ID man mistaken for WA triple-murder suspect Travis Decker tells all

Editor's note: In this story, Nick asked that his last name not be used due to privacy concerns.

What began as a routine camping trip for Nick quickly escalated into a startling case of mistaken identity when he was confused for triple-murder suspect Travis Decker, who is wanted in connection with the deaths of his three daughters in Washington.

Federal authorities in Idaho launched a search in the Sawtooth National Forest after a family reported seeing a man who resembled Decker. Nick was that man.

Nick spoke with FOX 13 Seattle and recounted the bizarre sequence of events that led to law enforcement showing up at his office.

Idaho camper realizes he's mistaken for triple-murder suspect after friend sends chilling news alert

What he's saying:

Nick first learned of the manhunt Monday morning after returning from a camping trip. A friend who had been with him sent a news article via text, saying, "We were in camp with a murderer, there is a manhunt happening right now."

At that point, Nick said he assumed they had simply been in proximity to a killer.

"No, I assumed that we spent the night with a triple or quadruple murderer, I've lost count at this point, they vary," Nick said. "And the best information I have was the current news articles as of Monday morning and they were still developing. So our thoughts were, holy cow, that was a close one. I'm glad we didn't meet the guy."

The description of the suspect, however, began to hit closer to home. It included gage earrings, a beard and arm tattoos. Nick has all three.

It wasn't until Tuesday that the gravity of the situation fully dawned on him.

"On Tuesday, there was more detail and some updates to these news articles and it described a man's appearance and down to almost every article of clothing and the location and the time," Nick explained. "I mean the campsite we were in was named, it wasn't like this area, it was the Bear Creek Transfer Camp. I started wondering, and we all kind of got a laugh, but also an eye-raising moment there. They're actually looking for me, aren't they? It wasn't until Tuesday that I knew."

Idaho man describes surreal moment he realized he matched Travis Decker's description

Dig deeper:

Connecting with law enforcement proved to be a process.

Nick first called the local ranger station Tuesday, leaving a voicemail. He then tried a national number, speaking with someone in Washington D.C., driven by the knowledge that resources were being used searching for him when he wasn't the suspect.

On Wednesday, after learning authorities were now looking for his friend's van, Nick called the ranger station again and reached a person.

"I told her what was going on. She said,'Oh, wow, that's not good. Let me get your info and I will forward it to law enforcement,'" Nick recounted. "And they called me within the hour. And then within an hour of that, they showed up at my office."

When authorities arrived, Nick said they conducted a thorough interview.

"They had very pointed questions about exactly where. I mean, like zooming in on an aerial map and pointing this place, that place, what time, during which day, what were we doing, who was with me, what did you do in the morning, what did you do when you may have been sighted, what did you do after the sighting," Nick said. "They took detailed photos of my tattoos. They asked for the make and model of the vans I was wearing, which are now apparently quite infamous."

Nick acknowledged some similarities to the description of Decker.

"We share a hair color, I suppose," he said. "Part of it was because he was described, I keep wearing the hat for interviews. You're only my second interview. I'm not out there a lot, but I've worn the hat on purpose because it's the hat I was spotted in that was part of the description. We have a similar beard color. I decided just to quit shaving for a year because I had nothing better to do. So the beard was described as overgrown. I do have small pencil-sized black gage earrings. I did have a light-colored shirt on. I had a black day pack. So on paper, I really did fit the description. We're the same height, same weight. I had sunglasses on the whole time. So you couldn't really see my eyes or half of my face really."

Despite the intense situation, Nick said he never felt unsafe during his camping trip because he was unaware of the manhunt.

"No, I had … when I was out there, I had no idea any of this was happening. I just carried about my business," he said.

U.S. Marshals Service Supervisory Deputy Michael Leigh confirmed in a press release that authorities had located the man 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 stated.

Where is Travis Decker now?

What's next:

The search for Travis Decker continues, with the Marshals Service offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to his capture.

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