Police find dead body after man using fake name calls 911 and claims to have been chased by bear

MONROE COUNTY, Tenn. (TCN) -- Authorities in Tennessee are searching for a man who reportedly called dispatchers using a fake name and said he was injured while running from a bear.

According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, on the night of Oct. 18, someone claiming to be Brandon Andrade called 911 and said he fell off a cliff and into water during an encounter with an animal. Emergency personnel responded to the caller’s pinged area near the Charles Hall Bridge on the Cherahola Skyway in Tellico Plains, where they found a deceased male with Andrade’s ID on him.

However, upon further investigation, authorities determined the man was not Andrade and that the identification was stolen and used by Nicholas Hamlett. Authorities have not yet identified the deceased male, and he is now a John Doe.

According to the sheriff’s department, Hamlett is wanted out of Alabama for parole violation. Hamlett allegedly used a fake name when speaking with law enforcement after the 911 distressed hiker call and fled out of state before investigators verified his identify. Officials issued an arrest warrant for Hamlett for first-degree murder, and he is considered armed and dangerous.

According to AL.com, Hamlett was arrested in 2009 in Alabama after he allegedly held a man at gunpoint and tried to bury him alive. He faced charges of attempted murder and kidnapping and pleaded guilty to a lesser offense of felony assault. AL.com reports he was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

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