Police end forest search for suspect in child deaths after finding look-alike hiker
A manhunt in Idaho’s Sawtooth National Forest has been called off after authorities confirmed it was a case of mistaken identity.
The search began Saturday after a family reported seeing a man resembling Travis Decker, wanted over the deaths of his three daughters in Washington state.
Decker has been wanted since 2 June, when a sheriff’s deputy found his truck and the bodies of nine-year-old Paityn, eight-year-old Evelyn, and five-year-old Olivia at a campsite near Leavenworth, Washington. The discovery came three days after he failed to return the girls to their mother’s home in Wenatchee, about 100 miles (160 kilometres) east of Seattle, following a scheduled visit.
The family was near a Bear Creek area campsite when they saw a man who was the same height and roughly the same weight as Decker, and also had similar hair, beard and tattoos on his arm and calf. Additional tips followed, and federal, state and local law enforcement agencies joined the Marshals Service in the search.
They found the man Wednesday afternoon, U.S. Marshals Service Supervisory Deputy Michael Leigh said in a press release, and determined he was not Decker.
“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.” Leigh wrote.
Authorities in Washington on June 10 said they believed they had spotted Decker, a former soldier, near a remote alpine lake in a popular backpacking area in the Cascade Range. Tracking teams followed up on a tip from hikers who reported seeing a lone hiker who appeared to be ill-prepared for the conditions, but he has not been found.
Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison has previously stated that Decker, an Army veteran, has spent extended periods living off the grid and is capable of surviving in remote wilderness areas for long durations.
The Marshals Service is offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to Decker’s capture.
