Tennessee investigators have issued a first-degree murder warrant for a man they say killed a hiker, gave him a fake ID, then called 911 pretending to be the hiker. hiker, claiming he fell off a cliff while fleeing a bear.

The 911 call initially came in shortly after 11:30 p.m. Oct. 18 in Polk County, in the southeast corner of Tennessee, but was transferred to Monroe County, just north of Polk, according to the office from the Monroe County Sheriff. The caller identified himself as “Brandon Andrade” and said he was “injured and partially in the water.”

Emergency services responded to the call from the area of ​​the Charles Hall Bridge on the Cherohola Skyway near Tellico Plains and initiated search and rescue operations to locate the caller in distress. They quickly found a dead man with an identification for “Brandon Kristopher Andrade.”

Last week, investigators determined that the dead man was not Brandon Andrade and that in fact that ID was stolen and used by Nicholas Wayne Hamlett, 45, wanted in Alabama for violating his parole.

According to AL.comHamlett — who has used several false identities in the past — was arrested while using the name Joshua Jones in 2009 for hitting a man with a baseball bat and then burying him alive in rural Coosada. He was initially charged with attempted murder and kidnapping, but pleaded guilty to a minor misdemeanor in 2012 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Court records indicate he has four prior felony convictions. It is unclear when exactly he was conditionally released from prison.

Hamlett reportedly has ties to Alabama, Montana, Tennessee, Alaska, Kentucky and Florida, AL.com said, as well as South Carolina, WYFF reported.

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office has not yet identified the deceased man or explained the circumstances of his death.

Hamlett is described as 5 feet 7 inches tall and 170 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes. His current whereabouts are unknown and he is “considered dangerous and may be armed.”

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(Featured image: Nicholas Hamlett/Monroe County Sheriff’s Office)