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COPS probing the disappearance of missing fugitive Travis Decker have turned their attention to a forest after receiving a tip-off about a suspected sighting.
Decker remains at large after he allegedly murdered his three daughters during a custody visit last month.
His girls Paityn, Evelyn, and Olivia were found suffocated to death in a rural Washington campground.
Cops are now probing an area of the Sawtooth National Forest after receiving a tip-off from a family that was camping in the location.
The family reportedly told cops the man was wearing a black cap, a cream shirt, and black shorts.
He was carrying a black backpack and was wearing a Garmin-style watch.
The family said that the man was either wearing a pair of Converse or Vans style shoes.
They claimed that the man’s beard was overgrown, and his hair was in a ponytail.
Police said the tip-off about his height appeared to match the description of Decker by cops, per KOMO-TV.
Cops have received several tip-offs from people in the area.
The Sawtooth National Forest spans 2.1 million acres in south-central Idaho and northern Utah.
The Decker girls bodies were found at the Rock Island Campground in Leavenworth – around 20 miles from their Wenatchee home.
They were found with zip ties around their wrists and plastic bags over their heads.
The girls died while they were on a planned custody visit with Decker.
Decker had collected the children from their mom, Whitney, on May 30, but they never returned home.
They were declared missing days later before their bodies were found.
Bloody handprints were found on the tailgate of his white truck – discovered around 100 yards from the truck.
Cops revealed the blood found on Decker’s truck was believed to be from himself, as per the Fox affiliate KCPQ-TV.
The manhunt for Decker has spanned more than a month and the search has cost more than $6 million.
Timeline of the missing Decker girls
Paityn, 9; Evelyn, 8; and Olivia Decker, 5, were found dead at a campground after they were last seen on a custody visit to their dad.
Below is a timeline of events:
May 29: Cell phone activity shows that the girls’ dad, Travis Decker, drove to the Rock Island Campground and left.
May 30: 5 pm – Travis Decker picks the three girls up from their mom, Whitney Decker.
8 pm – Travis Decker is supposed to return the girls but doesn’t. Whitney Decker calls him and it goes to voicemail.
9:45 pm – Whitney Decker calls the Wenatchee Police Department to report her daughters missing.
Travis Decker’s truck is seen driving westbound on Highway 2.
Washington State Patrol is contacted for an Amber Alert but said the situation didn’t match their criteria.
May 31 : WPD issues an Endangered Missing Persons Alert.
June 2: 3:45 pm – Travis Decker’s truck is found empty at Rock Island Campground with two bloody handprints and items inside.
5 pm – Cops search the area and find the bodies of the three girls.
June 3: 9:30 am – Cops notify the public that they are still searching for Decker.
2 pm – WPD tells the public that the three girls were found dead and that Travis Decker is still on the loose.
June 8: Federal authorities take over search efforts.
June 9: Autopsy results confirm three girls were murdered by suffocation.
June 13: An affidavit revealed Whitney described Travis as having “recent mental health concerns.”
“She provided the examples of randomly leaving or waking her up by screaming at her in the middle of the night,” it read.
“She also said near the end of the marriage he was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder that she believes he currently does not take medications for.”
June 17: New audio of Travis in court fighting for custody of his daughters is released.
“I understand that my current position when I’m by myself isn’t ideal, but my daughters aren’t a part of that,” he saidin September 2024.
“I only get to see them over the weekends and camping is something that the four of us have done since the three of them were in diapers.”
June 20: Memorial is held where mom Whitney speak publicly about girls for first time.
Cops were probing an orange tent found within a mile of where the girls remains were found.
Initially, they suspected links to Decker, but after reviewing the evidence, they found no connection.
“We have no reason to believe it’s connected in any way to the homicide or to Travis Decker,” Ryan Moody, CCSO Chief of Special Operations, told The U.S. Sun.
It’s not the first time there have been potential sightings of Decker during the investigation.
On June 11, cops revealed a hiking party spotted a lone man trying to navigate a trail.
The man was reportedly ill-prepared for the weather conditions, according to the party.
He also appeared to be avoiding other people while on the trail.
Chilling details have emerged from neighbors and family members about Decker during the search.
Binh Nguyen, a former neighbor of the Deckers, was stunned when he realized how disheveled Travis was.
Decker was a former military man, having being deployed abroad.
“He was skinny. He had long hair and a beard,” Binh told People.
“It was kind of weird. He had a sad face.”
