Whitney Decker’s life shattered on May 30, 2025, when her three daughters—Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia, 5—vanished during what was supposed to be a routine visit with their father, Travis Decker. The girls never came home. What followed was a frantic search, a devastating discovery, and a manhunt for a man once trusted as their dad.
The Decker sisters were bright, happy kids. Paityn, the oldest, was a fierce little athlete with a competitive streak, remembered by her baseball coach as a girl with “grit” who loved to win. Evelyn, the middle child, was often seen in matching outfits with her sisters, giggling in the church nursery. Olivia, the baby of the family at just five years old, was a blonde-haired, brown-eyed little girl whose absence left an unfillable hole. They attended Lincoln Elementary in Wenatchee, Washington, where their classmates and teachers now grapple with the horror of what happened to them.
Whitney and Travis had been divorced for years, and though their split was civil, court records reveal a darker undercurrent. Travis, a military veteran, struggled with untreated borderline personality disorder and had been ordered to seek mental health treatment—something he never did. Financial stress weighed on him; his wages were being garnished for unpaid child support, and he’d even talked about giving up his dog because he couldn’t afford to keep it.
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Still, Whitney never imagined he’d hurt their girls. In an interview just hours before their bodies were found, she insisted, “I don’t personally think that he’s dangerous. I think that he is impulsive and he loves his children very much”.
But by then, it was already too late.
Whitney Decker’s Living Nightmare: Three Daughters Gone, Their Father Nowhere to Be Found
The girls were last seen alive on Friday evening, climbing into Travis’s white 2017 GMC Sierra pickup truck for what should have been a short visit. When he missed the 5 p.m. return time, Whitney knew something was wrong. His phone was off—something he’d never done before. By Saturday, an Endangered Missing Persons Alert was issued, and the search intensified.
Then, on Monday, June 2, the nightmare reached its grim conclusion. Travis’s abandoned truck was found near the Rock Island Campground, a remote spot in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. About 100 yards away, down an embankment, deputies made a discovery no one wanted to believe: the bodies of Paityn, Evelyn, and Olivia. Their wrists were zip-tied. Plastic bags covered their heads. The preliminary cause of death? Asphyxiation.
The scene was horrifying. Bloody handprints stained the truck. Blankets, car seats, and a wallet were left inside, as if Travis had packed for a trip that would never happen. Cellphone records showed he’d scouted the campground the day before—a chilling premeditation. Authorities now believe he drove the girls there, killed them, and vanished into the wilderness.
As of today, June 4, Travis Decker is still missing. A former Army infantryman with “extensive training,” he’s considered dangerous, though it’s unclear if he’s armed. Law enforcement has scoured the dense forests around Leavenworth, even shutting down Icicle Road at one point during the search. A $20,000 reward is out for information leading to his arrest, but so far, no solid leads have emerged.
Meanwhile, Whitney Decker is left to mourn. A GoFundMe set up for her has raised over $347,000, a testament to how deeply this tragedy has shaken the community. Friends describe her as a devoted dance mom, a theater lover, and now, a woman facing the unthinkable.
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The question lingers: Where is Travis Decker? And more hauntingly—why? For now, there are no answers. Only three little girls who should still be here, and a mother who will spend the rest of her life wondering how the man she once loved could do something so monstrous.
