Arrest made after hiker murdered in small mountain town slaying staged as bear attack

The hunt for a fugitive who spent weeks on the run after allegedly calling in a bear attack to cover up a murder came to a close after he was recognized at a hospital this weekend.

Nicholas Wayne Hamlett pretended to be a man named Brandon Andrade when he dialed 911 around 11:34 p.m. on Oct. 24 and told police he was injured and trapped in a body of water after a bear chased him off a cliff while hiking in Hamilton County, Tennessee, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office wrote in a Facebook post at the time.