HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — UPDATE: 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.
Previous coverage: The manhunt continues for a man wanted out of Tennessee for murder, as officials in his last believed whereabouts come up empty following a lengthy search.
A man found dead in rural Monroe County, Tenn. on Oct. 18 had stolen identification last used by Nicholas Hamlett, who had been using the name on the identification, Brandon Andrade, as an assumed identity.
Thursday, officials in Chapin, S.C. followed up on a reported sighting of Hamlett. A search using helicopters and K-9 units turned up no sign of Hamlett. Sister station WLTX reported that residents were in a state of lockdown while the search carried on.
As of Sunday morning, Lexington County, S.C. officials said Hamlett has still not been captured. "The U.S. Marshals are the leading agency in this case," Chapin Police said on social media. The FBI has also put out an all-points bulletin and the U.S. Marshals Service has announced a $5,000 reward for information leading to Hamlett's capture.
Meanwhile, Alabama court records shed more light into Hamlett's connections to the state.
Records show Hamlett was arrested in 2009 on a charge of attempted murder. In that case, a Prattville man said Hamlett held him at gunpoint and beat him with a bat, then tried to bury him alive. Incident reports show Hamlett was using an assumed name.
Hamlett eventually pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of felony assault in 2012.
Investigators say Hamlett has "ties" to Alabama, Montana, Florida, Alaska, Kentucky, and Tennessee, but did not specify what those ties may be.
If you have information that may aid Marshals in locating Hamlett, you are asked to call 1-877-WANTED2 (926-8332) or 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324).