() Another potential Travis Decker sighting has gone cold.
Authorities had been scouring an Idaho forest for the Washington man accused of killing his three daughters, but they called off the search Wednesday after locating a look-alike hiker.
The U.S. Marshals Service Greater Idaho Fugitive Task Force was searching for Decker in the Bear Creek area in the Sawtooth National Forest in Stanley, Idaho, over the Fourth of July weekend.
A family in the area tipped police off about a man who they said resembled Decker, but officials confirmed it wasn’t him, according to a news release. The hiker was the same height and approximate weight as Decker, with similar features, including a beard and tattoos on his arm and calf.
“Investigators interviewed the cooperative man and confirmed he was hiking in the Bear Creek area this past weekend,” the release said.
Decker, a homeless Army veteran who has wilderness survival skills, has been missing since May 30 when he failed to return his children to their mother after a planned visitation. A nationwide manhunt ensued after the girls 9-year-old Paityn Decker, 8-year-old Evelyn Decker and 5-year-old Olivia Decker — were found dead near his truck at a campsite.
Decker may have been initially traveling on the Pacific Crest Trail, officials said. In mid-June, investigators said they believed they spotted Decker as a lone hiker in the Enchantments, a mountainous hiking area in Leavenworth, Washington.
As the manhunt entered its second month, Chelan County Sheriff Michael Morris told there is a “potential” Decker could be dead.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
