FBI, Chelan County Sheriff Detail Leavenworth Area Search

The FBI is conducting a two-day expanded ground search of the area where the bodies of Paityn, Evelyn, and Olivia Decker were found June 2nd at a campground 17 miles outside Leavenworth.

Thirty-two-year-old Travis Decker is accused of murdering his daughters but so far, has not been located.

Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison and the FBI held a news conference in Leavenworth on Monday and stressed there is no new evidence that prompted the grid search or whether Decker is alive and in the area or deceased.

"The FBI wants to assure the people of Leavenworth and Wenatchee, as well as Chelan County and Washington state that this case is a priority for the FBI and that is why we are here today," said FBI Special Agent Peter Orth.  "We hope to find evidence that will lead us to Travis Decker or any information regarding the murder of his three daughters. By thoroughly searching and documenting the area, we can help prevent the need to review the area in the future by collecting all possible evidence."

Nearly 100 personnel are conducting an expanded grid search of the area. The concern is the elements could make possible evidence more difficult to uncover as time passes

The search is underway through Tuesday and involves

• Special Agents, Intelligence Analysts, and Task Force Officers.
• Specialty units: the Evidence Response Team, SWAT, electronics technicians, medical personnel, and a mobile command post.
• Experts from the FBI's Critical Incident Response Group and Laboratory Division, with expertise in child abduction cases, and forensic analysis

More than a dozen forest service roads, four trailheads, and three campgrounds, including the Rock Island campground where the three little girls were found, are on the closure list.

The U.S. Marshals Service offers a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading directly to Decker's arrest. He should be considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with  information related to Decker's whereabouts is urged to  contact th U.S. Marshals Communications Center at 1-800-336-0102.Tips can be submitted at www.usmarshals.gov/tips.