The Anoka County Sheriff’s Office said after further questioning, the witness admitted to detectives that he made up the story.

Police had been searching the area after the claim was made but have since called off ground search efforts.

The original sexual assault, involving a 6-year-old girl on Tuesday, is still under investigation.

A relative who was house-sitting initially told police he saw a man walking up to the home, matching the 6-year-old’s description of her attacker, according to the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office.

The relative then called 911. When police arrived on Wednesday night, they say they found fresh footprints in a pattern that showed what they believed to be the man running off in a sprint.

Neighbors say they saw officers bring out search dogs and a helicopter, with many detectives running in the direction of the footprints.

Police say the massive police effort involved several officers and “made an already tense neighborhood even more fearful.”

The relative witness now faces charges of filing a false police report.

Police say Tuesday’s assault occurred after a man, posing as someone who was conducting a survey, knocked on the front door of the victim’s home. When the victim answered the door, he began asking her if there was anyone else in the home and told her not to wake her teenage sibling, who was sleeping in another part of the home.

He then began assaulting the girl, according to police. He fled on foot when she began crying.

Police described the alleged attacker as a white man with a balding hairline, very short and light-colored hair, a beard that was “orange” or red in color, wearing a black shirt and black shoes with white accents.