Travis Decker manhunt: Search efforts scaled back due to 'decrease in leads and tips': Sheriff
Nearly two months after he allegedly murdered his three daughters, the Chelan County Sheriff's Office said it is beginning to scale back search efforts for Travis Decker.
Paityn Decker, 9; Evelyn Decker, 8; and Olivia Decker, 5, were found dead near the Rock Island Campground in Chelan County, Washington, on June 2, after they left home for a planned visit with their father on May 30, according to police.
While the search for Decker will continue, officials said Friday it will do so with a "reduced footprint while the criminal investigation remains ongoing" and described the search efforts around the wilderness and initial crime scene as "exhaustive."
"As of today, Mr. Decker has still not been located, and there is insufficient information to suggest that he is alive, nor if he is deceased," the sheriff's office said.
Despite a "decrease in leads and tips" on where Decker may be, the sheriff's office said detectives remain "actively engaged in processing evidence and will continue to follow up" on any new information they receive on the father's possible whereabouts -- including the sighting in Idaho earlier this month, which turned out not to be Decker.
The most recent search for Decker was conducted in the Blewett Pass area in the Wenatchee Mountains, but the "potential evidence and intelligence gathered in this area are inconclusive, meaning we cannot confirm any of the information is directly associated with Mr. Decker," officials said.
Officials also said those who "do come across something to mark the location using GPS or other marking form if they are able to, and even take pictures if it is safe."
Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison told ABC News earlier this month that officials remain "hopeful" they find Decker and are aware this hunt could be a "long haul."
"We could be in a fight for five years, 10 years, 20 years. I certainly hope we're looking at a couple weeks and it closes out, but it could be a long time and we are committed to staying with it," Morrison told ABC News.
The U.S. Marshals Service is still offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading directly to Decker's arrest.
Officials said anyone who sees Decker or knows of his whereabouts should call 911 immediately and not contact or approach him. He is currently wanted for three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of kidnapping, officials said.
Decker should be considered armed and dangerous, officials said.
