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Whitney Decker is paying tribute to her daughters. As the search for their father, Travis Decker, continues, the mother of the late daughters Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia, 5, gave a glimpse of their close relationship during an emotional tribute.
"You all look beautiful, and I know Evy would have loved to ooh and ah over all your outfits," she said to the audience during a memorial service on June 20. She also added that Paityn would have liked "each and every one of you … Whether it was with me, at school, or at a grocery store, she did that for everyone.
"There were a lot of feelings flowing through my house," she said, referring to the 2022 divorce from Travis, who is accused of killing the three girls. "Some of the feelings were easier to talk about than others. Through the girls' time … with some incredible therapists, we discovered the 'three feelings.' At night, during their bedtime routine, I would ask them what three feelings they felt during that day."
"For Paityn, she always had more than three, consistently eager to tell me about every minute of her day," Whitney said. "She kept interrupting her sisters to make sure I understood them all. Since Ev wasn't always ready to share her feelings with her sisters, we would discuss them individually right before bed.
They were "still working on how to describe her feelings," Whitney said, because Olivia was so young, but "one was always 'happy.'"
Whitney's daughters made sure she felt the same way. Their daily routine, she stressed, allowed them to bond "when the world slowed down."
"I believe doing this with them allowed them to come into the world with open hearts and kindness," she continued. her tearful speech. "I truly hope that the legacy of the girls' lives lives in everyone's heart forever. They were incredible."
Authorities are still looking for Travis as Whitney and her loved ones grieve the loss of Paityn, Evelyn, and Olivia, who, according to the Chelan County Sheriff's Office, suffocated to death.
During a routine custody visit on May 30, the ex-Army soldier was the last to see the girls. When he didn't return their children to Whitney's home by 8 p.m. and her phone calls went to voicemail, she called the police. In the end, the girls were discovered on June 2 at a state campground in Washington, close to Travis' abandoned truck.
Authorities are still searching, including the Washington Army National Guard and the US Marshals Service. At a press conference on June 12, Sheriff Mike Morrison revealed that they are "closing in" on the wanted individual, who has been accused of three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of kidnapping.
