Hitchhiker admits he shot himself in Mont.

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GLASGOW, Mont., June 16 (UPI) -- A man said to be writing a book about kindness in America has admitted he shot himself in Montana and blamed someone in a pickup truck, a sheriff said.

Valley County Sheriff Glen Meier said Ray Dolin, 39, of West Virginia admitted Thursday night the gunshot wound to his arm was self-inflicted, KRTV, Great Falls, Mont., reported.

Dolin had claimed he was hitchhiking along Highway 2 west of Glasgow June 9 when the driver of a pickup pulled over, shot him and drove away.

Lloyd Christopher Danielson III, 52, was later arrested and charged in the shooting.

Charges against Danielson were dropped, Meier said Thursday, after a sheriff's office investigation had "unequivocally proven Danielson had no association with the shooting."

Why Dolin shot himself remained unclear and he could face charges, KRTV said.

The Billings Gazette had reported earlier Dolin was writing a memoir called "The Kindness of America."