NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A fugitive who killed a Tennessee man and tried to pass off the body as someone else’s when he called 911 and said he had fallen off a cliff while being chased by a bear has been arrested in South Carolina. said.
Nicholas Wayne Hamlet, 45, was identified by staff at a South Carolina hospital, the Columbia Police Department said in a social media post Sunday. Authorities verified his identity with a fingerprint scanner and he is being held temporarily by U.S. Marshals while awaiting extradition to Tennessee.
Authorities in Monroe County, Tennessee, and elsewhere have been searching for Hamlet since last month.
“After observing Hamlet at a local hospital, a good citizen alerted authorities, bringing this search to a peaceful end,” Monroe County Sheriff Tommy Jones said in a social media post.
The sheriff’s office said last month that Hamlet called 911 on Oct. 18, saying he had fallen off a cliff while running from a bear. Hamlett, using the name Brandon Andrade, claimed he was injured and partially submerged in the water, authorities added.
Emergency crews were searching the area near the highway bridge in Tellico Plains where the call came from and found the body of a man with Andrade’s identification on it.
However, authorities determined that the man was not Andrade, who had used the stolen ID several times. The person who used Andrade’s stolen identification was Hamlett, who was wanted in Alabama for a parole violation, the sheriff’s office said. Authorities confirmed Andrade was alive and well.
Forensic officials also determined the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, which was not consistent with a high fall or bear attack, Jones said.
Hamlet may have fled his Tennessee home before police could determine his actual identity, authorities said. This led to a search for Hamlet, who was believed to be armed and dangerous. U.S. Marshals were offering a reward of up to $5,000 for help finding him.
On October 31, law enforcement officials searched Chapin, South Carolina with helicopters and police dogs after receiving information that Hamlet was in the area and told residents to lock their doors on Halloween night. He was seen the next day near a high school in the city.
On November 4, the Tennessee Sheriff’s Office identified the dead man as Steven Douglas Lloyd, 34, of Knoxville. It is said that after befriending Lloyd, Hamlet lured him into the woods, killed him, and stole his identity.
Lloyd’s family said he had been diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder and had left home and lived on the streets, but maintained contact with his family, according to the sheriff.
Jones wrote in a Nov. 4 social media post: “Steven loved the outdoors and was very helpful to others.” “The family is devastated to learn that someone Stephen trusted took their beloved son’s life.”
