Travis Decker, the man who was supposed to suffocate and his three young daughters at a campsite in the wilderness of the state of Washington, is dead, the authorities of Chelan County Thursday.
Positive DNA results determined that the authorities of the human remains discovered last week, together with clothing that looked like what Decker wore on surveillance images before he disappeared, the fugitive, Chelan County Sheriff Michael Morrison said on a Thursday afternoon news conference.
“We can finally bring a close to this dark chapter of Chelan County,” said Morrison. “He died, our DNA results confirm that, and this will bring a close to our case.”
The confirmation ends a month -long saga interrupted by a family dictation that has touched an entire community.
How the remains were found
A drone that flew over the area on 18 September discovered some unusual material on a mountain slope in the Washington Cascades. Detectives with the Sheriff's Office by Chelan County have stopped from a helicopter and discovered the remains and items under a series of evidence.
An operational psychologist who helped staff with an earlier search, be civil servants in the direction of Grindstone Mountain, an area of interest, according to Morrison.
“Her insights and guidance led us to an important area to seek where we finally found Mr Decker,” said Morrison.
Morrison did not respond to the condition of the remains and indicated that the office of the local coroner works to determine whether they can identify a cause and the time of death for Decker.
Travis Decker can be seen in an undated photo released by the Sheriff of Chelan County's office. – Chelan County Sheriff's Office
“You look at one of the greatest manhunts in the history of Chelan County, one of the most horrible crimes we have seen in Chelan County, and we are happy to leave it behind,” said Morrison.
A month -long search will come to an end
The search for Decker included three provinces, led the authorities to Canada and Mexico and concerned various local and federal agencies, only for his remains less than a mile of where the girls' bodies were discovered.
Decker was accused of killing his three daughters, the 5-year-old Olivia, 8-year-old Evelyn and the 9-year-old Paiten, not long after he picked them up from their mother on 30 May for the guardianship visit.
Drones, a fast water team, cadaver dogs and even GoPros were used in the Cascade mountain chain outside the city of Leavenworth, a rural area that is known for its wild beauty and treacherous terrain.
The search was complicated by the fact that Decker had a three -day lead.
Decker's truck was left on 2 June in the field of Rock Island Campground. The bodies of his daughters were almost 100 meters away, a small dike, along with ZIP tires and plastic bags that were littered throughout the area, according to a police statement.
Authorities also found a bloody fingerprint on the tailgate of the truck, as well as Decker's dog.
De Sheriff hoped that more people were flowing to the popular area around where the girls were found for the busy summer season, would help with the search, but no trace of Decker was found throughout the season.
The girls' mother, Whitney Decker, told the researchers that her former husband had been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and was homeless at the time of his disappearance.
Before the remains were determined as Decker's, the lawyer of Whitney Decker, Arianna Cozart, told ABC News: “We pray that the remains are confirmed as Travis.
CNN put his hand out to Cozart's office for comments on Thursday.
A motive may never be known
A motive behind the crime may never be known, Morrison said, but knowing that someone would not return the victims.
“Based on the proof that we have, he committed murder. It is unforgivable, it is inexplicable. And we would like to have heard his thinking process … but I don't think everything he said it would have justified,” said the Sheriff.
“The bottom line is that our community is now three young girls who would have been our bright future. They are not here,” he added.
Apart from thanking the agencies involved in the exhaustive search for Decker, the last words of Morrison at the news conference for Whitney Decker were.
“Against Whitney: I hope you know that we have never given up, and Paiten, Evelyn, Olivia, their memories will live on forever.”
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN's Ryan Young, Holly Yan, Alaa Elassar and Zoe Sottile have contributed to this report.
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