Travis Decker Declared Dead by U.S. Marshals — But Sheriff’s Office Isn’t So Sure

Federal prosecutors have requested that a judge dismiss the complaint and arrest warrant against Travis Decker, citing information from the U.S. Marshals Service that Decker is deceased.

Despite this, the Washington sheriff’s office handling the investigation says the identification of remains found last week—believed to be Decker’s—has not yet been confirmed.

On Wednesday, Sept. 24, a federal prosecutor filed a motion to dismiss the complaint and quash the arrest warrant after being informed by the U.S. Marshals Service of Decker’s presumed death. The motion, obtained by PEOPLE, was filed with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.

In a statement to PEOPLE, the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office clarified, “We have not received DNA confirmation on the remains found last week.”

Sheriff Mike Morrison told ABC News on Wednesday that charges against Decker remain in place until the remains are definitively identified as his.

Decker, 32, had been the subject of a manhunt since June 2, after the bodies of his three daughters—Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia, 5—were discovered at a remote campground.

Decker failed to return his daughters to his ex-wife, Whitney Decker, in Wenatchee, Wash., following a court-ordered visit on May 30.

Last week, the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office reported that they believed the remains found in a wooded area south of Leavenworth, Wash., were Decker’s.

A drone had located a T-shirt that ultimately led investigators to the human remains thought to be Decker’s.

Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison previously told PEOPLE that the drone detected an “anomaly” around 3 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 18. “They shared the image with me because it was a live feed and I saw it and I was like, that’s a pretty good clue,” he said, noting that the neon green shirt matched one Decker had been seen wearing before.

Morrison described the remains as “well decomposed” and said they were discovered approximately 0.74 miles from the original crime scene. “To get to the location where we found the remains would take about three hours,” he said. “It was in the middle of our wilderness area in very steep, rocky, wooded terrain—heavily brushed.”

The campsite where Decker’s daughters were found sits at an elevation of about 2,800 feet, while the human remains were located above 4,000 feet.

The extensive search for Decker also included efforts in the Blewett Pass area of the Wenatchee Mountains.