Nashville, Tennessee — A fugitive accused of killing a man in Tennessee and attempting to pass the body off as someone else’s by calling 911, identifying himself as that person, and claiming he had fallen off a cliff while being pursued by a bear has been apprehended in South Carolina, according to authorities.
The Columbia Police Department said on social media Sunday that Nicholas Wayne Hamlett, 45, was recognized by an employee at a hospital in the South Carolina city. Authorities used a fingerprint scanner to authenticate his identity, and he is currently being held in temporary detention by the United States Marshals Service while awaiting extradition to Tennessee.
Authorities in Monroe County, Tennessee, and elsewhere have been searching for Hamlett since last month.
“After observing Hamlett at a local hospital, a good citizen alerted the authorities and brought this manhunt to a peaceful end,” Monroe County Sheriff Tommy Jones stated on social media.
Last month, the sheriff’s office said that Hamlett contacted 911 on October 18 and claimed to have fallen from a cliff while fleeing a bear. Hamlett, under the name Brandon Andrade, claimed to be injured and half submerged in the water, according to authorities.
When emergency personnel examined the area near a highway bridge in Tellico Plains, where the call had originated, they discovered the body of a man with Andrade’s ID on it.
However, officials established that the individual was not Andrade, whose identity had been stolen and used several times. The person using Andrade’s stolen identification was Hamlett, who was wanted in Alabama for a parole violation, according to the sheriff’s office. The officials confirmed that Andrade was alive and well.
Forensics officials also determined that the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, which is inconsistent with a high fall or a bear assault, Jones stated.
Authorities believe Hamlett fled his Tennessee home before officers could verify his true identification. That sparked a manhunt for Hamlett, who was believed to be armed and dangerous. The United States Marshals Service had offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to his location.
On October 31, law enforcement personnel scoured Chapin, South Carolina, with helicopters and police dogs after receiving information that Hamlett was in the area, warning people to lock their doors on Halloween night. The following day, he was seen near a high school in the city.
On November 4, the Tennessee sheriff’s office identified the deceased as Steven Douglas Lloyd, 34, of Knoxville. It said Hamlett befriended Lloyd before luring him into the woods to kill him and steal his identity.
According to the sheriff, Lloyd’s family claimed he was diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder and would leave home to live on the streets while remaining in contact with his family.
“Steven loved the outdoors and was extremely helpful to others,” Jones wrote in a November 4 social media post. “The family was shocked to learn that their beloved son’s life had been taken by someone that Steven trusted.”
Source: Fugitive Accused of Murder and Fabricating Bear Chase Captured in South Carolina
