INDEPENDENCE, KAN. ? Twenty-four hours after a popular 16-year-old high school student returned home after reportedly being kidnapped, the Independence police chief acknowledged Wednesday night that authorities had not ruled out the possibility that her story might have been a hoax.

Police and the FBI had said repeatedly Wednesday that they were investigating the case of Kelsey Stelting as an abduction. She was missing for more than 15 hours before she approached a home about eight blocks from her own home and said she had gotten away from her abductor.

However, puzzling questions remained Wednesday about her story.

In a 911 call to police early Tuesday, she said she had been kidnapped at gunpoint from the driveway of her home, forced to run to a white van in front of a lumber yard several blocks away and then forced inside.

But as of Wednesday night, authorities had released no detailed description of the suspect or any drawing of him, and they had not found the van.

At a late-night news conference, Police Chief Lee Bynum said authorities continued their questioning of the teenager late Wednesday and wanted to correlate her account with statements from other Independence High School students. He also said rumors about the abduction were circulating around town, but declined to elaborate.

So far, no one else has been able to corroborate Stelting’s account of her abduction.

Asked whether the teenager had changed her story or whether it had remained consistent, Bynum said, “Let’s do that tomorrow.”

Bynum said authorities planned to make one final statement about the case during a news conference this afternoon.

Kelly Cox, the girl’s mother, said earlier Wednesday that authorities were simply being thorough in not dismissing the possibility of a false report. However, she said she had no doubts about the incident.

“Every single one of us will tell you that Kelsey’s a very forthright young woman,” she said. “If you listen to that 911 call, and I think if you’re a mom or a dad, I think you hear in her voice the trauma, that she is afraid.”

Cox said a doctor examined her daughter thoroughly and found no injuries.

Friends and acquaintances described the girl as bright, a good student who is involved in activities at Independence High School such as softball, cheerleading, dance squad and student government. They said they didn’t see signs of trouble at home or school or anything to cause them to doubt that she’d been abducted.

“She’s one of our finest students,” said Principal Jim Runge. “She’s a tremendous person. I’d love to have her as my daughter. You have 700 like her, and you don’t need a principal.”

The teenager made her call about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, and police traced it to a cellular tower about 10 miles south of Independence, putting her less than 15 miles from the Oklahoma border. Yet, just before 10 Tuesday night, she walked up to a house a mere eight blocks from her home.