guys find?
Sheriff Mike Morrison, Chelan County: We won’t know for sure until tomorrow. I’ve already worked with our detectives in the Washington State Patrol’s crime lab. We’re going to rush some results over there. We’re asking to see if we can get DNA returns by the end of tomorrow. But we do feel pretty confident that there’s a high probability this is him. Just based off the clothing, some of the personal items we found on scene. But again, we’re not gonna say for 100% certainty until we get the results back.
Alejandra Guzman, FOX 13 Seattle: Is there anything that may imply what the motive was in this case for the kidnapping and the murder of his three young daughters?
Sheriff Mike Morrison, Chelan County: Same as I said before, it’s irrelevant. It was a heinous act. We’re certainly continuing to keep Peyton, Evelyn, and Olivia in our thoughts and prayers. That’s what’s been motivating us up to this point. Already been in touch with Whitney and her family, letting her know that we had made the find today. And they knew that we weren’t giving up. We encouraged our community to continue to support us. And we understand people’s frustration, but again, it just wasn’t on our DNA. We continue to do the search, and this is why you continue to it.
Alejandra Guzman, FOX 13 Seattle: I want to ask, we’ve talked time and time again about how vast and dense, and especially how popular this area is for many people, not just locals, but tourists as well. Chelan County has great acreage, people who come out for recreational purposes. Is there going to be any impact now that these remains have been found?
Sheriff Mike Morrison, Chelan County: Yes, for the time being, we’ve got road closures in place. We have our units on the ground in addition to our federal partners that are also assisting us, and we’ll continue to process it fully and completely. The criminal investigation is still our primary focus. We’ve been in touch with our prosecutor’s office already today and some of our neighboring agencies and partnering agencies is advising on all of our discovery, and we will continue to do what we need to do to ensure this is handled appropriately and properly. But again, we didn’t give up, and we’re glad with the results we’ve found so far and, hopefully, we get some closure tomorrow.
Alejandra Guzman, FOX 13 Seattle: Do you know what the next couple days will look like? I know that this has got to be giving you and not just Whitney, the family, but the entire community of Wenatchee and Chelan County some sense of closure.
Sheriff Mike Morrison, Chelan County: It’s getting us one step closer. We’ve been looking to serve justice for a while and for the law to prevail. And if we get the results we’re looking for tomorrow, I believe those are results we’ll find.
Alejandra Guzman, FOX 13 Seattle: Thank you so much, Sheriff. I appreciate you taking the time to break down the latest on this Travis Decker investigation.
Sheriff Mike Morrison, Chelan County: Thanks. I appreciate it. Have a good evening.
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The Source: Information in this story came from the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office, FBI Seattle, Wenatchee Police Department and US Marshals Service.
