Idaho

Fugitive dad accused of killing 3 daughters may have been seen in Idaho

Published

9 months ago

July 7, 2025

Fugitive dad accused of killing 3 daughters may have been seen in Idaho

The Army veteran accused of killing his three daughters in Washington state and disappearing into the wilderness for weeks may have been spotted in an Idaho forest, federal authorities said.

The person believed to be Travis Decker, 32, was seen in Sawtooth National Forest, hundreds of miles from the campground where the bodies of his young daughters were found June 2, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.

In a news release Sunday, the agency said the tip came from a family who reported having seen a man matching Decker’s description in the national forest’s Bear Creek area, east of Boise.

Travis Decker.Wenatchee Police Department

The man was described as 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 10 inches, wearing a black mesh cap, black gauged earrings, black shorts, low-top Vans or Converse shoes and a cream T-shirt. He had a long ponytail, an overgrown beard and a mustache and a black backpack, the agency said.

He was said to be wearing a black Garmin-style watch.

The Marshals Service warned people Monday not to fly drones in the area and to avoid picking up hitchhikers.

Authorities have described Decker, who was an active-duty member of the Washington State National Guard, as an avid outdoorsman known to go “off-grid” for months.

Law enforcement officers have investigated “dozens and dozens” of potential sightings and tips linked to Decker, but he appears to have been seen only once, nearly a month ago, in the Blewitt Pass area of Washington.

After a report from hikers, a tracking team in a helicopter described seeing a “lone, off-trail hiker” who ran from the aircraft.

Weeks later, on Tuesday, the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office said there was no evidence to suggest Decker was alive or dead.

His daughters, Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia, 5, were found dead in a remote area near Leavenworth, roughly 135 miles east of Seattle, after Decker failed to return them to his ex-wife. According to an affidavit in support of an arrest warrant, the girls had been zip-tied and had bags over their heads.

An autopsy attributed their deaths to suffocation.

Decker’s pickup was found near the girl’s bodies, and the sheriff’s office said an analysis of bloody handprints on the vehicle’s tailgate matched Decker’s DNA profile.

Whitney Decker was married to Travis Decker for seven years and described their divorce to authorities as amicable, according to the affidavit. The detective who wrote the affidavit noted that Travis Decker refused to sign a parenting plan last year and did not seek court-mandated mental health treatment and domestic violence anger management counseling.

Decker is wanted on charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping. He is also wanted on a federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

According to an affidavit in support of the federal charge, authorities discovered that in the days before the girls’ deaths, Decker appears to have searched Google for information related to Canada.

“How does a person move to canada” and “how to relocate to canada” were among the search terms linked to Decker’s Google account on May 26, according to the warrant. The deputy U.S. marshal who wrote the warrant noted that the victims were found 11 miles from the Pacific Crest Trail, a well-established path that leads to Canada.

The possible sighting in Sawtooth National Forest is more than 500 miles in the other direction.

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Idaho

Idaho Senate takes up bill to jail trans people for using public bathrooms

Published

5 hours ago

March 24, 2026

Press Room

Idaho Senate takes up bill to jail trans people for using public bathrooms

An Idaho bill that could make it a crime for transgender people to use restrooms aligned with their gender identity is now before the state Senate, advancing one of the most punitive bathroom proposals in the country.

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House Bill 752, already approved by the Idaho House in a 54–15 vote, was taken up this week by the Senate, where Republicans hold a 29–6 majority. If enacted, the measure would require people to use bathrooms, locker rooms, and similar facilities based on their sex assigned at birth in both government buildings and private businesses open to the public.

Related: Idaho Republicans pass bill making it a felony for transgender people to use public bathrooms

Related: Idaho Republicans pass House bill forcing doctors to out transgender kids

The penalties escalate quickly. A first violation would be a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail. A second offense within five years could be charged as a felony, carrying a prison sentence of up to five years.

“The Legislature has a fundamental duty to protect the bodily privacy and safety of Idaho citizens,” Sen. Ben Toews, the bill’s sponsor, said in a Monday committee hearing, according to the Idaho Capital Sun. “House Bill 752 provides a clear, proactive tool to secure sex-separated private spaces in our state, while accommodating common-sense realities.”

Supporters of the measure have called the bill necessary as a matter of safety and privacy in sex-segregated spaces. But opponents of the legislation, including civil liberties groups, some lawmakers, and law enforcement voices, say the proposal creates an enforcement problem that risks turning suspicion into probable cause.

Related: Thousands of paper hearts flood Idaho capital as lawmakers pass anti-LGBTQ+ bills

Related: Idaho Republicans are trying to strip localities of nondiscrimination ordinances that protect LGBTQ+ people

Transgender people are warning that bills like this put them in danger of being assaulted. For example, the boyfriend or husband may see a transgender man following their girlfriend into a restroom, because the trans man has to use restrooms according to his sex assigned at birth, and could confront them.

In committee testimony, transgender Idahoans described how that could unfold. Nikson Matthews, a transgender man, told lawmakers that someone who recognizes or suspects he is trans could call police, prompting officers to respond to what would otherwise appear to be “a bearded man using the men’s bathroom.” If an officer decides he violated the law, Matthews said, “I could go to jail for up to a year for peeing, washing my hands, or even being in the bathroom.”

Related: Idaho Republicans pass bill making it a felony for transgender people to use public bathrooms

The alternative, he said, could be worse. Being forced into women’s facilities, Matthews warned, risks confrontation or violence. “Every single day when I’m out in public, I have to decide,” he said. “Do I feel like going to jail today, or do I feel like being attacked?”

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Idaho

I worked as the owner of Idaho Falls’ oldest bar for a day. Here’s what it was like. – East Idaho News

Published

17 hours ago

March 23, 2026

Press Room

I worked as the owner of Idaho Falls’ oldest bar for a day. Here’s what it was like. – East Idaho News

Shane Dial, owner of Ford’s Bar in Idaho Falls, shows EastIdahoNews.com reporter Kaitlyn Hart what it’s like to own a 120 year old bar. | Jordan Wood, EastIdahoNews.com

IDAHO FALLS – EastIdahoNews.com is highlighting different careers and today, I’m Workin’ It with Shane Dial at Ford’s Bar.

Originally opened in 1906, Ford’s Bar has carried the same name through multiple owners for 120 years. It is a staple of the nightlife scene in Idaho Falls, and it’s often said that you haven’t partied until you’ve been to Ford’s.

Shane Dial, who’s been with the bar for the last five years, showed me how to open the bar, make a lemon drop martini, operate the music, the importance of working with law enforcement to manage unruly customers, and more.

Shane Dial, Owner of Ford’s Bar | Kaitlyn Hart, EastIdahoNews.com

Thank you to Shane Dial for letting us come learn what it’s like to be him for a day!

Check out the bar’s Facebook page here.

Watch our experience in the video above, and watch other Workin’ It videos here.