The suspect accused of staging a Tennessee hiker's murder as a bear attack last month was arrested in South Carolina on Sunday, authorities said.
The Monroe County Sheriff's Office of Tennessee said Sunday that law enforcement in Columbia, S.C., took Nicholas Wayne Hamlett into custody Sunday night after he was recognized at a local hospital.
"After observing Hamlett at a local hospital, a good citizen alerted authorities and brought this manhunt to a peaceful end," Monroe County Sheriff Tommy Jones said in a statement Sunday.
On Friday, Oct. 18, Hamlett allegedly called 911 claiming to be Brandon Andrade, and told dispatchers he had fallen off a cliff and injured himself while running away from a bear. First responders arrived to find a deceased man with identification for Brandon Kristopher Andrade.
Investigators learned that the victim was in fact 34-year-old Steven Douglas Lloyd, and the Brandon Andrade identification had been stolen and "used on multiple occasions." The use of that stolen ID was linked to Hamlett, who was wanted in Alabama for a parole violation. An arrest warrant was issued for Hamlett on a charge of first-degree murder, sparking a nationwide manhunt.
"We would like to thank the news media for sharing Hamlett's wanted poster throughout the country," Jones said. "The sharing of Hamlett's wanted poster led the public, whom is our most valuable resource, to act as our eyes and ears."
--With reporting by TMX
