A nationwide manhunt is underway for men officials say have ties to Kentucky

TELLICO PLAINS, Tenn. (WKYT) – A nationwide manhunt is underway for a man officials say is wanted for a murder in Tennessee.

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office in Tennessee is asking for the public’s help in finding 45-year-old Nicholas Wayne Hamlett.

That’s what the authorities said CBS News that he has ties to Montana, Tennessee, Alabama, Alaska, Kentucky and Florida.

Officers say on October 18, a man called 911 claiming to be a distressed hiker named Brandon Andrade. He said he fell off a cliff while running from a bear.

The call was pinged to a bridge on the Cherahola Skyway in Tellico Plains. Search and rescue teams responded and found the body of a man with personal identification listed as Andrade.

“Detectives from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division and the Monroe County Violent Crime Task Force investigated the scene of the accident and upon further investigation determined that the decedent was not Mr. Brandon Andrade and that identification had been stolen and on multiple occasions had been used. . In addition, it was discovered that a man using Mr. Andrade’s stolen identity was Mr. Nicholas Wayne Hamlett, who was wanted out of the state of Alabama for parole violation,” according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

Detectives said Hamlett used a fake name when he spoke to Knox County police after calling about the hiker and fleeing his Tennessee address.

Police issued an arrest warrant for Hamlett for first-degree murder. He is considered armed and dangerous. Anyone who sees him should call 911 and not approach him.

The body was taken to the Knox County Regional Forensic Center for identification.