The mother of three girls who officials say were killed by their father is calling for reforms to Washington state's Amber Alert system after her daughters' bodies were discovered and as officials search for the man.
Whitney Decker believes her daughters might still be alive had the Washington State Patrol issued an Amber Alert for them last week, her attorney told NBC affiliate KING of Seattle on Thursday.
“It’s very important to Whitney to get that fixed,” attorney Arianna Cozart said.
Evelyn, 8, Paityn, 9, and Olivia Decker, 5, were found dead Monday, several days after their mother reported them missing. Their father, Travis Decker, 32, is wanted on first-degree murder charges in connection with the killings.
Authorities began searching for the girls Friday night after Whitney Decker filed a complaint that her ex-husband did not return the children after a planned visit, police said.
The state patrol issued an Endangered Missing Persons Advisory for the girls Saturday. Unlike an Amber Alert, the advisory does not send a text message to all cellphones in the surrounding area about missing children.
Cozart said that her client’s ex-husband had mental health issues and that local police relayed his illness to the state patrol and pushed for an Amber Alert unsuccessfully.
A spokesperson for the state patrol did not immediately reply to a request for comment Thursday.
Chris Loftis, the agency’s director of public affairs, previously told NBC News that the request for an Amber Alert did not meet the program's strict guidelines, which are set by the U.S. Justice Department.
There must be a reason to believe a missing person has been abducted, Loftis said, and there must be a known, imminent danger of serious injury or death.
Because Travis Decker had some custodial rights, there was not an immediate legal presumption that the girls had been kidnapped or that they were in danger, Loftis said.
Loftis said the alert issued Saturday "accomplished much the same public notification/outreach as an Amber Alert would have.”
Court documents show that Whitney Decker told detectives she agreed to a parenting plan with her ex-husband in September. However, he refused to sign the document after he became homeless, according to the affidavit.
The agreement was contingent on Travis Decker’s seeking mental health treatment and domestic violence anger-management counseling, according to the affidavit. Decker, a military veteran, never did, according to court documents.
The three girls were found zip-tied with plastic bags over their heads near a campground in a remote part of the state, roughly 130 miles east of Seattle, according to the court document.
It is unclear whether Travis Decker is armed, but officials said he is considered dangerous. Authorities said relatives informed them that he has skills to survive outdoors for long stretches and would sometimes go “off-grid” for months.
In a statement Thursday, the Chelan County Sheriff's Office advised people who own cabins in several surrounding counties to lock all their doors — including outbuildings and sheds — leave open their blinds and turn on any outside lights.
The statement added that investigators have executed search warrants around the area and on Decker's devices that have created leads and generated new information.
"If you see, or believe you have seen, Mr. Decker please call 911 immediately and do not attempt or contact or approach him," the statement says.
