The Washington State Patrol did not issue an Amber Alert for three missing girls from Wenatchee over the weekend before they were found dead Monday.
That’s because, despite the tragic outcome, the case initially did not meet the criteria for an Amber Alert, Washington State Patrol spokesperson Chris Loftis said.
Travis Decker is accused by prosecutors of kidnapping and murder in the deaths of his three daughters, Olivia Decker, 5; Evelyn Decker, 8; and Paityn Decker, 9. The Wenatchee Police Department and other law enforcement agencies were still searching for him Tuesday.
The girls were reported missing Friday night by their mother, who told police her ex-husband had not returned them on time per their court-ordered parenting plan and was not answering his phone. The girls’ bodies were discovered near Leavenworth, Chelan County, at a campsite after police found a truck belonging to their father near the Rock Island Campground, Wenatchee police said Tuesday.
A Wenatchee police detective wrote in an affidavit for probable cause that the Police Department contacted the State Patrol — the agency that administers Amber Alerts for the state — on Friday evening to screen the case for qualification.
To issue an Amber Alert, however, a case must meet several qualifications established by federal guidelines:
Loftis said only three elements — the girls’ ages, descriptive info, and the federal data entry — had been met. He said because Decker has custodial rights there was not an immediate legal presumption of abduction or that the children were in danger.
Wenatchee police did not have any evidence that Decker had a history of violence that would indicate he might hurt or threaten the girls, police Capt. Brian Chance said. Had the situation met that threshold, an Amber Alert could have been issued.
Usually, Loftis said, law enforcement establishes that the children may be in danger through evidence of a spoken or written threat, or behavior showing someone was not in their sound mind and had criminal intent.
“In this case, we had a parent with custodial responsibilities and privileges that was late returning the children, and we did not have direct threat or direct reason to believe that the children were in that danger,” Loftis said. “Obviously, in hindsight, that was not the case.”
The State Patrol instead issued an Endangered Missing Persons Advisory for the girls, which is distributed similarly to an Amber Alert but does not send cellphone alerts in targeted areas.
A similar situation unfolded last year.
On March 24, 2024, 4-year-old Ariel Garcia was found dead after the state found the boy’s case did not meet the criteria to issue an Amber Alert. His grandmother had won emergency guardianship the day prior, but because it hadn’t been served to Ariel Garcia’s mother — who has now been charged with murder — she technically still had custody, according to The Daily Herald in Everett. An Endangered Missing Person Advisory was issued instead of an Amber Alert before Ariel was found dead on the side of the road.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, each state has a separate Amber Alert plan, and there are “slight variations” between plans.
Last year, 189 Amber Alerts were issued nationwide, and 188 cases resulted in a recovery. The DOJ said 47 of those 188 recoveries were a “direct result” of the Amber Alert.
Texas and California topped the list for the number of alerts issued in 2024, with 54 and 16, respectively. Washington issued three.
The three girls, who attended Lincoln Elementary School, were found Monday after law enforcement searched the area around Icicle Road, alongside a helicopter from the Department of Homeland Security. They also found a truck belonging to Decker.
Police are asking for the public’s help in the search for Travis Decker. He is described as 5 feet, 8 inches tall, weighing 190 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a light-colored shirt and dark shorts.
Chelan County Superior Court records show Decker was initially charged with three counts of first-degree custodial interference before they were amended on Tuesday to three counts of first-degree aggravated murder and three counts of first-degree kidnapping. According to a probable cause affidavit written by a Wenatchee police detective, the girls’ mother came to the police Friday evening to report that Decker had failed to return the girls an hour before, in violation of their court-ordered parenting plan.
The detective wrote that she “expressed concern because Decker reportedly has never done this before and … is currently experiencing some mental health issues.” Decker was also homeless at the time and often sleeping at campgrounds, she said. The affidavit states that the mother told police the girls have a “good relationship with Decker and enjoy their time with him.” She said Decker had never failed to return the kids before, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit notes Decker refused to sign the court-issued parenting plan and has not sought court-ordered mental health treatment and anger management counseling.
The mother said the handoff Friday “occurred without issues” but that Decker was quieter than usual. She mentioned a recent traffic ticket had been a financial burden for him along with garnished wages due to child support, and he has been talking about getting rid of his dog. On Monday, Decker did not arrive at work and his boss noted some recent mental health concerns, according to the affidavit.
When asked whether there would be changes to Washington’s Amber Alert system, Loftis said he’d “hesitate to speculate” and noted that it is a federal system.
“We’re all trying to make sense of this,” Loftis said. “What can we do? What can we improve? How can we tweak the system so this can’t happen? But the reality is, evil does happen.”
