Their story fell apart after the man pictured in the NYPD's release turned himself in.
Two children who told police a man had been stalking them and left an ominous note at their Brooklyn home made it all up, officials said.
Police said Monday night that the 8-year-old girl and her 12-year-old brother recanted their story in which an unknown man terrorized the pair over the course of several days.
The pair initially said the man was first spotted following the little girl as she walked with a friend from her home to her school bus pickup location early Friday before attempting to pick up the boy from his school bus later that day.
They also said the man was seen outside their home, where he asked the children where they slept and who they lived with.
The kids told police the man returned on Saturday to leave a note at the home.
“Watch out. I am watching you!! Your daughter is cute,” the note said.
Authorities appealed to the public to find the man the children said was menacing them, releasing surveillance footage of an unidentified person outside the family’s home.
But the children’s story fell apart after the man turned himself in to the 69th precinct saying he was innocent, the New York Post reported.
The man reportedly told police he once lived in the home and was just passing by.
After being extensively questioned by police, the man was released Monday without any charges filed.
The children eventually admitted to making up the story and writing the letter found in their mailbox themselves, authorities said.
Sources told The Post that the kids’ parents — one of whom is a NYPD Special Victims detective — were away on vacation and the brother and sister were unhappy with their strict babysitter.
The children will not be charged with a crime, according to DNAinfo.com.
