DuPage County forest preserve stabbing deemed a hoax, officials say

WEST CHICAGO, Ill. (WLS) -- A 16-year-old girl who claimed that she was stabbed while walking on a trail at a DuPage County forest preserve was lying, police said.

Tuesday evening, investigators combed the Timber Ridge Forest Preserve in West Chicago after the girl told authorities that she was walking alone on the trail when a man approached her. She alleged that they exchanged words and he insulted her before stabbing her in the arms and stomach with a kitchen knife.

The teen has now admitted to falsely reporting the crime and fabricating all of the details of the attack, police said. The teen said her injuries were self-inflicted.

The matter will be turned over to the Forest Preserve District's police juvenile department.