Three young sisters have died, and police are looking for their father, who authorities in Washington believe is the murderer.
According to a press release from the Wenatchee Police Department, the mother of the three girls — Paityn Decker, 9, Evelyn Decker, 8, and Olivia Decker, 5 — informed authorities on Friday that her daughters did not return from a planned visitation with their father, Travis Decker, 32.
After days of searching, police discovered the girls’ bodies near their father’s pickup truck parked near the Rock Island Campground in Chelan County, more than an hour northwest of Wenatchee, Washington.
Police say Decker, a former military member with “extensive training,” was not found.
He is currently wanted on three counts of first-degree kidnapping and first-degree murder.
“We want to express our sincere and deep heartfelt condolences to the family at this time,” according to Wenatchee police.
During the search for the girls, police announced on Facebook that Decker “is homeless and living in his vehicle or at various hotels/motels or campgrounds in the area.”
His visitation with the girls was “part of a parenting plan, but he has since gone outside the parameters of it, which is not normal and cause for alarm,” authorities said. The girls’ mother, Whitney Decker, told KIRO 7 that there had been no previous problems with the visits.
She told ABC News during the search, “This is an unbelievable situation. I beg everyone to look out for them.”
People whose lives were touched by the girls paid tribute in the Facebook group “Remembering Paityn, Evelyn, and Olivia.”
“My daughter enjoyed playing with Olivia on the playground at school. Tina Arias wrote on the page that Olivia was her best friend at school.
Andy Jones wrote: “I coached Paityn in baseball and basketball. She was such an athlete, and I was excited to watch her play FC soccer with my daughter this summer.”
“We went to church together, and I got to play with Paityn and Evelyn in the nursery!” I enjoyed seeing the girls on Sundays in their matching outfits!” Paulene Stewart wrote.
A GoFundMe page titled “Support Whitney Decker” has already raised over $100,000 as of Tuesday afternoon.
The page was created to assist the mother with “expenses and legal costs” incurred during the search for her daughters.
Amy Edwards, the fundraiser organizer, wrote in an update post on Tuesday: “It is with a heavy heart that I share the passing of Paityn, Evelyn, and Olivia.
These girls were true lights in the world, and it would be a darker place without them. I’ll miss seeing their adorable little faces.
“I am upping the goal amount of this fundraiser so Whitney can take time off, care for herself and cover the final expenses of the girls without taking a financial hit.”
