In a case that has left an entire community reeling, three young sisters who vanished during a scheduled visitation with their father were found dead near a remote campground in Wenatchee, Washington. Authorities confirmed the deaths on Tuesday, and a manhunt is now underway for the children’s father, 32-year-old Travis Decker, who is suspected of their abduction and murder.

The Decker sisters — Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia, 5 — had gone to visit their father on Friday, May 30. It was supposed to be a routine weekend with a parent they loved. Instead, it ended in the most horrific way imaginable: the girls’ lifeless bodies were discovered late Monday evening near their father’s white GMC Sierra truck at Rock Island Campground, roughly 18 miles west of Leavenworth.

Initially, an AMBER Alert was issued after the girls disappeared, but it was abruptly canceled late Monday — just hours before authorities confirmed the grim news. On Tuesday, charges against Travis Decker were escalated to three counts each of kidnapping and first-degree murder.

“This is an unimaginable tragedy,” police said in a public statement. “We extend our heartfelt condolences to the family.”

The mother of the girls, Whitney Decker, had issued a desperate plea just hours before the discovery, urging the public to help bring her daughters home. “I just want the girls back home safe and sound,” she wrote in an emotional message. “That is the most important thing to me.”

Travis Decker is a homeless military veteran who has been living in and out of campgrounds and hotels in the Wenatchee area with his dog. Despite his housing instability and known struggles with mental health, Whitney had said she never previously feared for her daughters’ safety during past visits with their father.

“Travis has really struggled since he left the military and his mental health can be hard sometimes,” she told KIRO 7. “I think that he is impulsive, and he loves his children very much. I didn’t think he was dangerous.”

That belief has now been tragically shattered. A warrant had already been issued for Decker’s arrest on custodial interference charges before the bodies were found. Authorities quickly upgraded those charges once the full scale of the tragedy was realized.

The search for Decker continues, involving local police, SWAT teams, and federal agencies, including Homeland Security and the U.S. Forest Service. He is believed to be traveling on foot or still possibly in the area near where the bodies were discovered. Authorities have warned the public not to approach him and to report any sightings immediately.

Community members in Wenatchee and beyond have been left shocked and heartbroken. A candlelight vigil is reportedly being planned to honor the lives of Paityn, Evelyn, and Olivia, three sisters remembered as vibrant, kind-hearted, and deeply loved by those who knew them.

“This family’s loss is every parent’s nightmare,” said one local resident. “Those girls should have come home. Instead, they were taken from this world in the most brutal and senseless way.”

As the search for Travis Decker intensifies, the case is shining a harsh light on issues surrounding parental custody, mental health, and the limitations of current systems meant to protect children in vulnerable situations. For now, a grieving mother, a stunned community, and an entire nation are left asking the same question: how could this have happened?

If you have any information about Travis Decker’s whereabouts, please contact the Wenatchee Police Department immediately.