Detailed Timeline: The Travis Decker Case. Fugitive Father

This timeline outlines the main events leading up to and following the murders of Paityn, Evelyn, and Olivia Decker, as analyzed by Cassian Creed.

• March 2013: Travis Decker enlists in the U.S. Army as an 11 Bravo infantryman.

• 2014 (4 months): Travis Decker serves a combat tour in Afghanistan, which later results in documented PTSD.

• Undated (Post-Army Service): Travis Decker is removed from the elite Ranger Regiment after failing to complete Ranger School.

• 2021: Travis Decker transitions to the Washington National Guard.

• September 2024: Whitney Decker formally petitions the Chelan County court to modify the custody agreement, citing Travis's escalating instability and fear for her children's safety. The court prohibits overnight visits due to his homelessness and mandates psychiatric evaluation, anger management, domestic violence counseling, and twice-monthly counseling, none of which Travis Decker completes or attends.

• Months leading up to May 2025: Travis Decker makes multiple, desperate attempts to get help from emergency veteran's services, but is repeatedly turned away.

• Month before May 2025: Travis Decker accumulates a series of traffic violations and car crashes, painting a picture of rapidly losing control. His wages are garnished for back child support.

• May 26, 2025: Travis Decker conducts extensive online searches from his account for "how does a person move to canada," "how to relocate to canada," and "jobs canada," indicating premeditation for escape. His social and familial online communications plummet, showing a singular focus.

• Between May 26 and May 30, 2025: Travis Decker procures plastic bags and zip ties, the tools for the murders.

• May 30, 2025, 5:00 PM: Travis Decker’s white GMC Sierra pickup arrives at Whitney Decker’s home in Wenatchee for a court-ordered custody exchange of his three daughters: Paityn (9), Evelyn (8), and Olivia (5).

• May 30, 2025, 6:00 PM: Travis Decker’s cell phone stops communicating with the network, an intentional act of digital concealment. The abduction of his daughters is underway.

• May 30, 2025, 8:00 PM: The court-ordered three-hour visitation window expires. Whitney Decker's fear escalates as Travis does not return the girls.

• May 30, 2025, 9:34 PM: Whitney Decker calls 911 to report her three daughters missing.

• May 31, 2025: An Endangered Missing Person Alert (EMPA) is issued, but an AMBER Alert is denied due to strict criteria. The girls miss a scheduled 5K running event.

• June 2, 2025, 3:45 PM: Travis Decker's white GMC Sierra pickup truck is located, abandoned, at the Rock Island Campground in the Cascade foothills. His wallet is found inside the truck, and his dog is found alive at the scene.

• Shortly after 3:45 PM, June 2, 2025: The bodies of Paityn, Evelyn, and Olivia Decker are discovered near the abandoned truck. The cause of death is suffocation by asphyxiation, with plastic bags placed over their heads and their wrists bound with zip ties. Bloody handprints, later confirmed to be Travis Decker's DNA, are found on the truck's tailgate. The focus shifts to a triple homicide and manhunt.

• June 10, 2025 (approximately): Hikers in the remote Enchantments area report seeing a lone man fitting Decker’s description, "ill-prepared for trail and weather conditions," and actively avoiding them. This lead is unconfirmed.

• Early July 2025: A family camping in Idaho’s Sawtooth National Forest reports a man nearly identical to Decker, leading to a massive, multi-day, multi-agency search diversion.

• July 9, 2025: The man in the Sawtooths is located and identified as an innocent doppelgänger from Arizona, not Travis Decker. The Idaho search is called off.

• Undated (Post-Discovery): A grand jury convenes in Chelan County to consider the evidence.

• Undated (Post-Grand Jury): The grand jury issues a "true bill" of indictment against Travis Decker on three counts of aggravated first-degree murder and three counts of first-degree kidnapping, based on overwhelming forensic and digital evidence. A no-bail warrant is issued for his arrest.

• July 16, 2025: "The Shadow of the Cascades" by Cassian Creed is published, providing a forensic AI analysis of the case.

• Ongoing: The massive multi-agency manhunt for Travis Decker continues, with no definitive sign of him found. His fate remains an "unresolved tragedy."

Fugitive Father Cast of Characters

This list details the principal people mentioned in the sources.

• Cassian Creed: The author of "The Shadow of the Cascades: The Travis Decker Case and the Hunt for a Fugitive Father." He is a seasoned investigative analyst and author specializing in advanced forensic methodologies and AI-driven analytics, advocating for agile methodologies in criminal justice. He works in partnership with AI-AL (Forensic Analysis Engine) and Neural Edge Publishing.

• Travis Decker: The father and alleged triple murderer. A former U.S. Army 11 Bravo infantryman with airborne qualifications who served a four-month combat tour in Afghanistan in 2014, and reportedly failed to complete Ranger School. He transitioned to the Washington National Guard in 2021 but faced disciplinary discharge. By 2025, he was homeless, grappling with severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), diagnosed Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), and pronounced narcissistic traits. He is the subject of one of Washington's largest manhunts after murdering his three daughters.

• Paityn Decker: Nine-year-old daughter of Travis and Whitney Decker. Described as the "anchor" and leader of the three sisters, a "whirlwind of bright energy," and fiercely protective. She was killed by her father on May 30, 2025.

• Evelyn Decker: Eight-year-old daughter of Travis and Whitney Decker. Described as the "heart," a steady, gentle flame, quiet, sensitive, and profoundly empathetic. She was killed by her father on May 30, 2025.

• Olivia Decker: Five-year-old daughter of Travis and Whitney Decker. Described as the embodiment of "pure, unfiltered joy," a bubbly, radiant source of happiness, and completely trusting of her father. She was killed by her father on May 30, 2025.

• Whitney Decker: The mother of Paityn, Evelyn, and Olivia, and Travis Decker's ex-wife. She had been documenting Travis's escalating instability and fear for her children's safety in court filings for months leading up to the murders, formally petitioning the court to modify custody in September 2024. Her warnings were largely unheeded by the family court system. She reported her daughters missing on May 30, 2025.

• Honorable Kristin Ferrera: A real-life member of the Chelan County bench, identified as the likely presiding judge for Travis Decker's trial, categorized as a "Balanced Neutral" judicial archetype.

• Robert Sealby: The current Chelan County Prosecuting Attorney, identified as the likely lead prosecutor in the case, categorized as "The Methodical Analyzer" archetype.

• Decker’s former Army squadmate: An unnamed individual who provided valuable character testimony about Travis Decker, describing him as "quiet, a bit of an outcast, yet a hard worker and somewhat of a narcissist," which aligned with psychological profiling.

NotebookLM can be inaccurate; please double check its responses.