Bear attack or murder? Bizarre 911 call leads to manhunt in Tennessee
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. − A manhunt was underway Monday for a slaying suspect who police say used a bogus identity when he made a bizarre 911 call claiming he fell off a cliff while running from a bear near the scenic Cherohala Skyway in rural southeast Tennessee.
The call came in on Oct. 18 from near Tellico Plains, Tennessee, about 50 miles southwest of Knoxville in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. The caller identified himself as Brandon Andrade and said he hit his head and could not move his legs. Monroe County Sheriff Tommy Jones said first responders descending on the scene found a man's body and Andrade's ID.
Detectives determined the victim was not Andrade and had been murdered, Jones said. Ten days later the identity of the victim remains a mystery.
Sheriff's detectives discovered the ID had been stolen and used several times by Nicholas Hamlett, 45, who was wanted by police in Alabama for a parole violation. Jones said Hamlett used another false name when speaking with detectives after the 911 call. By the time his real identity had been verified, Hamlett had fled the area, Jones said.
Arrest warrant issued for suspect
An arrest warrant charging first-degree murder has been issued for Hamlett, Jones said in a news release issued Friday.
"Mr. Hamlett is considered armed and dangerous," Jones warned. "If you see Mr. Hamlett, please call 911."
Tellico Plains is on the 43-mile Cherohala Skyway that passes through the Cherokee National Forest, which is federal land and runs to Robbinsville, North Carolina.
The Knoxville News Sentinel, part of the Paste BN Newtork, obtained recordings of the call being relayed by dispatch. “Units en route to the area of Cherohala Skyway at Falls Branch Road. Have a male subject that fell off a cliff. He is unable to move. He was running from a bear. He has 2% battery – unable to get him back on 911. ... Not able to move his legs. Did hit his head. He’s going to be at the falls …”
The FBI, state and local authorities are now looking for Hamlett − and for the identity of the victim. The sheriff's office said Monday that there were no updates on the case and that a briefing was planned for Wednesday.
John Bacon reports for Paste BN Tyler Whetstone reports for the Knoxville News Sentinel.