A 17-year-old jogger in north-west France who claimed she was kidnapped and forced to dig her own grave has admitted making up the story, prosecutors said.
The teenager disappeared while running in the Mayenne region on Monday afternoon. Her phone and GPS watch were found with traces of blood, sparking a large search involving 200 police officers, rescue dogs, divers and a helicopter.
She reappeared the following evening at a takeaway in Sablé-sur-Sarthe, about 10km from where she went missing. Police initially believed she had escaped from captors, but she later confessed to having lied.
Prosecutor Céline Maigné said the teenager admitted going to Sablé-sur-Sarthe on foot and that her injuries were of accidental origin. She also cut her own T-shirt with scissors.
The teenager will now be investigated for reporting an imaginary crime. Authorities say they will look into her personality to understand her motives, which remain unexplained.
