The man mistakenly identified as fugitive
Travis Decker
, the Washington father accused of killing his three young daughters, is speaking publicly about the moment he realized law enforcement thought he might be the suspect.
Earlier this month, a family hiking in the
Bear Creek area of Idaho’s Sawtooth National Forest
reported a possible sighting of Decker on
July 5
, prompting federal authorities to launch a manhunt in the area. But just a few days later, on
July 9
, U.S. Marshals confirmed the individual seen was not Decker — and the search was called off.
Now, a man named
Nick
has come forward, telling
Idaho News 6
that he was the person mistaken for Decker.
Authorities have been searching for Decker since his daughters —
Paityn (9), Evelyn (8), and Olivia (5)
— were found
dead on June 2
in Chelan County, Washington. Their cause of death was determined to be
suffocation
, and their father has been charged with
three counts of first-degree murder
and
kidnapping
.
“They Thought I Was the Killer”
Nick said he had spent the
Fourth of July weekend
camping with a friend in the Idaho wilderness. His friend left on Saturday, and Nick continued hiking alone toward Bear Creek. He returned to his home in Boise the next day and went back to work on Monday — unaware of the chaos unfolding around him.
Then came the text that changed everything.
“Everything seemed normal until my friend that was up there with me sent me a text that said something like, ‘Bro, there’s a manhunt, there’s a killer that was in the campground with us,’” Nick recalled.
At first, he was more alarmed by the idea that they may have
unknowingly
camped near a murderer. But as he read more, reality hit.
Nick contacted authorities and agreed to meet with them at his workplace. That same day, officials called off the manhunt in the national forest after confirming he was not Decker.
“They friendly interrogated me for about half an hour,” Nick said. “They described me — the hair, the beard, the hat, the glasses, earrings, tattoos, my shirt. The shorts were a different color, my shoes, the backpack, the location. I was like, ‘Oh my God, they think I was that guy.’”
Although Nick doesn’t believe he looks like Decker, he
understands
how the mistake could happen, especially given the distance of the sighting. Despite the disruption at work and personal stress, he said he doesn’t blame the family who called in the tip.
“It’s been a little tumultuous for me and people around me,” he said, “but I would encourage people to do that. They made the right decision.”
Search for Decker Continues
The search for
Travis Decker
is ongoing, now more than a month after the bodies of his daughters were discovered inside a home near the
Rock Island Campground
in Washington, where authorities found his abandoned vehicle.
Decker had picked up his daughters for a planned visitation on
May 30
, but they were never seen alive again. According to a June 9 press release, the
Chelan County Sheriff’s Office
confirmed that their deaths were homicides.
Decker remains
wanted on multiple charges
, including
first-degree murder and kidnapping
.
A
GoFundMe
created to support the girls’ mother,
Whitney Decker
, has raised nearly
$1.3 million
to help with legal fees and funeral costs as she copes with the devastating loss.
