LACEY, Wash. - A young girl who claimed a man tried to lure her and her friend into his van this week has now admitted that they made up the story.

Jim Chamberlain, Thurston County chief deputy, said the girl admitted under questioning that the story was make-believe, and that she and her friend were pretending and are sorry.

The girl said she and her friend, ages 9 and 10, had heard about an earlier child-luring case in the Lacey area involving a white van. When they saw a man in a white van as they walked home from Lydia Hawk Elementary School, they made up the luring story.

According to the girls' story, the man was motioning for them to come toward him. When the man pulled out money from his pocket, they ran.

The girl later admitted that the man was simply talking to a woman as he sat in the van, and did not speak to the girls.

"This report is considered false at this time and the school has been notified," Chamberlain said in a statement.

However, earlier child-luring incidents in the Lacey area are considered genuine.

Three weeks ago, someone tried to abduct Terri Long's daughter when she went out into the front yard to pick up a dropped toy. Police said a man tried to get the 8-year-old girl inside a red car in the 5700 block of Stockton Street Southeast.

"He got out of the car and went towards her, and she realized, 'OK, this isn't good.' And she just dropped everything she had and came running in the house," Long said.

That same week, an 11-year-old boy was chased by two men after he got off the school bus in the 6300 block of 57th Ave SE. The two men drove up in a white van with pink lettering spelling the word "Flowers" on the side.

Anyone with information on any of the attempted lurings is urged to contact police.