A father’s love turned to horror in Washington’s rugged mountains. Three innocent girls would never return home. Their daddy became a phantom stalking through America’s wilderness.
The discovery sent shockwaves through the Pacific Northwest. On June 2, authorities found the bodies of 9-year-old Paityn Decker, 8-year-old Evelyn Decker, and 5-year-old Olivia Decker near an abandoned campsite. Their father, Travis Decker, had vanished without a trace. The 32-year-old ex-soldier was supposed to return his daughters to their mother after a routine visitation. Instead, he became America’s most wanted fugitive father.
The Ghost in the Wilderness: How an Travis Decker Became America’s Most Wanted Father
Travis Decker emerges as a complex figure. An Army veteran described as “well versed in wilderness survival” who authorities consider extremely dangerous. The mountain terrain that swallowed him whole plays to his military training. His survival skills now work against justice. Every day he remains free, the mystery deepens around this father who crossed an unthinkable line.
How was a homeless guy having an mental health crisis allowed to take his three little girls for a custody visit?!
— Peachy Keenan (@KeenanPeachy) June 30, 2025
Heads must roll in Washington State's family courts, this poor mother, lord have mercy.https://t.co/5rcoirasYX
The manhunt stretches across three weeks of relentless searching. Authorities admit they find “no certain evidence that Decker remains alive or in this area”. Search teams pivot from capture to recovery mission. The Washington wilderness may have claimed another victim. This time, the perpetrator himself. The girls were found with plastic bags over their heads, revealing the calculated nature of their deaths.
Decker’s abandoned truck sat empty at the campsite where his daughters’ bodies were discovered down an embankment. The scene tells a story of premeditation and escape. Travis Decker planned this horror, then disappeared into terrain that could hide him forever. Whether he’s a living ghost or another casualty of the mountains, his daughters deserve justice. The search continues, but time works against both hunter and hunted in America’s unforgiving wilderness.
