LEAVENWORTH, WA. – The Chelan County Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday night that human remains have been located in a remote wooded area south of Leavenworth and are believed to be those of Travis Decker, the primary suspect in the killings of his three children earlier this summer.

The remains were discovered this week during a search led by the U.S. Marshals Service Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force. Agencies assisting in the operation included the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office, Washington State Patrol, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Forest Service, Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, and the FBI.

While positive identification has not yet been made, preliminary findings suggest the remains belong to Decker. The scene is being processed with assistance from the Washington State Patrol crime scene response team, and DNA analysis will be conducted.

The Sheriff’s Office said it has been in contact with the Decker family. Authorities asked the public to continue respecting the family’s privacy.

Further updates will be released as forensic testing and the investigation continue, say authorities.

On June 2, the bodies of Decker’s three children—ages 5, 8, and 9—were found near his abandoned truck at Rock Island Campground in Chelan County. Autopsies determined the children died by suffocation, and their deaths were ruled homicides. Evidence recovered at the scene included plastic bags, zip ties, and signs of a campsite.

The children’s mother reported them missing on June 1 after Decker failed to return them from a scheduled visitation and missed multiple court-ordered exchange times.

Decker, who had been the subject of an intensive search since June, was identified as the primary suspect in the case.