The search for a fugitive who spent weeks on the run after allegedly calling for a bear attack to cover up a murder has come to an end after he was recognized at a hospital this weekend.

Nicholas Wayne Hamlett posed as 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 walking Hamilton County, Tennessee, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Facebook post at the time.

Authorities traced the call to an area near Tellico Plains, northeast of Chattanooga. There they found a bloody corpse with Andrade’s identification on it, but the injuries on the body were not consistent with a bear attack or a fall from a great height, authorities said, and the body was not Andrade’s. The sheriff’s office said the victim was later identified as 34-year-old Knoxville resident Steven Douglas Lloyd.

“Nicholas Wayne Hamlett met Steven, befriended him, and lured him to a wooded area to take Steven’s life and identity,” the sheriff’s office said in a Nov. 4 Facebook post.

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Steven Douglas Lloyd was murdered in Monroe County, Tennessee.

Police said they later learned that Hamlett had stolen Andrade’s identification and used it several times. Police believe Hamlett stole the ID to escape parole and then he faked his death for an unknown reason.

On Sunday afternoon, the authorities of Columbia, South Carolinanotified the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office that their “armed and dangerous” fugitive had been found at a local hospital, the Tennessee agency wrote in a Facebook post.

“We would like to thank the media for sharing Hamlett’s wanted poster nationwide,” the office wrote. “Sharing Hamlett’s wanted poster led the public, who are our most valuable resource, to act as our eyes and ears. After observing Hamlett at a local hospital, a good citizen alerted authorities and put a peaceful end to this persecution”.

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Members of the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Office joined Tennessee authorities on October 30 at a press conference, urging the public to search for Hamlett and the fugitive to surrender.

“Nick. Let’s end this peacefully. Turn yourself in. Spend your day in court,” said Joseph Carrico, the special agent in charge of the FBI investigation. Nashville local office, he said at the press conference.

“The long arm of the law has a long and enormous reach, and we will find you no matter where you hide. The agents and investigators here now know your county well. TBI agents know your state well. The FBI and Marshal Service “They know the country well and have reach all over the world, so there is nowhere to hide,” Carrico continued.

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Nicholas Wayne Hamlett was wanted for first-degree murder in Monroe County, Tennessee. He allegedly stole Brandon Andrade’s identity and claimed to be Andrade when he called 911 posing as a hiker who had been chased off a cliff by a bear. (Monroe County Sheriff’s Office)

Monroe County Sheriff Tommy Jones previously said Hamlett and Lloyd had known each other for “quite a few months” before the attack occurred.

Hamlett, 45, used a false name when police questioned him about his 911 call, they said. Authorities believe he abandoned his home in Tennessee and say he also has connections in Alabama, Montana, Alaska, Kentucky and Florida.

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“There is a risk to the public, a huge risk to the public,” Jones said. “The offender has a history. He knew this victim. He has known her for a few months. But yes, there is a risk to the public. This was not an isolated incident by any means.”

The U.S. Marshals Service offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the wanted man.

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Nicholas Hamlett is a murder suspect in Tennessee. (Monroe County Sheriff’s Office)

In 2009, Hamlett was arrested in Niceville, Florida, after luring a man into the woods in Alabama. according to WBS.

Hamlett targeted the Alabama man and attempted to hit him with a baseball bat before burying him in the woods. AL.com reported. He used the name Joshua Jones when he approached that victim so “he could get some insurance,” according to court documents reviewed by the outlet.

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Tellico Plains in eastern Tennessee, in the region where Nicholas Hamlett disappeared. (Amy Smotherman Burgess/Knoxville News Sentinel via USA TODAY NETWORK)

Hamlett was charged with attempted murder and kidnapping in 2012, but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of felony assault and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He had four prior felony convictions, according to Alabama Court Records.

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Hamlett faces charges of first degree murder in the death of the unidentified man, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.