A killer is on the loose after allegedly stealing an identity and faking a bear attack to cover up a murder.
Nicholas Wayne Hamlett, 45, called 911 Brandon Andrade on Oct. 24 around 11:34 p.m. and told police in Tennessee that he was injured and partially in the water after a bear chased him off a cliff while hiking in Hamilton County. This was reported by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities were able to trace the phone to an area near Tellico Planes, northeast of Chattanooga.
When police arrived on the scene, they found a bloody corpse at the bottom of a cliff with Andrade’s ID.
But a subsequent autopsy later revealed that the body was not Andrade’s – and authorities now have no idea who the deceased man actually is.
Police across the country are looking for 45-year-old Nicholas Wayne Hamlett, who Tennessee authorities say stole an identity and faked a bear attack to cover up a murder
Police later learned that Andrade’s ID had been stolen and used multiple times by Hamlett, who was at large Sunday evening, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
It is believed that he stole the ID to escape parole, and then faked his death for an unknown reason. reports the New York Post.
Authorities also alleged that Hamlett used another assumed name when officers questioned him about the 911 call and has since left town.
He is believed to have since left his home in Tennessee, and authorities say he has connections to Alabama, Montana, Tennessee, Alaska, Kentucky and Florida. according to WHAS 11.
Police say Hamlett stole Brandon Andrade’s ID card and left it on a victim’s body near Tellico Planes, northeast of Chattanooga
Hamlett was previously arrested in 2009 in connection with an incident in Alabama in which he held a man at gunpoint and tried to beat him with a baseball bat before burying him. AL.com reports this.
He used the name Joshua Jones when he contacted the victim so “he could obtain insurance,” according to the original reports of the incident.
The suspect was subsequently charged with attempted murder and kidnapping before pleading guilty to a lesser charge of assault in 2012.
Hamlett had four previous felony convictions at the time.
He is now wanted for first-degree murder in Monroe County.
Police now consider him ‘armed and dangerous’ as they scour the country for anyone using the name Andrade.
Meanwhile, forensic experts are working on a sketch of the John Doe in hopes of identifying the victim.