Gene Johnson.

In this handout photo provided by the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office deputies participate in the search for Travis Decker, at an undisclosed location in Washington state, Friday, June 6, 2025. (Snohomish County Sheriff's Office photo via AP)

Hunt for Travis Decker looks at whether he left Washington mountains — or died evading police

Authorities who have spent the past three weeks searching in the mountains of Washington state for an ex-soldier wanted in the deaths of his three young daughters say there is no evidence that he remains in the area or that he is alive at all. Travis Decker, 32, has been wanted since June 2. That is when a sheriff’s deputy found his truck and the bodies of his three daughters — 9-year-old Paityn Decker, 8-year-old Evelyn Decker and 5-year-old Olivia Decker — at a campground outside Leavenworth. The discovery came three days after he failed to return the girls to their mother’s home in Wenatchee, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of Seattle, following a scheduled visit.

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In this handout photo provided by the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office deputies participate in the search for Travis Decker, at an undisclosed location in Washington state, Friday, June 6, 2025. (Snohomish County Sheriff's Office photo via AP)

Authorities believe they spotted ex-soldier Travis Decker, who is wanted in deaths of 3 daughters

Authorities say they believe they spotted Travis Decker, an ex-soldier wanted in the deaths of his three daughters, in the remote backcountry of Washington state, after receiving a tip from hikers who said they saw a lone person who appeared to be ill-prepared for the conditions. The Chelan County Sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post Tuesday that tracking teams responded immediately, and a helicopter crew spotted a hiker in a popular Cascade Range backpacking area called The Enchantments. Decker failed to return the girls to their mother’s house following a scheduled visit on May 30, and their bodies were found at a campsite three days later.

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This undated photo provided by the Wenatchee Police Department shows Travis Caleb Decker who the police are asking the public for help in locating the Washington state father who is wanted for murder after his three young daughters were reported missing and then found dead. (Wenatchee Police Department via AP)

Search expands for former Army soldier accused of killing his 3 young daughters in Washington state

Authorities have closed a wide swath of popular campgrounds and backpacking areas along the Pacific Crest Trail in Washington as they search for a former Army soldier wanted in the deaths of his three young daughters. Law enforcement officers from an array of state and federal agencies are looking for Travis 32-year-old Caleb Decker after the girls were found dead at a remote campsite outside Leavenworth on Monday. They have been identified as 9-year-old Paityn Decker, 8-year-old Evelyn Decker and 5-year-old Olivia Decker. The girls’ mother reported them missing May 30 when Caleb Decker failed to return them to her home in Wenatchee after a scheduled visit.

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An image taken from Joint Base Lewis-McChord surveillance footage depicts two men identified by the Army Criminal Investigations Division as suspects in an assault and robbery in the 75th Ranger Central Operations Facility on June 1, 2025, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. (Army Criminal Investigations Division via AP)

2 arrested with arsenal and Nazi paraphernalia after base robbery were ex-military, prosecutors say

Investigators say two men arrested in Washington state with an arsenal that included explosives and body armor, along with Nazi paraphernalia, were former military members who attacked a soldier with a hammer while stealing gear from Joint Base Lewis-McChord last weekend. A criminal complaint filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court says Levi Austin Frakes and Charles Ethan Fields were arrested Monday at their home in Lacey, near Olympia. Federal court records did not list an attorney for either man. The complaint says one of the men told investigators they had been stealing equipment from the base for the past two years to sell or trade, and investigators found about $24,000 in cash at the home.

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