CHICAGO (CBS) – A 23-year-old man has turned himself into Chicago police, after making up a story about finding a 2-year-old girl alone in a stroller earlier this month — when the girl was actually his own daughter.

Last week, police asked for the public’s help in locating the family of a 2-year-old girl, after a man they believed was a concerned citizen reported finding a girl abandoned in a stroller near Ashland Avenue and Roosevelt Road on May 4.

A week later, the same man turned himself in, and admitted to police that the whole thing was a hoax.

Clint Ross, of the 2100 block of West 71st Place, was charged on Friday with contributing to the neglect of a child. Police said Ross admitted he made up the story about finding the girl by herself in a stroller. He said the girl was his daughter and had been in his care the entire time, until he left her with police on May 4.

Ross told police he was angry that day, and regretted what he did, saying he should have left his daughter with relatives.

Police had already been suspicious of Ross’ story, because he had provided a false name and phone number when he initially reported the girl had been abandoned.

The girl was taken to the University of Illinois Medical Center after she was taken to a police station on May 4, and was later placed in foster care. She remains in foster care while the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services investigates.