AUTHORITIES have called off the Idaho manhunt for alleged killer dad Travis Decker after questioning a hiker who looked just like him.
The search in Sawtooth National Forest began on Saturday after a family reported seeing a man who looked like Decker acting strangely.
The sighting was reported approximately 500 miles from the location where Decker’s three young daughters — Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia, 5 — were tragically found suffocated at a campground in Washington state.
The family that called in the tip saw a man who was the same height and around the same weight as Decker, 32, near the Bear Creek area.
The individual observed had hair, a beard, and tattoos on his arm and calf that resembled those of Decker, as stated by the US Marshals Service Greater Idaho Fugitive Task Force in a press release shared with ABC and CBS affiliate KIFI.
Supervisory Deputy Michael Leigh with the US Marshals Service previously told CBS affiliate KREM that the hiker had seemed “out of place.”
“It was noted that he was not wearing hiking boots, he was avoiding eye contact, and he was seen on an ATV, UTV trail that typically isn’t used by hikers,” Leigh explained.
US Marshals and multiple police agencies jumped to action, searching the area as well as warning residents and campers to stay alert.
However, the feds located the man on Wednesday afternoon and determined it wasn’t Decker, ending the Idaho search for the Washington fugitive.
“Investigators interviewed the cooperative man and confirmed he was hiking in the Bear Creek area this past weekend,” the US Marshals said in the press release.
“At this time, law enforcement has stopped searching for Decker at the Sawtooth National Forest and has begun to demobilize their resources.”
US Marshal Brent Bunn shared his gratitude for the public’s help in the search and thanked the agencies that supported the operation over the past five days.
Decker is still on the loose.
The dead end in Idaho comes after a woman reported seeing a man matching Decker’s description in Idaho City on June 18.
It’s unclear if the man she saw was the one questioned and cleared by the US Marshals.
Last month, a group of hikers saw a man believed to be Decker hiking near the Enchantments in Washington’s Cascade Mountain Range.
Statement from US Marshals
On Wednesday, the US Marshals Service issued the following statement after searching for Travis Decker in Idaho’s Sawtooth National Forest:
This afternoon, the U.S. Marshals Service Greater Idaho Fugitive Task Force located the man multiple witnesses saw at the Sawtooth National Forest who was believed to be Travis Decker.
The hiker who is the same height and roughly the same weight as Decker, also has dark features, 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.
At this time, law enforcement has stopped searching for Decker at the Sawtooth National Forest and has begun to demobilize their resources.
United States Marshal Brent Bunn is grateful for the public’s assistance with this fugitive investigation.
Marshal Bunn also thanks the many law enforcement agencies who provided critical assistance over kthe past five days to include the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, Nampa Police Department, Caldwell Police Department, Bureau of Land Management, Camas County Sheriff’s Office, Blaine County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Idaho Department of Correction, Coeur d’Alene Police Department and FBI.
Source: ABC and CBS affiliate KIFI
When police went to locate him with a helicopter, he sprinted off the hiking trail.
SEARH CONTINUES
The search will likely return to the mountains in Washington state, where the grueling hunt has spanned hundreds of miles in the rough terrain.
The Chelan County Sheriff’s Office hasn’t returned The U.S. Sun’s request for an update on the search.
Decker is a military veteran with extensive survival skills, which initially led police to believe he could stay hidden in the wilderness alone for months at a time.
However, cops said a few weeks ago that there was no clear indication as to whether Decker was alive or dead.
Timeline of the missing Decker girls
Paityn, 9; Evelyn, 8; and Olivia Decker, 5, were found dead at a campground after they were last seen on a custody visit to their dad.
Below is a timeline of events:
May 29: Cell phone activity shows that the girls’ dad, Travis Decker, drove to the Rock Island Campground and left.
May 30: 5 pm – Travis Decker picks the three girls up from their mom, Whitney Decker.
8 pm – Travis Decker is supposed to return the girls but doesn’t. Whitney Decker calls him and it goes to voicemail.
9:45 pm – Whitney Decker calls the Wenatchee Police Department to report her daughters missing.
Travis Decker’s truck is seen driving westbound on Highway 2.
Washington State Patrol is contacted for an Amber Alert but said the situation didn’t match their criteria.
May 31 : WPD issues an Endangered Missing Persons Alert.
June 2: 3:45 pm – Travis Decker’s truck is found empty at Rock Island Campground with two bloody handprints and items inside.
5 pm – Cops search the area and find the bodies of the three girls.
June 3: 9:30 am – Cops notify the public that they are still searching for Decker.
2 pm – WPD tells the public that the three girls were found dead and that Travis Decker is still on the loose.
June 8: Federal authorities take over search efforts.
June 9: Autopsy results confirm three girls were murdered by suffocation.
June 13: An affidavit revealed Whitney described Travis as having “recent mental health concerns.”
“She provided the examples of randomly leaving or waking her up by screaming at her in the middle of the night,” it read.
“She also said near the end of the marriage he was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder that she believes he currently does not take medications for.”
June 17: New audio of Travis in court fighting for custody of his daughters is released.
“I understand that my current position when I’m by myself isn’t ideal, but my daughters aren’t a part of that,” he said in September 2024.
“I only get to see them over the weekends and camping is something that the four of us have done since the three of them were in diapers.”
June 20: Memorial is held where Whitney speaks publicly about girls for first time.
July 5: A family spotted a man believed to be Travis Decker in the Sawtooth National Forest in Idaho.
July 9: US Marshals call off the search in Sawtooth National Forest after locating and questioning the man believed to be Travis Decker and confirming it isn’t him.
Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison said last week that he hopes the season’s foot traffic through Washington nature brings more attention to the mountains and eventually leads to Decker’s arrest.
He said the receding waters in summer weather also might bring answers as it allows authorities to search creeks and rivers.
The campground where Decker’s daughters were found is located along Icicle Creek, a stream that leads to the Alpine Lake Wilderness.
The girls were found three days after Decker picked them up from their mom’s house in Wenatchee, Washington, for a scheduled custody visit and never brought them home.
