A hitchhiker, who says he is writing memoirs called Kindness in America and claimed he was victim of a drive-by shooting in Montana, admits he shot himself, according to Montana authorities.

Valley County Undersheriff Vernon Buerkle says Ray Dolin, 39, of Julian, W.Va., admitted Thursday night that his earlier claim was false, the Associated Press reports.

BLOG: Hitchhiker's claim

No charges were immediately filed against Dolin, but Buerkle says the case remains under investigation.

Dolin had claimed a man in a maroon pickup pulled over and shot him in the arm while he was hitchhiking along U.S. Highway 2 west of Glasgow, Mont.

Authorities arrested a 52-year-old man and charged him felony assault but have dropped the charges.