(CNN) -- Police and neighbors were searching for three young Michigan boys Saturday who have been missing since their father claimed he dropped them off with a woman before trying to kill himself a day earlier. The father survived his suicide attempt and is being cared for in a mental health facility, said Morenci, Michigan, Police Chief Larry Weeks on Saturday. But Michigan authorities do not know what has happened to his boys -- 5-year-old Tanner Skelton, 7-year-old Alexander William Skelton and 9-year-old Andrew Skelton -- prompting them to issue an Amber Alert on Friday. Weeks said that the boys' father, John Skelton, told police that he dropped the boys off Friday morning with a woman he identified as Joann Taylor -- in part to ensure they didn't see him while and after he tried to commit suicide.NEW: Dozens have searched for three missing boys along Michigan-Ohio borderAn Amber Alert is out for three boys -- ages 5, 7 and 9 -- who were last seen FridayThe boy's father told police he left the boys with a woman he'd met on the internetPolice still don't know if the father's story is true or whether the woman he mentions is real
"We have not been able to locate a _ or confirm that she even exists," Weeks told reporters Saturday evening.