Latest news with #BearCreek
Fox News
4 days ago
- Fox News
Innocent hiker mistaken for fugitive dad accused of killing his three daughters
A man hiking in the Idaho wilderness says he was mistaken for fugitive child murder suspect Travis Decker, who has been on the run since May 30. Decker is accused of killing his three daughters — Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia, 5 — who were found at Rock Island Campground on June 2 after their mother reported them missing three days earlier, when they did not return home from a court-mandated custody visit with their father. U.S. Marshal Supervisory Deputy Michael Leigh said the USMS Greater Idaho Fugitive Task Force on July 5 received a tip from a family in the Bear Creek area of Sawtooth National Forest in Idaho reporting the sighting of a man "consistent with the description of Travis Decker." "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 USMS said in a July 7 press release. Days later, a Reddit user took to social media saying he was mistaken for Decker over the 4th of July weekend. The user said he and a friend went hiking on July 4, but his friend had to leave, so he went to hike the 889 Bear Creek trail alone the next morning at around 10 a.m. "Made it home safely on Sunday and my friend sent me a news article on Monday about the Decker sighting. We thought we stayed in the area with a killer," the user wrote. "On Tuesday the dots started connecting as news developed with better detail and I realized someone reported me as Decker." The hiker, identified only as Nick, told local news outlet Idaho News 6 that he had been unaware that authorities were searching for Decker in the area where he had been camping and hiking until he returned home. "Everything seems normal until my friend who was up there with me sent a text saying, 'Bro, there's a manhunt for a killer that was in the campground with us, my God we spent the night next to the murderer that is frightening,'" he told the outlet. Nick soon realized he matched the description of the suspect and contacted authorities, who met him at his workplace the following Wednesday. "They friendly interrogated me for half an hour," Nick told Idaho News 6. He added that those who reported him in the Sawtooth National Forest did what they were supposed to do in an ongoing search for a dangerous fugitive. "In my opinion, I don't realistically look like… that guy. [But] they saw me from a distance," Nick told Idaho News 6. "But be careful because this has been a little tumultuous for me and people around me. It's been disruptive at work, but I would encourage people to do that." Multiple local and federal agencies are involved in the active search for Decker. He drives a 2017 white GMC Sierra with the Washington license plate D20165C, according to authorities. A Chelan County sheriff's deputy found the truck around 4 p.m. on June 2 at the Rock Island Campground in Leavenworth, Washington. They found all three girls' bodies between 75 and 100 yards away, down an embankment, according to court documents. Each one had a plastic bag over her head, and "their wrists were also zip-tied or showed signs of being zip-tied," according to the affidavit. Deputies found two bloody handprints on the pickup's tailgate. Authorities warn that Decker should be considered armed and dangerous but insist they have no reason to believe he is a threat to public safety. He is charged with three counts of aggravated first-degree murder and kidnapping. The U.S. Marshals Service is offering a $20,000 reward for any information leading to Decker's arrest.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Yahoo
Federal authorities end Idaho search for suspect in kids' deaths after finding look-alike hiker
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Federal authorities in Idaho say they have ended a search in the Sawtooth National Forest after determining it was all case of mistaken identity. The search began Saturday after the U.S. Marshals Service Greater Idaho Fugitive Task Force said a family reported they saw a man who looked like Travis Decker, who is wanted in connection with the deaths of his three daughters in Washington state. Decker has been wanted since June 2, when a sheriff's deputy in Washington found his truck and the bodies of his three daughters — 9-year-old Paityn Decker, 8-year-old Evelyn Decker and 5-year-old Olivia Decker — at a campground outside Leavenworth, Washington. The discovery came three days after he failed to return the girls to their mother's home in Wenatchee, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of Seattle, following a scheduled visit. The family was near a Bear Creek area campsite when they saw a man who was the same height and roughly the same weight as Decker, and also had similar hair, beard and tattoos on his arm and calf. Additional tips followed, and federal, state and local law enforcement agencies joined the Marshals Service in the search. They found the man Wednesday afternoon, U.S. Marshals Service Supervisory Deputy Michael Leigh said in a press release, and determined he was not Decker. 'Investigators interviewed the cooperative man and confirmed he was hiking in the Bear Creek area this past weekend,' Leigh wrote. Authorities in Washington on June 10 said they believed they had spotted Decker, a former soldier, near a remote alpine lake in a popular backpacking area in the Cascade Range. Tracking teams followed up on a tip from hikers who reported seeing a lone hiker who appeared to be ill-prepared for the conditions, but he has not been found. The Marshals Service is offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to Decker's capture.
The Independent
10-07-2025
- The Independent
Federal authorities end Idaho search for suspect in kids' deaths after finding look-alike hiker
Federal authorities in Idaho say they have ended a search in the Sawtooth National Forest after determining it was all case of mistaken identity. The search began Saturday after the U.S. Marshals Service Greater Idaho Fugitive Task Force said a family reported they saw a man who looked like Travis Decker, who is wanted in connection with the deaths of his three daughters in Washington state. Decker has been wanted since June 2, when a sheriff's deputy in Washington found his truck and the bodies of his three daughters — 9-year-old Paityn Decker, 8-year-old Evelyn Decker and 5-year-old Olivia Decker — at a campground outside Leavenworth, Washington. The discovery came three days after he failed to return the girls to their mother's home in Wenatchee, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of Seattle, following a scheduled visit. The family was near a Bear Creek area campsite when they saw a man who was the same height and roughly the same weight as Decker, and also had similar hair, beard and tattoos on his arm and calf. Additional tips followed, and federal, state and local law enforcement agencies joined the Marshals Service in the search. They found the man Wednesday afternoon, U.S. Marshals Service Supervisory Deputy Michael Leigh said in a press release, and determined he was not Decker. 'Investigators interviewed the cooperative man and confirmed he was hiking in the Bear Creek area this past weekend,' Leigh wrote. Authorities in Washington on June 10 said they believed they had spotted Decker, a former soldier, near a remote alpine lake in a popular backpacking area in the Cascade Range. Tracking teams followed up on a tip from hikers who reported seeing a lone hiker who appeared to be ill-prepared for the conditions, but he has not been found. The Marshals Service is offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to Decker's capture.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Yahoo
Travis Decker sighting reported in Idaho, US Marshal's office investigating
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Authorities are investigating a reported sighting of Travis Decker in Idaho, more than a month since his three daughters were found dead at a campground outside Leavenworth, Washington. According to KIRO 7, the U.S. Marshal's Service Greater Idaho Fugitive Task Force is asking anyone in the area of the Sawtooth National Forest, specifically near the Bear Creek area, for tips. WATCH: Climbing teens rescued from God's Thumb near Lincoln City Decker has been wanted since June 2, when his truck and the bodies of his three daughters were found three days after he was supposed to return his daughters to their mother's home in Wenatchee, Wash. In late June, the Kittitas County Sheriff's Office said there isn't any certain evidence that Decker is even alive or in the area. Despite various reported sightings, including a possible run-in with Decker in The Enchantments, no concrete signs of him have been found. An autopsy confirmed that the girl's cause of death was suffocation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Developer seeks flexibility for design of affordable housing project
Jun. 8—ROCHESTER — A Santa Monica, California, developer is seeking support for deviating from Rochester development code standards to construct a 149-unit apartment complex along Fourth Street Southeast, just east of the Bear Creek Bridge. Lincoln Avenue Communities is proposing a 360-foot-long building, with a decreased rear setback along the river trail south of the site. The proposal exceeds length standards by 60 feet. "The length of this new building should not have any adverse impact on any abutting lots," Scott England, a principal with Minneapolis-based DJR Architecture, stated in a letter with Lincoln Avenue. "The building's length is broken up by multiple vertical architectural components that visually provide for pleasing visual breaks in the façade." Staff from the Rochester Community Development department are supporting the request, pointing to the ability to add downtown-adjacent parking with infill development across five lots, as well as efforts to provide an active use for the site that sits on a transit corridor. "The applicant has worked closely with city teammates to ensure compliance with the unified development code and district design standards," Rochester planner Elliot Mohler stated in a report to the Planning and Zoning Commission. "This includes street activation strategies such as benches, raised planters, additional plantings and bike parking." Lincoln Avenue Communities, which specializes in constructing and managing housing with rents below market rate, plans to lease apartments at rates considered affordable for households earning 60% of the area median income. "For a single parent with a few kids, this equates to $60,000 to $70,000 per year for income to qualify for housing, so it really is true workforce housing," Sarah Robbins, an associate with Lincoln Avenue Communities, told neighbors in April during a required informational meeting. Current state guidelines would cap potential rents at nearly $1,700 for a two-bedroom apartment under the tax credit program Lincoln Avenue seeks to utilize. The project is slated to feature 41 one-bedroom apartments, 77 two-bedroom units and 31 three-bedroom apartments, as well as one level of underground parking. While a site consolidation and a development plan for the project remain under review, the Planning and Zoning Commission will be asked to determine whether the construction variance will be allowed. Before making a decision, a public hearing on the issue will be held during the commission's meeting at 5 p.m. Wednesday in council chambers of the city-county Government Center. If development plans are approved, the apartment complex could be added to more than 150 Lincoln Avenue Communities properties throughout the nation. Company Vice President James Riley said the goal for the company's first Rochester project is to start construction in early 2026, if required development and financing approvals are obtained. Meetings scheduled to be held during the week of June 9 include: Rochester —City Council study session, 3:30 p.m. Monday in council chambers of the city-county Government Center, 151 Fourth St. SE. The meeting will livestream at and be available on Spectrum cable channel 180 or 188. —Police Policy Oversight Commission, 3:30 p.m. Tuesday in room 164B of the Development Services and Infrastructure Center, 4001 West River Parkway NW. —Sustainability and Resiliency Commission, 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in room 104 of City Hall, 201 Fourth St. SE. —Planning and Zoning Commission, 5 p.m. Wednesday in council chambers of the Government Center. —Citizens Advisory on Transit, 4:30 p.m. Thursday in room 104 of City Hall. Olmsted County —Housing and Redevelopment Authority, 4 p.m. Thursday in board chambers of the Government Center. Rochester Public Schools —School Board study session, 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the boardroom of the Edison Building, 615 Seventh St. SW.
