LEAVENWORTH, Wash. (AP) — The FBI on Monday launched an intensive two-day search for clues to the whereabouts of Travis Decker near the Washington state campground where his three young daughters were found dead in early June.
But authorities stressed that there had been no break in the case and they still haven't determined whether Decker is still alive.
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This photo provided by FBI Seattle shows FBI and other law enforcement agencies participating in the search for Travis Decker, who was charged with murder and kidnapping, at Rock Island Campground near Leavenworth, Wa. on Monday, August. 25, 2025. (FBI via AP)
FILE - This undated photo provided by the Wenatchee Police Department shows Travis Caleb Decker, who is wanted in connection with the deaths of his three daughters. (Wenatchee Police Department via AP, File)
This photo provided by FBI Seattle shows the entrance to Rock Island Campground where multiple law enforcement agencies are participating in the search for Travis Decker, who was charged with murder and kidnapping, near Leavenworth, Wa. on Monday, August. 25, 2025. (FBI via AP)
This photo provided by FBI Seattle shows a closed road to Rock Island Campground where multiple law enforcement agencies are participating in the search for Travis Decker, who was charged with murder and kidnapping, near Leavenworth, Wa. on Monday, August. 25, 2025. (FBI via AP)
Decker, a former soldier, has been wanted since June 2, when a sheriff’s deputy found his truck and the bodies of his three daughters — 9-year-old Paityn Decker, 8-year-old Evelyn Decker and 5-year-old Olivia Decker — at the Rock Island Campground in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.
The discovery came three days after he failed to return the girls to their mother’s home in Wenatchee, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of Seattle, following a scheduled visit.
Authorities closed popular campgrounds and trailheads in the forest near Leavenworth as close to 100 FBI agents and other law enforcement officers bushwhacked through rugged terrain. Divers planned to again search Icicle Creek in an effort to reach areas where logjams had previously barred dive teams, they said.
During a news conference Monday, Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison and Peter Orth, the FBI's supervisory senior resident agent in Yakima, stressed that investigators still have no evidence about whether Decker is alive or dead.
“You can't be too thorough in a search like this,” Orth said. "It is such incredibly dense vegetation that anybody who walks down one of these trails could walk 10 meters off the trail and no one would ever know they're there.”
Teams were conducting a grid search in a quarter-mile (0.4 km) radius around the campground, they said.
The U.S. Marshals Service is offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to Decker’s capture.
This photo provided by FBI Seattle shows FBI and other law enforcement agencies participating in the search for Travis Decker, who was charged with murder and kidnapping, at Rock Island Campground near Leavenworth, Wa. on Monday, August. 25, 2025. (FBI via AP)
FILE - This undated photo provided by the Wenatchee Police Department shows Travis Caleb Decker, who is wanted in connection with the deaths of his three daughters. (Wenatchee Police Department via AP, File)
This photo provided by FBI Seattle shows the entrance to Rock Island Campground where multiple law enforcement agencies are participating in the search for Travis Decker, who was charged with murder and kidnapping, near Leavenworth, Wa. on Monday, August. 25, 2025. (FBI via AP)
This photo provided by FBI Seattle shows a closed road to Rock Island Campground where multiple law enforcement agencies are participating in the search for Travis Decker, who was charged with murder and kidnapping, near Leavenworth, Wa. on Monday, August. 25, 2025. (FBI via AP)
Several Middle Eastern allies of the United States have urged the Trump administration to hold off on strikes against Iran for the government’s deadly crackdown on protesters, according to an Arab diplomat familiar with the matter.
Top officials from Egypt, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have raised concerns in the last 48 hours that a U.S. military intervention would shake the global economy and destabilize an already volatile region, said the diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the sensitive conversations.
Oil prices fell Thursday as the markets appeared to take note of President Donald Trump’s shifting tone as a sign that he’s leaning away from attacking Iran after days of launching blistering threats at Tehran for its brutal crackdown.
Nevertheless, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday maintained that “all options remain on the table” for Trump as he deals with Iran.
Here's the latest:
The White House and a bipartisan group of governors are pressuring the operator of the mid-Atlantic power grid to take urgent steps to boost energy supply and curb price hikes, holding a Friday event aimed at addressing a rising concern among voters about the enormous amount of power used for artificial intelligence ahead of elections later this year.
The White House said its National Energy Dominance Council and the governors of several states, including Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia, want to try to compel PJM Interconnection to hold a power auction for tech companies to bid on contracts to build new power plants.
The Trump administration and governors will sign a statement of principles toward that end Friday.
▶ Read more about the administration and AI-driven power shortages
The Justice Department’s investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has brought heightened attention to a key drama that will play out at the central bank in the coming months: Will Powell leave the Fed when his term as chair ends, or will he take the unusual step of remaining a governor?
Powell’s term as Fed chair ends May 15, but because of the central bank’s complex structure, he has a separate term as one of seven members of its governing board that lasts until January 31, 2028. Historically, nearly all Fed chairs have stepped down from the board when they’re no longer chair. But Powell could be the first in nearly 50 years to stay on as a governor.
Many Fed-watchers believe the criminal investigation into Powell’s testimony about cost overruns for Fed building renovations was intended to intimidate him out of taking that step. If Powell stays on the board, it would deny the White House a chance to gain a majority, undercutting the Trump administration’s efforts to seize greater control over what has for decades been an institution largely insulated from day-to-day politics.
▶ Read more about Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell
Trump on Thursday announced the outlines of a health care plan he wants Congress to take up as Republicans have faced increasing pressure to address rising health costs after lawmakers let subsidies expire.
The cornerstone is his proposal to send money directly to Americans for health savings accounts so they can handle insurance and health costs as they see fit. Democrats have rejected the idea as a paltry substitute for the tax credits that had helped lower monthly premiums for many people.
Trump’s plan also focuses on lowering drug prices and requiring insurers to be more upfront with the public about costs, revenues, rejected claims and wait times for care.
Trump has long been dogged by his lack of a comprehensive health care plan as he and Republicans have sought to unwind former President Barack Obama’s signature legislation, the Affordable Care Act. Trump was thwarted during his first term in trying to repeal and replace the law.
▶ Read more about Trump’s health care plan
Most American presidents aspire to the kind of greatness that prompts future generations to name important things in their honor.
Donald Trump isn’t leaving it to future generations.
As the first year of his second term wraps up, his Republican administration and allies have put his name on the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Kennedy Center performing arts venue and a new class of battleships.
That’s on top of the “Trump Accounts” for tax-deferred investments, the TrumpRx government website soon to offer direct sales of prescription drugs, the “Trump Gold Card” visa that costs at least $1 million and the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, a transit corridor included in a deal his administration brokered between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
On Friday, he plans to attend a ceremony in Florida where local officials will dedicate a 4-mile (6-kilometer) stretch of road from the airport to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach as President Donald J. Trump Boulevard.
▶ Read more about Trump’s renaming efforts
Nearly a year into his second term, Trump’s work on the economy hasn’t lived up to the expectations of many people in his own party, according to a new AP-NORC survey.
The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds a significant gap between the economic leadership Americans remembered from Trump’s first term and what they’ve gotten so far as he creates a stunning level of turmoil at home and abroad.
Just 16% of Republicans say Trump has helped “a lot” in addressing the cost of living, down from 49% in April 2024, when an AP-NORC poll asked Americans the same question about his first term.
At the same time, Republicans are overwhelmingly supportive of the president’s leadership on immigration — even if some don’t like his tactics.
There is little sign overall, though, that the Republican base is abandoning Trump. The vast majority of Republicans, about 8 in 10, approve of his job performance, compared with 4 in 10 for adults overall.
▶ Read more about the poll’s findings
Several Middle Eastern allies of the United States have urged the Trump administration to hold off on strikes against Iran for the government’s deadly crackdown on protesters, according to an Arab diplomat familiar with the matter.
Top officials from Egypt, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have raised concerns in the last 48 hours that a U.S. military intervention would shake the global economy and destabilize an already volatile region, said the diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the sensitive conversations.
Oil prices fell on Thursday as the markets appeared to take note of President Donald Trump’s shifting tone as a sign that he’s leaning away from attacking Iran after days of launching blistering threats at Tehran for its brutal crackdown.
Nevertheless, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday maintained that “all options remain on the table” for Trump as he deals with Iran.
▶ Read more about Trump and Iran
— Matthew Lee, Aamer Madhani and Ben Finley
President Donald Trump speaks during an event to honor the 2025 Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
