Washington state fugitive Travis Decker, accused of killing his three children earlier this month, reportedly doesn’t have the skills to continue to evade capture, and police believe one slip will lead to his capture.
According to Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison, Decker is eluding capture not due to any extraordinary military skills, but because of the challenging terrain, according to what he told TMZ.
Decker has no greater training than the law enforcement officers pursuing him near the U.S.-Canada border, Morrison said.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, the Wenatchee Police Department said officers discovered 9-year-old Paityn Decker, 8-year-old Evelyn Decker, and 5-year-old Olivia Decker dead near the Rock Island Campground on June 2.
Police suspect that Decker killed them during a planned visitation and then fled the area.
Investigators found the girls roughly 75 to 100 yards down an embankment, with zip ties and plastic bags scattered nearby. Court documents stated that the girls’ wrists were or appeared to be zip-tied, and each had a bag over her head, indicating they had been suffocated.
“Every single day Travis is out there, he’s going to have to aim for perfection — he’s not going to be able to make a mistake,” Morrison said, according to FOX 13 Seattle. “All we need is one mistake and one day to go in our favor, and he’s going to be in our custody.”
Law enforcement agencies from multiple counties, along with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Marshals Service, are actively pursuing Travis Decker. Decker has remained at large for nearly two weeks, and officials admit that the search efforts are slowing as resources become stretched thin.
“You will not see the amount of resources we’ve had out there,” Morrison said Wednesday. “Eventually, he is going to tire. He is going to make a mistake.”
The Chelan County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday that the search for Decker had narrowed after a tip came in about a lone hiker near Colchuck Lake in the Enchantments.
Deputies said the man appeared unprepared for the trail and avoided contact with others. When search teams responded, they spotted a hiker off trail who ran out of sight as a helicopter flew overhead.
Officials deployed police dogs and tracked the man to the Ingalls Creek Trailhead near U.S. Route 97.
As of Thursday, the sheriff said Decker remains at large.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Marshals Service announced a reward of up to $20,000 for information that leads to Decker’s arrest.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is urged to contact the CCSO tip line at 509-667-6845 or submit information online at https://www.co.chelan.wa.us/sheriff/forms/submit-a-tip.
Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo via Whitney Decker/Facebook]
