Federal authorities end Idaho search for suspect in kids’ deaths after finding look-alike hiker

BOISE Idaho AP Federal agents in Idaho say they have ended a search in the Sawtooth National Forest after determining it was all development of mistaken identity The search began Saturday after the U S Marshals Organization Greater Idaho Fugitive Task Force reported a family shared they saw a man who looked like Travis Decker who is desired in connection with the deaths of his three daughters in Washington state Decker has been needed since June when a sheriff s deputy in Washington discovered his truck and the bodies of his three daughters -year-old Paityn Decker -year-old Evelyn Decker and -year-old Olivia Decker at a campground outside Leavenworth Washington The discovery came three days after he failed to return the girls to their mother s home in Wenatchee about miles kilometers 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 System in the search They located the man Wednesday afternoon U S Marshals Function Supervisory Deputy Michael Leigh mentioned in a press release and determined he was not Decker Investigators interviewed the cooperative man and authenticated he was hiking in the Bear Creek area this past weekend Leigh wrote Personnel in Washington on June commented they thought 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 shared seeing a lone hiker who appeared to be ill-prepared for the conditions but he has not been discovered The Marshals Organization is offering a reward of up to for information leading to Decker s capture Source