Since the deaths of Paityn, Evelyn, and Olivia Decker were first announced, an outpouring of love and support has come from all around Wenatchee and beyond for the young girls’ mother, Whitney Decker. According to Whitney’s friends and family, she’s hoping that energy can be channeled into changing the systems she believes failed her daughters.
“While nothing can undo this tragedy, we’re hopeful these conversations honor Paityn, Olivia, and Evelyn’s memory,” said Mark Belton, a family friend of Whitney’s. Belton and another friend, Amy Edwards, read a statement from the family Thursday evening.
“They were the kind of children that everyone rooted for, looked forward to seeing, and held close in their hearts. They are cherished not just by the family but by our entire community, who watched them grow, perform, learn, and love,” they remembered.
The girls, aged nine, five, and eight years old, were found dead Monday near their father, Travis Decker’s, abandoned pickup truck near the Rock Island Campground outside of Leavenworth. The girls had been missing since Friday when Travis picked them up for a scheduled three-hour visitation. Whitney’s attorney, Arianna Cozart, says the visitation was different from previous ones.
“He communicated with her constantly about the girls,” Cozart said. “There was never another point in their entire relationship of co-parenting that he turned off his phone as he did this time, that he refused to text back, that he didn’t answer a call. There was never a time like that.”
Cozart believes, as she says Whitney does, that a change in behavior, in addition to Travis’ military background, training, and documented mental health struggles, should have been enough to warrant an Amber Alert.
“Frankly, when this was reported to the police and police were unable to reach Travis immediately, it should’ve issued an Amber Alert, and had it done so, those children might be alive,” said Cozart.
The Wenatchee Police Department and Chelan County Sheriff’s Office say they requested that the Washington State Patrol issue an Amber Alert several times. Washington State Patrol Public Affairs Director Curtis Loftis says two of several criteria necessary to meet the threshold for an alert were not reached:
– There must be a reason to believe the person has been abducted.
– The missing person(s) must be known to be in danger of imminent serious bodily injury or death.
Loftis says a parent late to return children from a custody visit does not meet the legal definition of an abduction. Additionally, when a parent is late from a custody appointment, law enforcement does not automatically assume danger to the children. Loftis notes that there was no mention of “danger as a concern” from local law enforcement on Friday.
“We’re talking about how we raise awareness and advocate for changes for improvements to the Amber Alert system and how we expand and address access to mental health resources for veterans, especially in the context of family and custody cases,” reaffirms Mark Belton.
Cozart says that Whitney was aware Travis was trying to seek mental health resources from the Department of Veteran Affairs. Cozart says her conversations with the local VA in Chelan revealed funding concerns that mean they are not keeping up with care for people.
“They’re struggling to keep their head above water when in reality, what really needs to happen, what our politicians need to do is they need to fully fund everything that our veterans need, especially regarding their mental health,” Cozart said.
“[Whitney] has said the lack of resources for veterans is what killed her children,” Cozart said.
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