Travis Decker, 32, is charged in the deaths of his three daughters and remains on the run.
SEATTLE — Child safety advocates and state lawmakers gathered near the front steps of Seattle City Hall on Friday to demand immediate reforms to Amber Alert protocols and family court practices. This comes following the deaths of three young girls allegedly killed by their father during a custody visit in Wenatchee.
Travis Decker, 32, is charged in the deaths of his three daughters and remains on the run. The girls were on a scheduled custody visit with their father on May 30, when Decker failed to return them to their mother as required. An endangered missing person alert was issued instead of an Amber Alert, and the children were found dead on June 2.
“What happened to the Decker girls should not have happened,” advocates said during the news conference.
The Washington State Patrol says an Amber Alert was not issued because at the time, the father had court-ordered custodial rights and there was no indication the children were in imminent danger.
“With the amber alert you have criteria that has got to be met,” Rep. Brian Burnett of Wenatchee explained.
However, court documents reveal the Deckers had previously fought over custody of their three children. The girls’ mother had stated that Travis Decker was homeless and had been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.
“We have all of these systems in place that are designed to set up kids and we let this family down,” said Rep. Amy Walen of Bellevue.
“We are not here to make any rash judgements, but we want to look at the system,” said Burnett.
The tragedy has sparked renewed calls for legislative reform.
“I think that you know maybe we have to have some sort of red flag in custody proceedings that lets the system know that these kids could be in danger,” Walen said.
Kathy Sherlock, who traveled from Pennsylvania to attend the news conference, shared her personal experience of losing her daughter Kayden seven years ago when her daughter’s father killed the child during a scheduled visit.
“I know what it is like to lose a child this way. I don’t want any other mother to have to feel this suffering again,” Sherlock said.
Sherlock helped pass Kayden’s Law in Pennsylvania to strengthen child safety protections in custody cases. Washington had considered adopting similar legislation, but it was narrowly defeated during the last legislative session. Lawmakers say they will try again.
“The state of Washington can do better, and it must do better,” Walen declared, pushing for the tragedy to serve as a turning point in child protection policies.
The Washington State Patrol says they have started an independent review by accredited experts to determine if changes should be made to their protocols. The National Amber Alert Program will also conduct a comprehensive review of the case.
“Hindsight is always painfully clear and given what is alleged now about the father’s killing of the three little girls and the now-available information about his prior mental health struggles, etc., it is agonizingly obvious all initial assessments by loved ones, community, courts, and law enforcement that he posed no danger were brutally and tragically incorrect,” a WSP spokesperson said in a statement.
A public memorial service for the three young girls is scheduled for next week at 7 p.m. at Rocky Reach Park in Wenatchee. Organizers are asking attendees to wear purple, pink, or green in honor of the girls.
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