In brief
In a startling case from Monroe County, Tennessee, a man accused of using a stolen identity and feigning a bear attack is now wanted for murder after the discovery of a corpse near Cherohala Skyway.
On October 18, a 911 caller claimed he was chased off a cliff by a bear, but emergency responders found the body of a man with identification for Brandon Kristopher Andrade. Investigations revealed the ID was stolen, and the real perpetrator was Nicholas Wayne Hamlett, a 45-year-old parolee with a criminal record. Sheriff Tommy J. Jones II announced a first-degree murder warrant for Hamlett, who remains at large and is considered armed and dangerous.The deceased has not yet been identified, and investigations continue. In a related incident earlier this month in Montana, a similar 911 call falsely claimed a bear attack, which later was determined to be a homicide. Authorities are actively seeking leads on Hamlett's whereabouts and are preparing to release a sketch of the unidentified victim.
