Marshals search Idaho Sawtooths for Washington man suspected of killing 3 daughters
Law enforcement has launched a search in an Idaho forest area for a Washington man suspected of kidnapping and murdering his three children.
The U.S. Marshals Service is searching the Sawtooth National Forest for Travis Decker, a Wenatchee, Washington, man whom officials have sought for more than a month after his daughters, ages 5, 8 and 9, did not return from a visitation trip with him in late May. The children were later found dead near a Washington campground.
Officials warned the public not to approach or interact with Decker. They noted Decker has a history of hitchhiking and urged travelers against picking up hitchhikers in the area.
In a news release Sunday night, the Marshals Service’s Idaho District said it had received a tip from a family recreating in the Bear Creek area of the Sawtooth National Forest on Saturday who saw a man fitting Decker’s description. The family described a white man between 5-foot-8 and 5-foot-10 inches tall with a long ponytail and overgrown beard and mustache, officials said. Decker is 5-foot-8 and weighs 190 pounds, according to a Marshals description.
The family told officials that the man they saw was wearing a black mesh cap, cream-colored T-shirt, black shorts and either Converse or Vans low-top shoes. He also had a black Garmin-style watch and black gauged earrings, and he carried a black JanSport backpack.
The Marshals Service asked anyone who was recreating in the Bear Creek area within 24 hours of the sighting to reach out to the agency with information at 1-800-336-0102, or online at usmarshals.gov/tips.
The agency said it began searching for Decker Monday morning with help from the U.S. Forest Service and Camas County Sheriff’s Office. Officials asked visitors to avoid flying drones in the search area, as they could interfere with additional search efforts by airplane.
This story was originally published July 7, 2025 at 8:33 AM.
