Killer on the loose after stealing identity and faking bear attack

by · Mail Online

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 at around 11.34pm on October 24 using the name Brandon Andrade, 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, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office reports.

Authorities were able to trace to call 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 an ensuing autopsy later revealed that the body was not that of Andrade - and authorities now have no idea who the deceased man actually is. 

Police across the country are searching for Nicholas Wayne Hamlett, 45, 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 was used multiple times by Hamlett - who was on the loose Sunday night, according to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office. 

He is believed to have stolen the ID to escape parole, then faked his death for an unknown reason, the New York Post reports. 

Authorities also claimed Hamlett used a different fake name when deputies questioned him about the 911 call, and has since left town.

He is believed to have since abandoned his Tennessee home, and authorities say he has connections to Alabama, Montana, Tennessee, Alaska, Kentucky and Florida, according to WHAS 11. 

Police say Hamlett had stolen the ID of Brandon Andrade and left it on the body of a victim near Tellico Planes, northeast of Chattanooga

Hamlett was previously arrested in 2009 in connection to an incident in Alabama in which he held a man at gunpoint and attempted to strike him with a baseball bat before burying him, AL.com reports.

He was using the name Joshua Jones when he reached out to the victim so 'he could get some insurance,' according to original reports of the incident.

The suspect was then charged with attempted murder and kidnapping, before pleading guilty to a lesser charge of felony assault in 2012.

At the time, Hamlett had four prior felony convictions. 

He is now wanted on first-degree murder charges in Monroe County. 

Police now consider him 'armed and dangerous' as they scour the country for anyone using the Andrade name.

Meanwhile, forensic experts are working to produce a sketch of the John Doe in hopes of identifying the victim.