Why Travis Decker’s Cause of Death ‘May Never Be Known’

Travis Decker’s remains have been located, but the cause of his death may never be revealed, officials say. 

In a statement to PEOPLE on Friday, Sept. 26, Chelan County Coroner Wayne E. Harris said he is unable to produce an exact cause of death for the deceased 32-year-old father of three at this time, or possibly ever.

The coroner confirmed that Decker’s remains were positively identified through DNA testing, and acknowledged that the nationwide manhunt to locate Decker greatly “impacted our community over the past several months.”

However, “An autopsy cannot be done,” Harris said.

He noted that the case has piqued the interest of many, who mostly want to know when and how Decker died. 

“Based on the limited skeletal remains that were obtained, that answer will most likely never be known. The torso and cranium are yet to be located, and they may hold the clues necessary to prove a cause of death,” Harris said. 

“Because of the timeframe that has passed, the summer weather conditions and animal activity in the area where the remains were found, no biological tissue or material have been obtained,” his statement continued.

Additionally, what remained of Decker was discovered in “five different areas, which were several hundred yards from each of the sites.”

Harris said the state anthropologist was able to rule out the possibility of Decker dying from a fall because “there were no fractures in any of the bones that would indicate” that being the cause of his death. 

Some details were also withheld from the public “out of respect for the Decker family.”

“I realize that this story has been of great interest to many, but in our field of work, answers we seek, are occasionally not often known,” Harris said. “The greatest hope is now the Decker family and the community can begin to heal.”

Decker made headlines over the summer after he was accused of killing his daughters — Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8 and Olivia, 5. The siblings vanished on May 30, 2025 during a “planned visitation” with their father, only to be found dead three days later.

Decker and his ex-wife Whitney, who is the mother of the young girls, were married for a little over seven years, but ultimately split in 2022, her attorney Arianna Cozart told PEOPLE in an emailed statement on June 6.

According to the attorney, their split was a result of “his mental health struggles, including his feelings of isolation, paranoia and Borderline Personality Disorder.”

When he did not return their daughters on May 30, Whitney contacted police, The New York Times previously reported. 

The following day, the Wenatchee Police Department issued an endangered missing persons alert and said that the young girls were “believed to be missing and unable to return home on their own.”

After the siblings were found dead on June 6, multiple agencies were on the hunt for Travis. 

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

However, on Sept. 18, the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement to PEOPLE that human remains — which they believed to belong to Decker — were found in a remote wooded area south of Leavenworth, Wash.

When the remains were located, the U.S. Marshals declared Decker dead, but Chelan County officials urged caution as they pursued DNA identification.

“Other agencies can speak about their investigation into Mr. Decker and locating human remains, and can state that based on circumstantial evidence that the remains located are his,” read a statement shared with PEOPLE by Chelan County Coroner Wayne Harris.

“The Chelan County Coroner’s Office does not have that luxury. We must rely on scientific methods to establish positive identification. Those methods include, DNA, fingerprints, dental or skeletal radiographs, or visual identification.”

The Army veteran was later confirmed dead by the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday, Sept. 25.