Before Setting House on Fire, Wash. Man Accused of Killing Wife, 2 Teens. Now, Police Are Trying to Find Him

When Matthew Van Boven heard sirens on the morning of Aug. 9, he didn’t know that emergency responders were rushing to the scene of a fatal house fire where his daughter was trapped inside with her boyfriend and the boyfriend’s mother.

“I just tried to call her and her phone was dead,” Van Boven told Kiro 7. “I tried calling her boyfriend, Taylor, and his phone was dead, but you just don’t think it’s going to happen to you.”

It took days for authorities to recover the bodies of his 18-year-old daughter, Jillian Van Boven, her boyfriend, Taylor Dawson, 19, and his mother, Erin Birman, 52, who were each shot inside the two-story Concrete, Wash. home, which was later engulfed in flames, according to the Associated Press, citing the Skagit County Coroner’s Office.

Now, nearly two weeks after the Aug. 9 fire, police are still looking for Erin’s husband, Jason M. Birman, 49, who lived with her at the residence.

Jason is wanted on three counts of second-degree murder, per the AP. The Bellingham Herald also confirmed that police have a warrant out for Jason’s arrest. PEOPLE reached out to the Mount Vernon Police Department to confirm, but did not immediately receive a response.

The recovery of Van Bowman, Dawson and Erin’s bodies was made “difficult,” by the “extensive damage to the residence, surrounding buildings and vehicles,” according to an early press release from Mount Vernon police.

Skagit County Search and Rescue scoured 4.5 acres of “heavily wooded area” in the days-long investigation, per police, who noted in the press release that the additional aid of the U. S. Customs and Border Patrol’s aviation branch was used in order to “conduct aerial reconnaissance of the greater area.”

Earlier this month, police released photographs of the fire excavation and recovery, which included heavy machinery used to plough through the charred home.

Investigators ultimately determined that there “was a fourth individual at the residence in the time leading up to the fire,” per police, who noted that Jason’s blue 1994 Chevrolet pickup truck “is unaccounted for from the scene of the fatality fire.”

According to police, the 49-year-old — an “avid four-wheeler” — is known to frequent both Whatcom and neighboring Skagit counties, the latter of which includes the town of Concrete, which is just under 100 miles outside of Seattle.

Van Boven’s dog, Bridget, escaped the fire, a family friend wrote on a GoFundMe set up to cover the costs of her memorial service next month.

Known as “Jilly,” the teen was planning to start college in the fall, according to a set of fundraisers on behalf of her mother and father, who are divorced and with whom she split her time.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

The teen was described by loved ones on the campaign pages as “a lively, strong-willed, resilient, colorful, and bright spirit” with “a deep love for animals,” whose childhood was spent “swimming across the Skagit river.”

Van Boven had recently graduated high school, her father told Kiro 7.

Recalling her graduation party, he told the local outlet that it felt “bizarrely like a memorial,” with loved ones sharing favorite memories with her.

“Two weeks before this happened,” he recalled that she had thanked her mother for adopting her. “She told her, ‘Thank you for giving me the best childhood I could have ever imagined,’ ” he told Kiro 7. “It does bring me peace honestly.”