A hiker mistakenly identified as fugitive murder suspect Travis Decker has spoken publicly about the moment he realized authorities were tracking him.
The man, identified only as Nick, was on a solo hike in the Bear Creek area of Idaho’s Sawtooth National Forest on July 5 when a concerned bystander contacted police, believing he resembled Decker, the 32-year-old father wanted in connection with the deaths of his three young daughters, The Sun reports.
According to the U.S. Marshals Service, the tip prompted law enforcement to search the area, located nearly 400 miles from where the bodies of the children were found in early June.
Decker has been missing since May 30, when he allegedly picked up his daughters (Paityn, nine, Evelyn, eight, and Olivia, five) from their mother. He never returned them. Days later, on June 2, the girls were discovered dead near Decker’s abandoned truck at Rock Island Campground in Washington, roughly three hours from Seattle.
Despite extensive search efforts through remote parts of the Pacific Northwest, Decker’s whereabouts remain unknown. Authorities have not confirmed whether he is alive or dead.
In an interview with Idaho Falls affiliate KIFI-TV, Nick recounted how his solo hike over the July 4 weekend unexpectedly sparked a wave of concern.
He had separated from friends during the trip to explore Bear Creek on his own. A woman who spotted him reported that the man appeared suspicious and refused to make eye contact, a detail Nick attributes to wearing sunglasses. Unaware of the growing manhunt, Nick returned home to Boise and resumed his normal routine.
“Everything seemed normal until my friend who 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.
Reading the news coverage and seeing a photo of the suspect, Nick said his first reaction was fear, but not for himself. “Your instinct isn’t to think, ‘That was me,’” he said. “So my first thought was, ‘Oh my God, we spent the night next to a murderer! That is frightening.’”
Nick soon contacted authorities to offer assistance in the search effort, but during a 30-minute “friendly” interview, he came to a startling realization: he was the person investigators had been searching for.
“I was like, ‘Oh my God, they think I’m that guy,’” he said. Decker is described as having long hair, a beard, tattoos, and an earring, features that Nick also shares.
Despite the misunderstanding, Nick said he supports the public’s vigilance and emphasized the importance of reporting suspicious sightings.
“I’m glad people are calling the tip lines,” he said, encouraging continued awareness in the search for Decker.
Authorities have been pursuing multiple leads, including a reported sighting in Idaho City on June 18. Experts have suggested that Decker’s potential survival resources may be dwindling, but the search through rugged terrain in Washington state is ongoing.
Investigators continue to sift through hundreds of miles of backcountry in the hunt for Decker, who remains a fugitive.