Three northern Iowa girls who reported a possible abduction attempt have admitted to police in Corwith the story was a hoax. KCCI-TV said the story about a man who was following the girls around a park sparked a statewide alert about another attempted abduction, but in follow-up interviews the girls admitted it didn’t really happen.

Authorities said filing a false report can result in criminal charges, but no charges have been filed in this one so far.