Police are looking for a man who may have been stabbed in Brighton on Tuesday.
Officers were told a man was stabbed in the chest and thigh during an argument between three men close to Carpetright in the area around Dewe Road and Lewes Road.
The incident is reported to have happened at about 1.30am - but police have been unable to find the man who was said to have been hurt.
An 18-year-old man of no fixed address was arrested on suspicion of assault and questioned before being released on bail until July 9.
Detective Sergeant Cheryl Lewendon said: "It is possible that this incident never happened or did not happen as we have been told but it is also possible that there is someone who has been seriously injured but who has not been found.
"We have checked with the hospitals but we have not yet found anyone with the injuries of the reported victim.
"We would like to speak to anyone who was in the area around Carpetright in the early hours of yesterday morning and could have seen or heard anything suspicious.
"If you know who the injured man is, or if it is you, please contact us."
Anyone with information should call 101 quoting serial 1042 of 27/5, email 101@sussex.pnn.police.uk or call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
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