The man who reportedly launched a nationwide search after The murder of a pedestrian was portrayed as a bear attack. Law enforcement said he was found in Tennessee Woodlands and taken into custody.
Monroe County Sheriff's Office, Tennessee Shared that law enforcement in Columbia, South Carolina had found nicholas vane hamlet And he was taken into custody on Sunday night after he was identified at a local hospital. The FBI was able to confirm his identity by verifying his fingerprints.
The Monroe County Sheriff's Office said Hamlett is currently facing first-degree murder charges out of Tennessee and a parole violation out of Alabama.
In mid-October, 34-year-old Steven Douglas Lloyd of Knoxville was found dead in a bear attack reportedly linked to Hamlet.
murder of steven lloyd
Just before 11:35 p.m. on October 18, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office received a transferred call from nearby Polk County about a distressed hiker named “Brandon Andrade”, who told dispatchers he was “running from a bear.” Time had fallen off a cliff, “and he was injured and partially in the water.
Authorities were then able to pinpoint the man's location to the area of the Charles Hall Bridge on the Cherrahola Skyway in Tellico Plains, at least 80 miles northwest of Chattanooga.
When emergency personnel and search and rescue teams arrived, they found a dead man with Andrade's ID and brought the body to the Knox County Regional Forensic Center.
After reviewing the scene, detectives learned that the dead man was not Andrade and that the ID “had been stolen and used on multiple occasions.” The dead man they found was named Lloyd.
Additionally, they discovered that Hamlet was using Andrade's ID and that he was wanted out of Alabama on a parole violation. Authorities then determined that Hamlett had used a fake name when calling dispatch after the distress call and was believed to have fled his Tennessee home before his identity could be verified.
While speaking to Lloyd's family, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office learned that he was a foster child who suffered from trust issues and had been diagnosed with reactive attachment disorderA condition that makes it difficult to establish healthy relationships with parents and caregivers.
At some time before his death, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office believed that Hamlet had met Lloyd, “befriended him, and lured him to a wooded area in exchange for Steven's life and his identity.”
Reports said Hamlett had ties to Tennessee, Montana, Alabama, Alaska, Kentucky, North Carolina and Florida and was believed to be armed and dangerous throughout the operation.