The Washington man who police say kidnapped and murdered his three young daughters in early June might have been seen in Idaho.
Travis Decker, 32, has been on the run since the boies of his three daughters - Olivia, 5, Evelyn 8, and Paityn, 9 - were found June 2. Police have said the girls were asphyxiated during a visitation Decker had with the girls. They were found near the Rock Island Campground, and since that discovery a massive manhunt has been launched to find Decker, a U.S. Army veteran with survivalist skills.
On July 5, the U.S. Marshals Service received a tip of a potential sighting of Decker in Idaho, mynorthwest.com reported. A family camping near Bear Creek in the Sawtooth National Forest reported seeing a person that they said matched Decker's description.
"The person believed to be Travis Decker was described as a white male, 5'8″-5'10" wearing a black mesh cap, black gauged earrings, cream colored t-shirt, black shorts, long ponytail, black Garmin style watch, beard and mustache overgrown, wearing a black Jan Sport backpack and either converse or vans low top shoes," the U.S. Marshals Service stated according to the website.
The initial search for Decker began in the Washington wilderness. The Chelan County Sheriff's office has been coordinating the investigation and on July 1 they announced that the DNA from blood found on the tailgate of Decker's truck near the crime scene matched the profile they believe to be Decker's.
"We know, positively, that all of the DNA samples recovered belong to the same, male, subject, who we believe is Mr. Decker. With this evidence, along with the other evidentiary items found at the scene, we do not have any reason to believe there are any other suspects," Chelan County Sheriff police stated.
Arianna Cozart, an attorney who represents the girls' mother Whitney Decker, told PEOPLE in an email that the couple divorced in 2022 as Travis Decker's mental health declined.
Cozart told PEOPLE that Decker's mental health struggles included "his feelings of isolation, paranoia, and Borderline Personality Disorder."
"Although Travis was struggling with his own mental health, he was a good co-parent, always communicating frequently with Whitney up until Friday evening when the girls went missing," Cozart told PEOPLE, adding that Decker had not previously been physically abusive to his wife or children.
The United States Marshals Service is offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information that leads to Decker's arrest. Anyone with information regarding Travis Decker's whereabouts is urged to contact the nearest U.S. Marshals office, the U.S. Marshal Service Communication Center at (800) 336-0102, or USMS Tips at www.usmarshals.gov/tips
