Travis Decker WA manhunt: Week 4 update from Chelan Co. sheriff

Authorities are entering their fourth week of an extensive manhunt for triple murder suspect Travis Decker.

Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison spoke with FOX 13 Seattle about the emotional toll on the community and law enforcement, and the challenges of the search in a recent interview.

The bodies of the three girls, Paityn, 9; Evelyn, 8; and Olivia, 5, were discovered earlier this month near Decker’s abandoned vehicle. Decker, a military-trained survivalist, is wanted on charges of aggravated first-degree murder and kidnapping.

How the Wenatchee community is reacting to the search for Travis Decker 

Local perspective:

Sheriff Morrison acknowledged the profound impact of the tragedy on the Wenatchee community.

"I think anyone who says it wouldn't affect them would be almost heartless," Morrison said.

He noted the sheriff's office has offered services to the community and provided mental health support for deputies involved in the case.

"We recognize we do have a job to do. If we fail, the voices of Paityn and Evelyn and Olivia will not be heard, and that's not going to be acceptable," Morrison said.

decker girls and whitney decker photo

The Decker girls and their mother Whitney Decker. (FOX 13 Seattle)

Where authorities are concentrating their search efforts for Travis Decker

Dig deeper:

The search for Decker has been concentrated in the rugged, heavily wooded terrain of central Washington, where 87% of Chelan County is not accessible by road. Morrison described the landscape as a significant challenge.

"Just that we haven't found him yet," Morrison said regarding the most challenging aspect of the manhunt. He highlighted the vast resources deployed, including drone teams from Spokane, King and Snohomish counties, the Washington National Guard, Border Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations, FBI, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Marshals, and the National Parks.

"We had a large area to cover. We needed to make sure our teams were staying fresh," Morrison said, comparing the situation to a similar 21-day manhunt in Kittitas County three years prior.

Authorities believe Travis Decker is still alive 

Morrison confirmed authorities believe Decker is still alive and actively evading capture.

Addressing public sentiment, Morrison acknowledged rumors of Decker dealing with PTSD and other mental health struggles. However, he emphasized that such struggles do not justify the alleged actions.

"What we're seeing here and the actions that were taken, those are not acceptable. They're not justifiable," Morrison said. "I certainly don't want him to be injured. I don't want anything bad to happen to him, but I do want him to be held accountable."

The Travis Decker manhunt is now in week 4

What's next:

Morrison urged Decker to surrender, assuring that he would receive medical and mental health services.

"Nothing is going to justify what he did. And we're going to make sure he's held accountable for that."

The sheriff also appealed to the public for continued vigilance. He encouraged residents to check trail and doorbell cameras, and to be aware of any small items missing from residences or vacation homes, as these could aid Decker in survival.

"He's still a danger to the community, and he is out there," Morrison warned. "If they see something, say something. We're doing our best on the state, federal, and local levels (of) law enforcement to do what we can to bring closure to this case. But we can't do it without the citizens that we serve."

What to do if you have any tips for the authorities

What you can do:

The U.S. Marshals Service is the lead agency in the search and is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to Decker's arrest.

While authorities consider Decker dangerous, they do not currently have evidence to suggest he is armed, though Morrison cautioned that "anything can really happen" in the wilderness.

Travis Decker headshot (left), two surveillance images of Decker before his planned visitation (right). (Chelan County Sheriff's Office)

Morrison concluded by asking the public to keep the victims in their thoughts and prayers.

Full transcript of the interview with Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison:

Hana Kim, FOX 13 Seattle: We had the mayor of Wenatchee on our show recently, and he got emotional talking about the three beautiful Decker sisters and saying it has forever changed the city of Wenatchee. Of course, you are the sheriff, you have a job to do, but you're also a human being. How has this personally impacted you and your deputies who have to process such a gruesome case?

Mike Morrison, Chelan County Sheriff: I think anyone who says it wouldn't affect them would be almost heartless, and I know that's not anyone within our profession. It's been challenging. We recognize the emotional toll taken on the family, on the community. We really tried to go out there and help out as much as possible. We offered some classes here and in Leavenworth, Wenatchee, up in Chelan just offering services to the community telling them resources that were available to deal with the stress, how to communicate this trauma with their kids. We provided peer support and CISM support for our deputies. We've also been going out and just making sure that we have psychologists on hand in order to assist if needed. Thanks to Washington State Patrol and Chief Batiste for making that resource available. We also had in-house as well for our psychologist who was on scene. And we just recognize this was a critical incident. It certainly was traumatizing for many, but our deputies stayed focused as our federal partners, state partners. We recognize we do have a job to do. If we fail, the voices of Paityn and Evelyn and Olivia will not be heard. And that's not going to be acceptable. So yes, we're here to help ourselves. We understand this is a trauma, but again, we recognize we do have a job to do, and we'll continue to be supportive of our deputies, local officers, our communities and, of course, Whitney and the family for Paityn, Evelyn and Olivia. Just a tragedy.

Hana Kim, FOX 13 Seattle: Yeah, of course, and as far as Travis Decker goes, what has been the most challenging thing about this manhunt?

Mike Morrison, Chelan County Sheriff: Just that we haven't found him yet and, you know, we certainly have some unique terrain if you look at 87% of our county is not accessible by road, and we have some very mountainous regions heavily wooded. So it makes it challenging to go through there. But thanks to Spokane Police Department, I know they came over with their drone team. We had our drone team, Spokane County Sheriff's Office, King County, Snohomish County, the Washington National Guard. We had our air support unit up there too. Border Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations, FBI, US Force Service, US Marshals, Kittitas County Sheriff's Office. We've had so many resources on the ground. I know I'm going to miss some as well, but we had a large area to cover. We needed to make sure our teams were staying fresh. We had a lot of SWAT teams out there assisting us. The National Parks (Service) also came out and assisted. So we're trying to cover as much ground as possible, as thoroughly as possible. We had dogs on the ground, drones, but I mean, it's just a challenge. It's a grind. We saw this, I think, three years ago here with Kittitas County Sheriff's Office when they had a manhunt. Same general area. I believe it took 21 days for them to locate that suspect. And really it came down to the community, assisting us, being vigilant, seeing something, saying something. We're asking for that same kind of help here. Our units are still on the ground, but we're going to continue to do what we can to bring justice and make sure that the girls' voices are heard.

Hana Kim, FOX 13 Seattle: Do you still believe he's alive?

Mike Morrison, Chelan County Sheriff: Yes. Until I find him one way or the other. We're hoping alive. We're going to presume that he is alive and that he's actively trying to flee from us.

Hana Kim, FOX 13 Seattle: In a recent interview, I did hear you mention something about the fact that there might be some people who might be misguided feeling sorry for Travis Decker. Can you explain that a little bit?

Mike Morrison, Chelan County Sheriff: Yeah, you know, we certainly understand that there's been the rumors of him having PTSD … dealing with other mental health struggles. We understand that. There are services available. There are several men and women across this country that deal with the same kind of challenges. And again, what we're seeing here and the actions that were taken, those are not acceptable. They're not justifiable. I get a sympathetic heart. I have a sympathetic heart as well. I certainly don't want him to be injured. I don't want anything bad to happen to him, but I do want him be held accountable. I do want him to be in custody. And I do want him standing in front of one of our judges, accounting for his actions. So for those out there that are having sympathy, yeah, he's out there suffering most likely now, trying to flee from us. Let's have him turn himself in, let's have this manhunt be over. We're going to feed him, we're going to clothe him. He's going to get the opportunity to have his voice heard. We're going to provide medical services to them. We're going to provide mental health services to him, because that is important. But overall, nothing is going to justify what he did. And we're going to make sure he's all accountable for that.

Hana Kim, FOX 13 Seattle: Is there anything else the community can do to help you right now?

Mike Morrison, Chelan County Sheriff: Remain vigilant. What we've really been encouraging individuals to do is to keep track of items at their house. Little items can go missing. We saw this in the manhunt I referenced here earlier in Kittitas County. That individual was just taking small items out of coolers, out of residences, also breaking into vacation homes, grocery stores. We encourage everyone to go out there and make sure their video cameras are fully charged, pointing in the right direction, that we're checking residences, that we're being aware of small items that might go missing, because it just takes a couple little items to allow him to survive a little bit longer, and we want to make it challenging for him. And also, you know, be aware, he's still a danger to the community, and he is out there. And that we want people to remain vigilant if they see something, say something. We're doing our best on the state, federal, and local levels law enforcement to do what we can to bring closure to this case. But we can't do it without the citizens that we serve and the communities we serve. We need those 80+ thousand people here in Chelan County that are citizens, who are the millions of people who come here to visit, to also be aware. And that expands out to our local counties, King County, Snohomish County, Kittitas County, and nationwide. Just, you know, be aware, be on the lookout, and let's really put the pressure on. Let's make sure that he's not comfortable out there. He's constantly looking over his shoulders. I hope the stress is just getting to him, because it isn't getting to us. We're continuing to pursue. We're looking for him. We feel refreshed and ready to go. And as soon as we get tired, we're going to bring another team in that's fresh and ready to go and Travis isn't going to get that luxury. He's going to continue to be pushed, he's going to get tired, and as he becomes tired, I've said it before, he has to be perfect every single day. We just have to be perfect one day, and we're waiting for him to slip up and when he does, we hope to be there.

Hana Kim, FOX 13 Seattle: Yeah, we hope so too, Sheriff Morrison. Thank you so much for your time.

Mike Morrison, Chelan County Sheriff: Well, thanks for having me on. Appreciate it. And just thanks to your viewers for taking the time to keep the story on the forefront. And please keep Paityn, Evelyn and Olivia's names in your mind and their families in your prayers. And we appreciate all the help we can get. Thanks.

The Source: Information in this story came from the Chelan County Sheriff's Office, the Kittitas County Sheriff's Office and the US Marshals Service.

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