After remains found, revisiting the Travis Decker manhunt that gripped WA

WENATCHEE, Wash. — The search for Travis Decker was among the most expansive in recent memory, and few cases have held the Pacific Northwest’s attention as tightly.

For more than three months, KING 5 devoted hours of reporting to the manhunt and the many storylines surrounding it. On Thursday, Chelan County deputies said human remains found in a wooded area south of Leavenworth are preliminarily believed to be Decker’s.

Decker was charged earlier this summer with murder in the deaths of his daughters — Paityn, 9; Evelyn, 8; and Olivia, 5 — whose bodies were recovered June 2 after they were reported missing in late May.

A mother’s voice

Though Travis was the face of the manhunt, the heart of the story was the girls’ mother, Whitney Decker.

She spoke publicly only once , during a me