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Human remains confirmed as those of father accused of killing his three daughters
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Human remains found in a remote wooded area of Washington state have been confirmed to be those of a former soldier suspected of kidnapping and murdering his three daughters, authorities have said.
Travis Decker, 32, had been wanted since 2 June when an officer found his truck and the bodies of his three daughters – nine-year-old Paityn Decker, eight-year-old Evelyn Decker and five-year-old Olivia Decker – at a campsite outside Leavenworth.
They had been bound with zip ties and had plastic bags placed over their heads. Post-mortems found they had been suffocated.
Human remains believed to be Decker’s were discovered on a steep, remote, wooded slope up Grindstone Mountain, less than a mile (1.6km) from the campsite, last week, according to the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office.
Travis Caleb Decker. Pic: Wenatchee Police Department/AP
Sheriff Mike Morrison said DNA tests on clothing found at the scene, as well as from the remains, matched Decker. The coroner’s office is working to determine the cause and time of his death.
The identification of the remains as Decker ended a three-month search by officers, who wanted to honour the girls’ memory, the sheriff said.
Mr Morrison apologised to the daughters’ mother, Whitney Decker, for the search taking so long, telling her: “I hope you can rest easier at night knowing that Travis is accounted for.”
The girls’ bodies were found three days after Decker had failed to return his daughters to their mother’s home in Wenatchee, about 100 miles east of Seattle, following a scheduled visit.
Mrs Decker told police the girls did not return as planned and that Decker’s phone went straight to voicemail.
Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office deputies participate in the search for Travis Decker.
Pic: Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office/AP
Last September, she had warned authorities that Decker was experiencing mental health issues and had become increasingly unstable.
She described him as homeless and living in his truck, and sought to have their parenting plan changed to restrict him from having overnight visits with their daughters until he found somewhere to live.
Officials said Decker joined the US army in 2013 and was deployed to Afghanistan for four months in 2014.
He moved to the Washington National Guard in 2021, going part-time in the past few years, but stopped attending drills about a year ago.
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Authorities said he had training in navigation, survival and other skills, and once spent more than two months living in the backwoods off the grid.
The search for Decker involved 100 personnel from state and federal agencies across hundreds of square miles, much of it mountainous and remote, by land, water and air.
The US Marshals Service offered a reward of up to $20,000 (£14,800) for information leading to his capture.
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A suspected drone sighting briefly shuttered a Danish airport this morning for the second time in a few hours, after the country’s prime minister said the flights were part of “hybrid attacks” that may be linked to Russia.
Drones have been seen flying over several Danish airports since Wednesday, causing one of them to close for hours, after a sighting earlier this week prompted Copenhagen airport to shut down.
That followed a similar incident in Norway, drone incursions in Polish and Romanian territory and the violation of Estonian airspace by Russian fighter jets, which raised tensions in light of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
“Over recent days, Denmark has been the victim of hybrid attacks,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said yesterday in a video message on social media – referring to a form of unconventional warfare.
She warned that such drone flights “could multiply”.
Investigators said they had so far failed to identify those responsible, but Ms Frederiksen stressed: “There is one main country that poses a threat to Europe’s security, and it is Russia.”
Moscow said yesterday that it “firmly rejects” any suggestion that it was involved in the Danish incidents. Its embassy in Copenhagen called them “a staged provocation”, in a post on social media.
Denmark’s Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard earlier said the aim of the attack was “to spread fear, create division and frighten us”.
He added that Copenhagen would acquire new enhanced capabilities to “detect” and “neutralise drones”.
Denmark will later today join other EU countries, mostly along the eastern border with Russia, in the first talks on proposals to build a “wall” of anti-drone defences in the face of the tensions with Moscow.
Drones have been seen flying over several Danish airports since Wednesday, causing one of them to close for hours, after a sighting earlier this week prompted Copenhagen airport to shut down.
That followed a similar incident in Norway, drone incursions in Polish and Romanian territory and the violation of Estonian airspace by Russian fighter jets, which raised tensions in light of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
“Over recent days, Denmark has been the victim of hybrid attacks,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said yesterday in a video message on social media – referring to a form of unconventional warfare.
She warned that such drone flights “could multiply”.
Investigators said they had so far failed to identify those responsible, but Ms Frederiksen stressed: “There is one main country that poses a threat to Europe’s security, and it is Russia.”
Moscow said yesterday that it “firmly rejects” any suggestion that it was involved in the Danish incidents. Its embassy in Copenhagen called them “a staged provocation”, in a post on social media.
Denmark’s Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard earlier said the aim of the attack was “to spread fear, create division and frighten us”.
He added that Copenhagen would acquire new enhanced capabilities to “detect” and “neutralise drones”.
Denmark will later today join other EU countries, mostly along the eastern border with Russia, in the first talks on proposals to build a “wall” of anti-drone defences in the face of the tensions with Moscow.
Russia sabotage warning
Drones were spotted on Wednesday and early yesterday morning at airports in Aalborg, Esbjerg, Sonderborg and at the Skrydstrup air base before leaving on their own, police said.
Aalborg airport, located in northern Denmark, was initially shut down for several hours, and closed again for about an hour from late last night into early this morning due to another suspected sighting.
“It was not possible to take down the drones, which flew over a very large area over a couple of hours,” North Jutland chief police inspector Jesper Bojgaard Madsen said about the initial Aalborg incident.
The head of Denmark’s military intelligence, Thomas Ahrenkiel, told a news conference the service had not been able to identify who was behind the drones.
But intelligence chief Finn Borch said: “The risk of Russian sabotage in Denmark is high.”
Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told a news conference the flights appeared to be “the work of a professional actor… such a systematic operation in so many locations at virtually the same time”.
He said it had posed “no direct military threat” to Denmark.
Ms Frederiksen said Thursday that she had spoken with NATO chief Mark Rutte about the incidents.
Lund Poulsen said the government had yet to decide whether to invoke NATO’s Article 4, under which any member state can call urgent talks when it feels its “territorial integrity, political independence or security” are at risk.
French President Emmanuel Macron said his country stood ready “to contribute to the security of Danish airspace”.
Copenhagen is set to host a summit of European Union leaders next week.
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Anna LewisBBC Wales
Handheld scanners will be used to search children suspected of having a weapon in Cardiff schools under new guidance.
The guidelines, which are thought to be the first of their kind in Wales, deal with what happens when a child is thought to be carrying a weapon, and the next steps if one is found.
Cardiff council said it had been designed after calls by head teachers for up-to-date advice to keep students and staff safe, following growing concerns about knife crime in schools.
Sarah Merry, the council’s cabinet member for education, said while she understood parents “may feel anxious about the idea of searches”, they would not be part of a daily school routine or “done lightly”.
In 2013, the Welsh government introduced a power which allowed schools in Wales to screen pupils for a knife or other weapons, and to search pupils suspected of carrying a weapon.
New guidance sent to parents in Cardiff states a search may be necessary if staff have a “reasonable” suspicion that a young person has a weapon in school.
During a search, it added two members of staff would be present, and that in most cases a “search wand” would be used to remove any physical contact.
“Parents or carers will be informed following a search and the reasons for the search will be explained,” the guidance adds, with the purpose of the search also explained to the student.
Under the guidelines, if a weapon is found then an incident review meeting should be arranged within five school days of the incident with “at least one daily welfare check”.
The young person should not be allowed to go to school until this meeting has taken place, while a “trauma-informed investigation” would then take place to understand why the young people brought the weapon into school and the next steps that should be taken.
According to Cardiff council, the guidelines recognise “there are often complex reasons why a young person might carry a weapon” and encourages schools to work with families and other services so support can be put in place.
The guidelines have been rolled out to all primary, secondary and special schools after being developed through consultation with children, and co-produced with partners including South Wales Police, youth services and violence prevention experts.
Merry, who is also council deputy leader, said: “Head teachers have been asking for revised support in this area and it’s absolutely right that we’ve worked closely with them to create something practical and useful.
“It is also part of our review following incidents in other parts of the country and gives schools the tools they need to keep everyone safe – it’s not about creating fear; it’s about building confidence.”
As well as guidance on weapons, each school in Cardiff has appointed a violence prevention lead, who are senior staff members that will take part in specialist training to prepare them for real-life situations involving weapons or threats to safety.
Other actions taken to keep schools safe include lockdown rehearsals to help schools prepare for emergencies, and using the curriculum to “build a culture of respect and safety”.
This post was originally published on this site.
Tánaiste Simon Harris has met with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick in Washington DC.
The meeting at the Department of Commerce was an opportunity to discuss the dynamic economic, trade and investment relationship between Ireland and the US.
It was also a chance to take stock on the implementation of the EU-US Framework on an Agreement on Reciprocal, Fair and Balanced Trade agreed in July.
They discussed the potential of expanding the list of goods that are exempt from the baseline 15% tariff rate.
Ireland has a particular interest in this as it relates to the spirits and med-tech sectors. They also discussed the issue of non-tariff barriers as well as the ongoing Section 232 investigations on pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.
They exchanged views on the impact of the expansion of the Section 232 measures on certain steel and aluminium given the impact of these on a number of Irish manufacturers, particularly in the agri-tech sector.
Mr Harris raised the recent proposal by the US to raise the cost of H1B visas applications, and noted the importance of pathways for high-skilled workers, innovators and job creators to live and work in the US.
More broadly the meeting was an opportunity to discuss the mutually beneficial economic relationship between Ireland and the US, and how it can be protected and deepened in the time ahead.
The Tánaiste took the opportunity to update Mr Lutnick on the economic impact report: Ireland and the USA: a shared economic story – which he launched.
The report shows the impact of Irish companies investing across all 50 states.
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Read more on post. A suspected drone sighting briefly shuttered a Danish airport this morning for the second time in a few hours, after the country’s prime minister said the flights were part of “hybrid attacks” that may be linked to Russia. Drones have been seen flying over several Danish airports since Wednesday, causing one… Read more: Danish airport closes again after reported drone sighting - School scanners for pupils thought to have weapons
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