The search for a fugitive who was on the run for weeks after being allegedly mauled by a bear to cover up a murder ended when he was found in a hospital this weekend.
Nicholas Wayne Hamlett called 911 at around 11:34 p.m. on Oct. 24, pretending to be a man named Brandon Andrade, and was chased off a cliff by a bear while hiking in Hamilton County, leaving him injured and in a body of water. He told police he was trapped. , the Monroe County, Tennessee, Sheriff's Office wrote in a Facebook post at the time.
Authorities traced the call to an area near Tellico Plains northeast of Chattanooga. A bloody body was found there, with Andrade's identification card in hand, but the body was not the result of a bear attack or a fall from a height, and authorities said the body was not Andrade's. . The sheriff's office said the victim was later identified as Stephen Douglas Lloyd, 34, of Knoxville.
“Nicholas Wayne Hamlett met and befriended Stephen, lured him to a wooded area and took Stephen's life and identity,” the sheriff's office said in a Nov. 4 Facebook post.
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Stephen Douglas Lloyd was murdered in Monroe County, Tennessee.
Police said it was later determined that Andrade's identification card had been stolen by Hamlet and used multiple times. Police believe Hamlet stole his identification to avoid parole and then faked his death for unknown reasons.
On Sunday night, authorities in Columbia, South Carolina, notified the Monroe County Sheriff's Office that they had located an “armed and dangerous” fugitive at a local hospital, Tennessee authorities said in a Facebook post. Ta.
“We would like to thank the media outlets that spread Hamlet's wanted posters across the country,” the office said. “The sharing of Hamlet's wanted poster empowers our most precious resource, the public, to act as our eyes and ears. After observing Hamlet at a local hospital,… A good citizen alerted authorities and this investigation was completed peacefully.”
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Officials from the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service also held a press conference on October 30, along with Tennessee authorities, urging the public to find Hamlet and for the fugitive to turn himself in.
“Nick, let's end this peacefully. Turn yourself in and have your day in court,” Joseph Carrico, special agent in charge of the FBI's Nashville field office, said at a news conference.
“The long arm of the law is long and wide, and no matter where you hide, you will be found. Deputies and investigators here now know their county better. TBI investigators We know our state very well. The FBI and the Sheriff's Department know this country very well and have reach all over the world, so there is no place to hide,” Carrico continued.
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Nicholas Wayne Hamlett was wanted for first-degree murder in Monroe County, Tennessee. The suspect allegedly stole Brandon Andrade's identity and called 911 posing as a hiker who had been chased off a cliff by a bear, claiming to be Andrade. (Monroe County Sheriff's Office)
Monroe County Sheriff Tommy Jones previously said Hamlett and Lloyd had known each other for “quite a few months” before the attack.
Hamlett, 45, allegedly gave a false name when police questioned him about the 911 call. Authorities believe he abandoned his home in Tennessee and say he also has connections in Alabama, Montana, Alaska, Kentucky and Florida.
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“It's a huge risk to the public,” Jones said. “The perpetrator, he has a criminal record. He certainly knew this victim. He's known him for months now. But yes, there is a danger to the public. This is by no means isolated.” It's not an incident.”
The U.S. Marshals Service has offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the wanted man.
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Nicholas Hamlett is suspected of murder in Tennessee. (Monroe County Sheriff's Office)
In 2009, Hamlet was arrested in Niceville, Florida, after luring a man into the woods of Alabama. According to WBS.
Hamlet points a gun at an Alabama man and tries to hit him with a baseball bat, before burying him in the woods. AL.com reported. According to court documents reviewed by the outlet, he used the name Joshua Jones when contacting the victim “so he could get insurance money.”
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Tellico Plains in eastern Tennessee, the area where Nicholas Hamlett disappeared. (Amy Smotherman Burgess/Knoxville News Sentinel via USA TODAY NETWORK)
Hamlett was charged with attempted murder and kidnapping in 2012, but pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault with serious bodily injury and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He has four previous felony convictions, according to Alabama court records.
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Hamlett is charged with first-degree murder in the death of the unidentified man, according to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.
