NEED TO KNOW
- The sheriff’s office said the Washington State Crime Lab confirmed that the DNA in the blood found on the tailgate of Travis Decker’s truck matched the DNA profile they believe is the U.S. Army veteran’s
- Decker’s abandoned truck was discovered in a remote area of the Rock Island Campground in Washington State on June 2
- Decker is wanted on first-degree murder and kidnapping charges and has yet to be apprehended a month after the search for him began
Blood found on Travis Decker’s truck matches his DNA, the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday, July 1.
The sheriff’s office said the Washington State Crime Lab confirmed that the DNA in the blood found on the tailgate of Decker’s truck matched the DNA profile they believe is the U.S. Army veteran’s.
Law enforcement said Decker’s abandoned truck was discovered in a remote area of the Rock Island Campground in Washington state on June 2 — a discovery that led them to the bodies of Decker’s three young daughters Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia, 5.
Also found at the scene were Decker’s wallet and cellphone.
Decker is wanted on first-degree murder and kidnapping charges and has yet to be apprehended a month after the search for him began.
“Detectives originally recovered some individual, personal items, from the scene they believed belong to Mr. Decker,” according to a Chelan County Sheriff’s Office press release.
“The lab took DNA samples from those items and found they matched the DNA in the blood samples recovered at the scene. We know, positively, that all of the DNA samples recovered belong to the same, male, subject, who we believe is Mr. Decker. With this evidence, along with the other evidentiary items found at the scene, we do not have any reason to believe there are any other suspects.”
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On May 30, Travis picked up the girls for a three hour court-ordered visit but failed to bring them back to his ex-wife, Whitney Decker. Later that night, Whitney went to the Wenatchee Police Department to report her daughters missing, which triggered a massive search for the girls.
Along with Travis’ white pickup truck, his husky was also discovered.
“As soon as we came on scene, [the dog] came up over to the riverbank and came to us,” Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison told PEOPLE. “Was very friendly. It didn’t appear to be in distress. And again, it walked right up to us as we came on scene.”
Since then, local, state and federal authorities have scoured the surrounding area for Decker.
At one point, Travis, a combat veteran trained in survival skills, was believed to have been spotted by another hiker on or around June 10. Authorities have also said he may have fled to Canada after he allegedly searched “how to relocate to Canada” online, according to a U.S. Marshals Service affidavit obtained by PEOPLE.
According to the press release, Kittitas County authorities, along with human remains detection dogs, searched the Crystal Creek Drainage from the enchantments out to Ingalls Creek last week. There is also a plan to send out search and rescue teams to scour the bodies of water near the crime scene, authorities said.
“At this time we do not have any evidence to suggest Mr. Decker is alive, or deceased,” the press release states. “Until he is taken into custody, or recovered, we will continue these efforts.”
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