INDIANAPOLIS – An Indiana sheriff’s office employee who accused McDonald’s workers of munching down on his sandwich before wrapping it up has recanted after remembering that the alleged hamburglar was him all along.

The unidentified Marion County Jail worker bought the chicken sandwich and a small fries last week from a restaurant in Indianapolis. He said when he went to warm up his meal later, he noticed “several small bites,” according to WTHR.

He said he went back to the restaurant and confronted the manager, who offered him free food, which he declined.

“I just wanted to find out who the person was and if they could deal with that person in an appropriate way,” he told WTHR.

His accusation prompted the Marion County Sheriff’s Office to investigate, and the story began to unravel. The sheriff’s office says the officer has since apologized to the McDonald’s, explaining in a statement how the mix-up apparently happened:

“The employee took a bite out of the sandwich upon starting his shift at the Marion County Jail, then placed it in the refrigerator in a break room. He returned nearly seven hours later having forgotten that he had previously bitten the sandwich. He wrongly concluded that a McDonald’s restaurant employee had tampered with his food because he is a law enforcement officer.”

Marion County Sheriff’s Office officials praised the restaurant staff for their cooperation and and called McDonald’s “a valued civic partner.”