Innocent hiker mistaken for fugitive dad accused of killing his three daughters

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.

"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."

"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.

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. 

The U.S. Marshals Service is offering a $20,000 reward for any information leading to Decker's arrest. 

Fox News Digital's Julia Bonavita, Michael Dorgan and Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.