OCALA, Fla. ( WCJB /Gray News) - A 17-year-old in Florida is accused of faking his disappearance that set off a frantic Amber Alert search.

Marion County Sheriff’s Office officials are calling the disappearance a “hoax.”

A Florida Amber Alert was issued for the 17-year-old on Thursday evening, shortly after reports of a shooting in Dunnellon off Highway 484.

Many of the details initially released about his disappearance were based on a text message he sent to his mom. He told her that he’d been shot and kidnapped by four Hispanic men in a light-colored van.

Investigators have since learned those details were made up. Deputies say the teen simply left the area on a bicycle he’d purchased earlier in the day.

He was found on Friday around noon in Williston. Deputies say he shot himself

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