COLUMBIA, SC (CNN) – The suspect who allegedly staged a fake bear attack to cover up a murder has been taken into custody after a three-week manhunt.

Nicholas Wayne Hamlett was taken into custody in Columbia, South Carolina, on Sunday after being recognized at a hospital.

The case began on Oct. 18 when a man who identified himself as Brandon Andrade called 911.

Police said he pretended to be a distressed hiker who fell off a cliff while running from a bear in Monroe County, Tennessee.

First responders found a body but determined it was not Andrade’s body.

Instead, his identity was stolen and used over and over again.

The body actually belonged to Steven Douglas Lloyd.

Authorities said Hamlett befriended Lloyd and lured him into the woods, taking his life and identification.

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