COLUMBIA, S.C. — The manhunt for a Tennessee murder suspect allegedly spotted in Chapin has ended down the road in Columbia.
After several days of searching, Chapin Police said Friday that the U.S. Marshals were looking elsewhere for Nicholas Waynle Hamlett. On Sunday, Columbia Police confirmed that a hospital employee had recognized Hamlett and called the police. A responding police sergeant also recognized him. They confirmed his identity with a fingerprint scanner, and arrangements were already being made to return him to Tennessee.
Hamlett was wanted for murder in the Monroe County, Tennessee, area. Investigators believe he called 911 on Oct. 18 pretending to be an injured hiker who fell off a cliff while running from a bear. Hamlett told dispatchers a false name, Brandon Andrade.
Emergency crews found a body when they arrived, which had identification on it suggesting the victim was Andrade - however, the deceased was 34-year-old Steven Douglas Lloyd. Authorities later accused Hamlett of befriending the victim, gaining his trust, stealing his identity and killing him.
Several days later, a reported sighting in the Chapin area left the community on edge, and many neighbors wondered if he was still in the region. On Sunday, police confirmed Hamlett is in the temporary custody of the US Marshals Service Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force.
