Month: September 2025

CNN Newsource

Originally Published: 25 SEP 25 19:05 ET

By Cindy Von Quednow, CNN

(CNN) — Travis Decker, the man believed to have suffocated and abandoned his three young daughters at a campsite in the Washington state wilderness, is dead, Chelan County authorities said Thursday.

Positive DNA results determined human remains authorities discovered last week, along with clothes that looked like what Decker was wearing on surveillance footage before he disappeared, were the fugitive’s, Chelan County Sheriff Michael Morrison said at a Thursday afternoon news conference.

The confirmation ends a monthslong saga punctuated by a family tragedy that touched an entire community.

A drone flying over the area on September 18 detected some unusual material on a mountainside in the Washington Cascades. Detectives with the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office rappelled from a helicopter and discovered the remains and items among a trove of evidence.

The search for Decker spanned three counties, led authorities to Canada and Mexico and involved several local and federal agencies, only for his remains to be found less than a mile from where the girls’ bodies were discovered.

Decker was charged with murdering his three daughters, 5-year-old Olivia, 8-year-old Evelyn and 9-year-old Paityn, not long after he picked them up from their mother for the custody visit on May 30.

Drones, a swift water team, cadaver dogs and even GoPros were used in the Cascade Mountain range outside the city of Leavenworth, a rural area known for its wild beauty and treacherous terrain.

The search was complicated by the fact that Decker had a three-day head start.

Decker’s truck was found abandoned in the area of Rock Island Campground on June 2. His daughters’ bodies were nearly 100 yards away down a small embankment, along with zip ties and plastic bags found strewn throughout the area, according to a police affidavit.

Authorities also found a bloody fingerprint on the truck’s tailgate, as well as Decker’s dog.

The sheriff hoped more people flocking to the popular area surrounding where the girls were found for the busy summer season would help in the search, but no trace of Decker was found all season.

The girls’ mother, Whitney Decker, told investigators her former husband had been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and was homeless at the time of his disappearance.

Before the remains were determined to be Decker’s, Whitney Decker’s attorney, Arianna Cozart, told ABC News, “We are praying that the remains found are confirmed to be Travis’s. We continue to be grateful for law enforcement’s efforts in this case and are forever appreciative of the entire world’s love, compassion, and support for Whitney.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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CNN Newsource

Originally Published: 25 SEP 25 11:16 ET

Updated: 25 SEP 25 18:53 ET

By Hannah Rabinowitz, Evan Perez, Kaitlan Collins, Kristen Holmes, Katelyn Polantz, CNN

(CNN) — Former FBI Director James Comey has been indicted by a federal grand jury, an extraordinary escalation in President Donald Trump’s effort to prosecute his political enemies.

Comey, a longtime adversary of the president, is now the first senior government official to face federal charges in one of Trump’s largest grievances: the 2016 investigation into whether his first presidential campaign colluded with Russia.

He has been charged with giving false statements and obstruction of justice, according to a source familiar.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a post on X, “No one is above the law.”

“Today’s indictment reflects this Department of Justice’s commitment to holding those who abuse positions of power accountable for misleading the American people,” Bondi wrote. “We will follow the facts in this case.”

The indictment Thursday evening comes as CNN previously reported about concerns Bondi and prosecutors have had about the case.

Bondi is facing pressure from Trump, who is demanding his political enemies face criminal charges as he once did. But attorneys inside the Eastern District of Virginia recently wrote a memo detailing their reservations over seeking the indictment, ABC News first reported.

Bondi has concerns about the case, which focuses on whether Comey made false statements during congressional testimony involving the 2016 investigation into Russian interference in the US presidential election, according to a person familiar with her thinking, though she believes it would be possible to bring an indictment.

At the White House Thursday, Trump said, “They’re going to make a determination. I’m not making that determination. I think I’d be allowed to get involved if I want, but I don’t really choose to do so.”

Comey, however, is a “bad person,” the president added.

The attorney general had dinner at the White House Rose Garden with Trump and others Wednesday evening.

Lindsey Halligan, Trump’s former personal attorney and the new top prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia, has been spotted at the Justice Department twice this week, where sources say she was part ofconversations over whether to charge Comey. Halligan has also had questions about the case, according to a source briefed on the discussions.

‘I just want people to act’

Publicly and privately, Trump has complained that prosecutors were willing to bring numerous criminal cases against him while he was out of office, noting that in those instances he was charged with whatever they had at the time, according to a person familiar with the discussions. The person added that Trump has repeatedly said that the Justice Department should bring the best case it can when it comes to his political opponents and let the court decide the rest.

“I just want people to act. And we want to act fast,” Trump told reporters Saturday as he departed the White House. “If they’re not guilty, that’s fine. If they are guilty, or if they should be charged, they should be charged, and we have to do it now.”

Some inside the White House view Halligan’s willingness to bring the case as her jumping on a grenade to please Trump – though that is why she was picked to take on the role of leading the Eastern District of Virginia. While several Justice Department officials are worried about the strength of any case against Comey, multiple political aides share a different view: they prosecuted Trump, so people like Comey deserve to be prosecuted, too.

“I’m always happy to talk about … Comey, who of course is corrupt, who of course has been engaged in vast amounts of illicit and unlawful conduct, who of course was at the center of the Russia gate attack and assault on American democracy,” White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said on Fox News on Wednesday night. “It has to lead somewhere to accountability.”

Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro this week called for Comey to be imprisoned for a host of Trumpworld grievances – many of which federal prosecutors have previously looked at and didn’t find reason to charge.

Navarro previously did time in federal prison for refusing to comply with congressional subpoenas in the investigation intoefforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election leading into the January 6, 2021, US Capitol riot.

“There’s a lot of people out there who should be in prison in my judgment, and I think in the judgement of many people in the Trump Administration,” Navarro said. “James Comey’s at the top of that list now.”

CNN’s Britney Lavecchia contributed to this report.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

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Curtis Jackson

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI)—Skyline High School and two neighboring schools were closed on Thursday following a rumor that circulated during a school event the previous night, suggesting a person with a gun had been seen in a vehicle near the school. The Idaho Falls Police Department responded swiftly after the report was made to the School Resource Officer and school administrators near the end of the event.

Out of an abundance of caution, Skyline High School, Eagle Rock Middle School, and Ethel Boyes Elementary were closed while officers investigated the report.

According to IFPD, the rumor originated from a student who saw a vehicle in the parking lot of a church on Westhill Avenue. The student reported seeing multiple individuals inside the car putting on ski masks, and believed one of them may have had a gun. Investigators later obtained video footage showing the vehicle leaving the church and entering Skyline’s property.

Further investigation revealed that a group of Idaho Falls High School students had come to Skyline as part of an Emotion Bowl week prank. The prank involved using Orbeez guns, a toy that shoots small water-based gel beads, on the Skyline rock. School administrators and the SRO intervened and told the students to leave.

The sighting of the masked individuals in the car, combined with the prank, quickly spread among students at the event. As the rumor circulated, details became exaggerated, leading to heightened concern.

Police now believe no real firearm was involved. The individuals seen at the church are believed to be the same students involved in the prank, and the timeline of events supports this conclusion.

District 91 officials emphasized the importance of safe and respectful participation in school traditions. All schools will resume normal operations tomorrow. Elementary schools will follow their regular schedule, while middle and high schools will operate on the intervention schedule. All planned activities, including the Emotion Bowl, will proceed as scheduled.

Superintendent LaOrange expressed gratitude for the swift response and cooperation of the Idaho Falls Police Department.

“I am grateful for the cooperation and partnership of the Idaho Falls Police Department as we work together to ensure the safety of our students and staff,” LaOrange said. “I understand that closing school can create challenges for families and appreciate their patience as the Idaho Falls Police Department conducted its investigation.”

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