Here's When Mom of 3 Sisters Allegedly Killed by Dad Knew Something Was Wrong

The attorney for the mother of the three sisters who were allegedly murdered by their now-missing father in Washington state is speaking out about the tragedy. 

Paityn Decker, 9, Evelyn Decker, 8, and Olivia Decker, 5, were found dead on Monday, June 2, near the Rock Island Campground in Chelan County, where their father’s pickup truck was also recovered, Wenatchee police previously said. However, Travis Decker was not at the scene.

The sisters were reported missing on Friday, May 30 after they had not returned on time from a “planned visitation” with 32-year-old Decker, police said.

“As soon as he didn’t bring those girls back at 8 o’clock, she knew something was going on,” Arianna Cozart, an attorney for Whitney Decker, the girls’ mother, told The Seattle Times in an interview published on Thursday, June 5.

According to court documents obtained by KIRO 7 News, Whitney had filed a petition of divorce on Nov. 14, 2022 in Chelan County court and did not cite any concerns for abandonment or neglect of their children.

According to allegations in a September 2024 filing from Whitney regarding the parenting schedule, Decker had “neglected his parental duties towards a child” and “has a long-term emotional or physical problem that gets in the way of his ability to parent,” the outlet reported.

Whitney also allegedly asked that Decker be evaluated for “anger management/domestic violence, and a full psychiatric evaluation by a licensed psychiatrist to include any potential diagnoses,” the outlet stated, as well as wanting him to have counseling sessions at least twice a month, per the documents cited by KIRO 7.

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Cozart told the outlet that Travis’ allegedly declining mental health should have been concerning enough to issue an an Amber Alert but Washington State Patrol instead issued an endangered missing person alert, which doesn’t send cellphone alerts.

“We may never know if it could’ve meant the difference between life and death for those girls … but it could’ve made a huge difference,” Cozart told the Times. The attorney also stated that Travis, who has past military experience, was seeking mental health care but was unable to obtain it.

“Whitney believes, as I do, that something broke inside of him,” Cozart said, per the outlet. She says they suspect he had some sort of break and “everything that he had been living with, everything that had been bottled up inside of him for so long as far as trauma, just won out.”

Officials believe the girls most likely died by asphyxiation, according to a preliminary report filed with the Chelan County Superior Court, Fox 13 Seattle reported.

Amid the ongoing manhunt for Decker — who is currently wanted for three counts of first-degree murder and one count of kidnapping, on top of custodial interference charges — police have been asking the public to come forward with any information.

In a press release shared with PEOPLE on June 5, the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office, the agency leading the investigation, said investigators have already “written and executed several search warrants around the area and on electronic devices that belonged to Travis Decker.”

“Additionally, we are asking citizens who own cabins or reside in our remote areas of Chelan, Kittitas King, Snohomish, and Okanagan Counties to please be aware that Mr. Decker is still missing,” the sheriff’s office added.

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Authorities previously said in Facebook post that Decker is “well versed in wilderness survival and capable of spending days or even weeks in the wilderness on his own and with very little equipment.”

Authorities are asking anyone who has seen Travis to call 911 immediately and do not attempt approach him. People can also call the CCSO tip line at 509-667-6845 or submit information to the tip line.

A GoFundMe page set up to help Whitney with expenses and legal costs amid the tragic loss had raised over $910,000 as of the afternoon of June 5.