Nicholas Wayne Hamlett: Tennessee authorities search for man accused of murder after faking 911 call

CNN
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Tennessee authorities are looking for a man who allegedly called 911, claiming he was being chased by a bear. This leads the first responders to a dead body and sparks a manhunt for the caller.

The incident began on October 18 when a man called 911 posing as a hiker in distress. This is according to a Friday press release from the Monroe County Tennessee Sheriff’s Office. The caller identified himself as Brandon Andrade and claimed he had fallen off a cliff while running from a bear.

When first responders arrived on the scene in Tellico Plains, they found a dead man wearing Andrade’s ID, according to the sheriff’s office. But investigators quickly determined that the body was not Andrade and that Andrade’s ID had been “stolen and used multiple times,” according to the sheriff’s news release.

According to the press release, the dead man has still not been identified. Investigators are currently working to develop a sketch of the victim so it can be released to the public to help identify him.

Investigators discovered that Nicholas Wayne Hamlett, 45, of Alabama, had used Andrade’s identification and that he was wanted in Alabama for a parole violation, the sheriff’s office said.

Authorities have since issued an arrest warrant for Hamlett for first-degree murder. He is considered “armed and dangerous,” according to the press release. The sheriff’s office advises anyone with information about the case to share it with them and call 911 if they see Hamlett.

The sheriff’s office is working with the FBI, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and other agencies to identify the victim and find Hamlett, the news release said.

CNN has reached out to the Monroe County Tennessee Sheriff’s Office for more information.

Tellico Plains, where the victim was found, is a small town in eastern Tennessee with a population of just under 1,000.