US Marshals ‘jumped the gun’ declaring Travis Decker dead

Marshals “jumped the gun” in announcing the remains of suspected kid-killer Travis Decker had been found, according to local officials who say it was based on “circumstantial evidence.”

The declaration that Decker was confirmed “deceased” was made in a court filing Tuesday dismissing the case tied to the homeless dad, who had picked up his three young daughters for a routine visitation days before they were found bound and suffocated.

The declaration was made based on two feet, femurs and vertebrae found on Sept. 18, near some of the missing dad’s clothing in a wooded area about a mile from where the girls’ bodies were left in June.

However, Chelan County Sheriff’s Office told KIRO News 7 this week that Marshals “jumped the gun” in closing the case and saying the remains were the troubled Army veteran.

“At this time, the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office is not in a position to make a positive identification or confirmation of Mr. Decker’s status,” the agency said in a statement.

DNA results only confirmed that Decker’s clothing was found, not that the nearby bones were also his.

Chelan County coroner Wayne Harris also told the Daily Mail late Wednesday that there’s been “no scientific confirmation that it’s” Decker.

“We saw a recent filing that does say that he is deceased, but they [federal Marshals] are using circumstantial evidence,” he warned.

Harris said the coroner’s office “can’t use circumstantial evidence, we have to use scientific evidence,” which can delay official identification. That DNA testing is still underway, the coroner said.

The site of the scattered remains was less than one mile from where Decker’s three slain daughters were found on June 2, near their father’s truck, which was parked at the Rock Island Campground.

The three Decker girls — Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia, 5, — were found with plastic bags over their heads and zip ties on their wrists three days after their dad took them for a planned custody visit.

Their deaths sparked a massive, three-month manhunt for Decker, who suffered from mental health issues over the last few years and had just recently had his custody rights reduced months before the killings.