Mother of three slain sisters says authorities made one deadly mistake
Whitney Decker is demanding answers after her three daughters — Paityn (9), Evelyn (8), and Olivia (5) — were found murdered near their father’s truck in a remote part of Chelan County, Washington. Their father, Travis Decker, 32, is charged with three counts of first-degree murder and kidnapping but remains on the run. Each girl was found with a plastic bag over her head and wrists tied with zip ties.
Decker, a former Army Ranger struggling with mental illness and homelessness, had legal visitation rights but failed to return the children, prompting Whitney to alert police. Despite concerns and his mental health history, no AMBER Alert was issued — only a lesser Endangered Missing Person Alert, which lacks emergency phone notifications.
Authorities now believe Decker may be hiding in the wilderness, as he was known to live off-grid for extended periods. Whitney, supported by family, is calling for changes to the AMBER Alert system, believing earlier action might have saved her daughters. She also blames systemic failures in veterans’ services for allowing this tragedy to happen.
