This Was The Only Outcome In The Search For WA’s Triple Murder

We all remember when the news broke at the beginning of June that three young girls, all sisters, were not brought home to their mother after their father's scheduled visitation weekend.  They were officially reported missing June 1st, on June 2nd Paityn, Olivia, and Evelyn Decker were found suffocated near a Leavenworth area campground.

The search began for their father Travis Decker.  Decker's ex-wife Whitney gave authorities plenty of information about Travis.  We learned about his military experience, his survival skills, and his mental health struggles.  We also learned that Travis Decker had his visitation rights restricted after he exhibited "questionable parental judgement".

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Over the last 14 weeks, numerous false sightings and searches with little to no results became the norm.  In following this story, pouring over all of the information that was released, and talking with people who have had experience in cases with some similarities, there was only one possible outcome in my mind.

Taking everything we knew about Travis Decker into consideration, along with the difficulty in finding him, it became clear to me early that Travis Decker would not be found alive, if any trace of him was found at all.  There were a number of theories floated about possible outcomes, but none of them made sense.

This Is Why (In My Opinion) Decker's Death Was The Only Outcome

• He left his truck behind so he did not have a mode of transportation to travel long distances in a short time.  That eliminated Canada, Idaho, or any other speculated location.
• With the head start he gave himself, Decker's survival skills would allow him to find a place to hide himself that could be difficult for searchers to locate by air, ground vehicle, or foot.
• There was no clear evidence that he packed/planned for the conditions he would encounter on a long journey on foot.  Witnesses who believed they saw Decker early on described him as wearing shorts (if it was him).
• It seemed Travis Decker had planned his actions in advance, evidenced by how he murdered and left his daughters to be found, with that said...
• There are very few Susan Smiths in this world.  A parent who murders their children, then looks to resume a semblance of life somewhere else is extremely rare.

While there haven't been a lot of scientific studies done on the topic, a significant number of filicides end in the parent who committed the crime taking their own life.  Everything pointed to Travis Decker's remains being found, not Travis Decker being found alive.  There were questions around IF any remains would be found with the number of animals that call the Okanogan-Wenatchee national Forest home.

The search for Decker has ended with last night's revelation, but the search for answers as to why Decker took the lives of his daughters may never end.