Father Accused of Murdering Three Daughters, Possible Sighting in Idaho’s Sawtooth Wilderness

Danielle Denham

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A chilling new lead has surfaced in the nationwide search for Travis Decker, the Washington father accused of murdering his three young daughters.

Live5 WCSC News and Fox12 Oregon are reporting that a man matching Decker’s description may have been spotted deep in Idaho’s Sawtooth wilderness. A family recreating in the Bear Creek area reported seeing a man who stood out: a white male with a long ponytail, an overgrown beard, black gauged earrings, a black mesh cap, a cream-colored T-shirt, black shorts, and a JanSport backpack. He was wearing what looked like low-top Converse or Vans shoes.

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Photo via U.S. Marshals Service

Decker, 32, is wanted on three counts of murder and three counts of kidnapping after he failed to return his daughters—9-year-old Paityn, 8-year-old Evelyn, and 5-year-old Olivia—to their mother’s Wenatchee home over Memorial Day weekend. The search turned tragic on June 2 when deputies found his truck and the bodies of the three girls at a campground near Leavenworth.

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Adding to the urgency, Decker is no stranger to the wilderness. As a former U.S. Army infantryman (2013–2021) with combat experience in Afghanistan, he’s trained in survival and has previously lived off-grid in remote backcountry for more than two months.

If you’ve been in or around the Sawtooths and think you saw someone matching this description, don’t wait. Call the U.S. Marshals tip line at 1-800-336-0102 immediately.

⚠️ This manhunt has spanned weeks and multiple states. Share this to keep eyes open on the case.

Written By Danielle Denham

Danielle Denham is a writer, photographer, and devoted history buff with a soft spot for Oregon’s forgotten places. Her love of old schoolhouses, abandoned homesteads, and the lives once lived inside them has taken her down back roads across the state. She was featured on OPB’s Oregon Field Guide, exploring the historic Charles Nelson House with a former resident shortly before the home was lost to wildfire. Watch the feature. At That Oregon Life, Danielle shares local history, good food, memorable adventures, and the quirks that make Oregon home. When she isn’t exploring, you may find her spending time in Eugene with Tyler James and his two awesome kiddos. If there’s an old building with a mysterious past along the way, consider the afternoon’s plans officially derailed.

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