William Cummings

USA TODAY

A Texas teen, who earlier this month gave police a dramatic account of being abducted and raped by three black men, confessed Tuesday evening that story was a hoax, according to police.

On the evening of March 8, Breana Talbott, 18, entered a Denison, Texas, church bloody and wearing only a shirt, bra and underwear. She was visibly cut and scratched.

Denison police had been frantically searching for the woman for roughly three hours. Sam Hollingsworth, Talbott's fiancé, had called police earlier that evening, at about 5:30 p.m., to report her missing. He said he had found her car in an apartment building parking lot with the door open, and her phone and keys nearby.

When police interviewed Talbott after she was found at the church, she said she had been kidnapped by three "black males" wearing ski masks. She told police they took her to the woods and sexually assaulted her.

Police searched the wooded area where she said she was assaulted. There they said they recovered clothing and other "personal effects" belonging to Talbott.

Her story unraveled quickly from there.

"There were things that just did not add up with what we were seeing," Denison Police Lt. Mike Eppler told USA TODAY. Police believed the crime scene had been staged and a medical examination did not uncover any evidence of sexual assault.

Almost two weeks after the incident, Talbott confessed the entire thing had been a hoax. She said her injuries were self-inflicted, according to police.

Talbott was released Thursday from the Grayson County Jail. She faces a misdemeanor charge for filing a false report to police.

Her initial story received a lot of attention on social media. The alleged assault was of particular interest to white nationalist groups who cited the story as an example of a perceived double standard in the media for white victims of crime.

Police chief Jay Burch said in a statement that the hoax was "insulting to our community" and "especially insulting to the African-American community."

"The anger and hurts caused from such a hoax are difficult and all so unnecessary," Burch said.

A GoFundMe page created for Talbott and Hollingsworth has been taken down.

Eppler said it remains unclear why Talbot invented the abduction and assault. He said there are no other suspects in connection to the hoax.