A family reported seeing fugitive murder suspect Travis Decker last weekend in an Idaho forest, 400 miles from where he was last known to be.
The US Marshals Service issued an announcement about the July 5 encounter in the Bear Creek area of Sawtooth National Forest, in the mountains west of Sun Valley. The agency said cabin owners have been informed, and it asked the public to report any further sightings.
Decker, 32, has been the target of a large manhunt since June 2, when a sheriff’s deputy in Washington found his truck and the bodies of his three daughters — Paitlyn, 9; Evelyn, 8; and Olivia, 5 — near Rock Island Campground, west of Leavenworth. He had failed to return the girls to their mother’s home in Wenatchee following a scheduled visit.
A week later, on June 9, hikers reported seeing a man matching Decker’s description in a Cascade Range backpacking area called the Enchantments. Dog teams tracked a trail to Highway 97 south of Leavenworth.
The map above shows key points in the search:
1/ Rock Island Campground, on Upper Icicle Creek, where the bodies were found.
2/ Colchuck Lake, where the suspicious person was spotted on June 9.
3/ Ingalls Creek Trailhead, where the trail tracked by dog teams ended.
4/ Bear Creek, Sawtooth National Forest, Idaho; reported sighting July 5.
The people who believe they saw Decker on July 5 reported that the man in question had a beard and ponytail, as Decker did when last seen. They said he avoided eye contact and didn’t respond when spoken to.
A reported June 4 sighting near McCall, Idaho, was determined to be a false lead, said the sheriff’s office in Washington’s Chelan County.