WA man suspected of killing 3 daughters was previously stationed at JBLM

A Washington man wanted by law enforcement on suspicion of killing his three daughters was stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord for two years, an Army spokesperson told the News Tribune.

Travis Decker was assigned to JBLM between 2014 and 2016 as an automatic rifleman in the 2nd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, according to U.S. Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Ruth Castro.

Decker was an infantryman in the regular Army between March 2013 and July 2021 and deployed to Afghanistan for four months in 2014, Castro said in an email Thursday. He had also been assigned to Fort Benning, Georgia and Vicenza, Italy.

While at Fort Benning, Decker was an infantryman who earned the Expert Infantryman Badge and completed the airborne course, according to the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer.

He left active duty as a staff sergeant, Castro said.

The 32-year-old man from the Wenatchee area – about 160 driving miles east of Tacoma – is being sought by authorities after his 9-, 8- and 5-year-old daughters were reported by their mother to not have returned from a planned visitation with Decker and then were found dead Monday near Leavenworth, according to the Wenatchee Police Department.

Decker’s vehicle was discovered unoccupied near a campground and his daughters were found in the immediate area, the police department said.

Authorities searching for Decker have closed off a wide swath of forest near Leavenworth and asked people who own cabins or reside in remote areas of Chelan, Kittitas, King, Snohomish and Okanogan counties to lock their doors, leave window blinds open and keep outside lights on.