Police hunt for father who they say killed 3 daughters near campground

The bodies of Paityn Decker, 9, left, and her sisters, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia, 5, were found near a campground in Washington state on Monday. – Wenatchee Police Department via The New York Times

Police in Washington state stepped up their search Tuesday for a 32-year-old Wenatchee, Washington, man who they say killed his three young daughters and left them near a campground in Leavenworth, Wasghinton, where each was found with a plastic bag over her head.

“Preliminary examination suggests the likely cause of death” was asphyxiation, according to an affidavit prepared by the Wenatchee Police Department. Their wrists had also apparently been zip-tied, records show.

The three girls — Olivia Decker, 5, and her sisters Evelyn 8, and Paityn, 9 — who were reported missing last week, were found