Innocent hiker mistaken for fugitive dad accused of killing his three daughters
Decker is accused of killing his three daughters — Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia, 5 — who were found at Rock Island Campground on June 2 after their mother reported them missing three days earlier, when they did not return home from a court-mandated custody visit with their father.
U.S. Marshal Supervisory Deputy Michael Leigh said the USMS Greater Idaho Fugitive Task Force on July 5 received a tip from a family in the Bear Creek area of Sawtooth National Forest in Idaho reporting the sighting of a man "consistent with the description of Travis Decker."
"The person believed to be Travis Decker was described as a white male, 5'8"-5"10 wearing a black mesh cap, black gauged earrings, cream colored t-shirt, black shorts, long ponytail, black Garmin style watch, beard and mustache overgrown, wearing a black Jan Sport backpack and either converse or vans low top shoes," the USMS said in a July 7 press release.
Days later, a Reddit user took to social media saying he was mistaken for Decker over the 4th of July weekend. The user said he and a friend went hiking on July 4, but his friend had to leave, so he went to hike the 889 Bear Creek trail alone the next morning at around 10 a.m.
"Made it home safely on Sunday and my friend sent me a news article on Monday about the Decker sighting. We thought we stayed in the area with a killer," the user wrote. "On Tuesday the dots started connecting as news developed with better detail and I realized someone reported me as Decker."
The hiker, identified only as Nick, told local news outlet Idaho News 6 that he had been unaware that authorities were searching for Decker in the area where he had been camping and hiking until he returned home.
"Everything seems normal until my friend who was up there with me sent a text saying, 'Bro, there's a manhunt for a killer that was in the campground with us, my God we spent the night next to the murderer that is frightening,'" he told the outlet.
Nick soon realized he matched the description of the suspect and contacted authorities, who met him at his workplace the following Wednesday.
"They friendly interrogated me for half an hour," Nick told Idaho News 6.
He added that those who reported him in the Sawtooth National Forest did what they were supposed to do in an ongoing search for a dangerous fugitive.
"In my opinion, I don't realistically look like… that guy. [But] they saw me from a distance," Nick told Idaho News 6. "But be careful because this has been a little tumultuous for me and people around me. It's been disruptive at work, but I would encourage people to do that."
Multiple local and federal agencies are involved in the active search for Decker. He drives a 2017 white GMC Sierra with the Washington license plate D20165C, according to authorities.
A Chelan County sheriff's deputy found the truck around 4 p.m. on June 2 at the Rock Island Campground in Leavenworth, Washington. They found all three girls' bodies between 75 and 100 yards away, down an embankment, according to court documents.
Each one had a plastic bag over her head, and "their wrists were also zip-tied or showed signs of being zip-tied," according to the affidavit. Deputies found two bloody handprints on the pickup's tailgate.
Authorities warn that Decker should be considered armed and dangerous but insist they have no reason to believe he is a threat to public safety. He is charged with three counts of aggravated first-degree murder and kidnapping.
The U.S. Marshals Service is offering a $20,000 reward for any information leading to Decker's arrest.
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