SC police arrest man accused of orchestrating killing as bear attack

COLUMBIA, SC (CNN) – The suspect who allegedly staged a fake bear attack to cover up a murder has been taken into custody after a three-week manhunt.

Nicholas Wayne Hamlett was taken into custody in Columbia, South Carolina on Sunday after being recognized at a hospital.

The case began on October 18 when a man identifying himself as Brandon Andrade called 911.

Police said he posed as a distressed hiker who had fallen off a cliff while fleeing a bear in Monroe County, Tennessee.

First responders found a dead body, but determined it was not Andrade’s body.

Instead, his identity had been stolen and used multiple times.

The body was actually that of Steven Douglas Lloyd.

Authorities said Hamlett befriended Lloyd and lured him into the woods, where he took his life and identity.