SEATTLE — Authorities have closed a wide swath of popular campgrounds and backpacking areas along the Pacific Crest Trail in Washington as they search for a former Army soldier wanted in the deaths of his three young daughters.

Dozens of additional law enforcement officers from an array of agencies joined the investigation and search Friday for Travis Caleb Decker, 32, four days after the girls – 9-year-old Paityn Decker, 8-year-old Evelyn Decker and 5-year-old Olivia Decker – were found dead at a remote campsite outside Leavenworth.

The girls’ mother reported them missing the night of May 30 when Decker failed to return them to her home in Wenatchee, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of Seattle, after a scheduled visit.

Gov. Bob Ferguson announced Friday night that he was ordering the state’s National Guard to help with the search, saying “we will be providing helicopter transportation for law enforcement as they search in remote areas.”

“The brutal murder of these young children has shocked our state,” he added in a statement on social media. “I’m committed to supporting law enforcement as they seek justice for Paityn, Evelyn and Olivia.”

The Chelan County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that there were more than 100 officers involved in the search, which covered rugged terrain in the Cascade Mountains of central Washington, and more than 500 tips had poured in from the public.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we have been given notice to, and are working in conjunction with our surrounding counties in the event Mr. Decker moves through the forest into their jurisdiction,” the statement said.

Decker was an infantryman in the Army from March 2013 to July 2021 and deployed to Afghanistan for four months in 2014, according to Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Ruth Castro. From 2014 to 2016, he was an automatic rifleman with the 75th Ranger Regiment at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington.

Last September his ex-wife, Whitney Decker, wrote in a petition to modify their parenting plan that his mental health issues had worsened and that he had become increasingly unstable, often living out of his truck. She sought to restrict him from having overnight visits with the girls until he found housing.

“He has made huge sacrifices to serve our country and loves his girls very much but he has got to get better,” she wrote. “I do not want to keep Travis from the girls at all. … But I cannot have our girls staying in what is essentially a homeless shelter, at times unsupervised, with dozens of strange men, or staying in a tent or living in his truck with him both in extreme temperatures and unknown areas for their safety.”

Authorities warned people to be on the lookout for Decker and asked those with remote homes, cabins or outbuildings to keep them locked, to leave blinds open so law enforcement can see inside and to leave exterior lights on.

It was unclear if Decker was armed, but the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office said he should be considered dangerous. A reward of up to $20,000 was offered for information leading to his arrest.

An online fundraiser for Whitney Decker raised more than $1 million, and friends Amy Edwards, who taught the girls in a theater program called “Short Shakespeareans,” and Mark Belton thanked supporters during a news conference Thursday.

“Their laughter, curiosity and spirit left a mark on all of us,” Edwards said. “They were the kind of children that everyone rooted for, looked forward to seeing and held close in their hearts.”

Edwards and Belton said Whitney Decker hopes the tragedy prompts changes to the state’s Amber Alert system as well as improvements in mental health care for veterans. The night the girls were reported missing, Wenatchee police asked the Washington State Patrol to issue an Amber Alert but it declined, saying that as a custody matter without an imminent threat, the case did not meet the criteria for one.

The patrol did issue an “endangered missing person alert” the next day, but those do not result in notifications being sent to mobile phones.

As searches expanded for the girls last weekend, a sheriff’s deputy found Decker’s pickup in the area of Rock Island Campground, northwest of Leavenworth. There were two bloody handprints on the tailgate. The girls’ bodies were discovered down an embankment nearby with evidence that they had been bound with zip ties, according to an affidavit filed in support of murder and kidnapping charges against Decker.

County Coroner Wayne Harris said Friday that his office was awaiting pathology results to determine when and how the girls were killed.

Authorities issued closure notices the previous day for that camping area, which lies in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, as well as for a large swath of rugged territory to the north. That included trails and campgrounds along the Pacific Crest Trail, which runs from the Canadian border to Mexico, and around Stehekin, at the northern end of Lake Chelan.

Another multimillionaire is born.

One lucky player in Washington state won $7.4 million after hitting the jackpot in the Lotto game, Washington’s Lottery announced in a June 6 news release.

The player, whose name was not released, purchased the ticket at the QFC in Enumclaw at 1009 Monroe Avenue for the May 14, 2025, drawing, the release said.

The retailer gets a selling bonus of $74,000 and intends to donate $20,000 to the Enumclaw Food Bank, according to the release.

“It’s not every day a winning ticket is sold in your store, and our team wanted to do something special,” Brent Stewart, president at QFC, said in the release. “Donating to the Enumclaw Food Bank is the perfect way to live out our purpose to feed the human spirit and help people in our community.”

The win comes after a Mega Millions ticket worth $2 million was sold in Washington for a drawing in April.

What is the Lotto game?

Lotto is a Washington state jackpot game, according to Washington’s Lottery.

The cost of a ticket is $1, and players pick two sets of six numbers between 1 and 49. Alternately, players can have numbers selected for them with the Quick Pick system.

Jackpots start at $1 million and grow until a player hits all six numbers.

Can lottery winners in Washington remain anonymous?

Washington’s Lottery is a public agency subject to the Washington Public Records Act, according to the agency’s website. The names of lottery winners may be revealed through public records requests, even if a trust is established.

With no immediate signs of work resuming at Washington Square, city and county staffers are recommending negotiations with the developer of the failed condominium project to compel him to repair public roads and sidewalks surrounding what has become a downtown eyesore.

As of May 1, city code enforcement and permit violations reached more than $413,350 in fines and commissioners voted last month to “take legal action to foreclose code liens and seek recovery of other legal remedies,” city documents said.

Aside from the liens, both city and county staffers have had discussions with property owner Ken McDermott regarding “restoration of the sidewalks and traffic lanes that were closed on Gadsden (Leon County road), Calhoun (Leon County road) and Jefferson (city road).”

On June 11, city commissioners will take up whether to enter into an agreement.

“If the city and developer can agree on the restoration work, the terms can be incorporated into a written agreement,” city documents said. “This agreement could be joint with the county (and include the county right-of-way) or could be solely with the city (and specific to Jefferson Street).”

The mixed-use project was once a promising development billed as downtown’s next big thing with proposed office space, a garage and a Loews Hotel. Construction began in late 2019 but work came to a screeching halt by May 2020.

What followed were lawsuits with the city regarding easement disputes and contractors stating they hadn’t been paid for the full scope of services. The development, which occupies a city block on Calhoun Street, is now a graffiti-tagged eyesore with rusted rebar jetting out of cement.

Work hasn’t picked up in five years, despite hints as of last year from McDermott that there was early interest from undisclosed parties to erect a scaled-down development on the site.

“This time, early plans describe a seven-story hotel with 160 rooms and 100 apartments at 219 S. Calhoun St. (formerly the site of the Ausley and McMullen law firm) compared to the property’s original grand plan for 270+ hotel rooms, office space and a four-story garage,” an August 2024 article in the Tallahassee Democrat stated.

At its June 10 meeting, county commissioners will decide whether to direct staff to enter into an agreement for restoration work for the county’s right-of-way areas.

The work, at the developer’s expense, would include milling, resurfacing and restriping, planting vegetation and removing all materials from the right-of-way that may include fencing and barricades. The county notes “McDermott is willing to complete the restoration work as quickly as possible.”

“Should the present negotiations with the owner and developer fail, or should the owner and developer enter into the agreement and thereafter fail to perform, the County Attorney recommends that the Board authorize staff to file a lawsuit against the Developer and Owner on behalf the County seeking all legal remedies available at law and equity,” county document said.

Contact Economic Development Reporter TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com and follow @TaMarynWaters on X.