Authorities say a West Virginia man who claimed to be a victim of a drive-by shooting along a rural Montana highway has confessed to shooting himself.

Valley County Undersheriff Vernon Buerkle says 39-year-old Ray Dolin of Julian, W. Va., acknowledgement Thursday night.

No charges were immediately filed against Dolin. The case remains under investigation and Buerkle says charges are possible.

Dolin claimed he was hitchhiking along U.S. Highway 2 west of Glasgow when the driver of a maroon pickup pulled over and shot him in the arm.

Authorities later arrested a 52-year-old man and charged him felony assault. The charge against Lloyd Christopher Danielson III was dropped Thursday.

Dolin said in an earlier interview he was travelling across the state working on a memoir called "Kindness in America."