Undeniable Truth
3:46 pm on October 15th, 2009
Good grief! I just saw this on yahoo.
Jessiesgirl1108
3:47 pm on October 15th, 2009
The balloon has landed and the boy was not inside…I bet he’s sitting somewhere laughing his butt off watching this all unfold. At least I hope that’s what is going on…
solange822001
3:56 pm on October 15th, 2009
I am watching this live, I can only hope maybe he is hiding because he thinks he’ll be in trouble??????
Morbid
4:00 pm on October 15th, 2009
A sibling saw him get inside. They think he fell out because the door to the craft was unlocked. It was not built to carry anyone.
Morbid
4:03 pm on October 15th, 2009
Officials believe that there is a possibility that Falcon could be hiding in the Fort Collins neighborhood, in fear of recriminations.
“That’s good news and that’s bad news,” said Erik Nilsson, the Larimer County Emergency manager said in a telephone interview.
solange822001
4:23 pm on October 15th, 2009
I was just about to post what you did, that they think he may be hiding. I dont know how that balloon opens, but if it has a door or hatch and he feel out, we would see it open in the pictures. That gives me a little hope
solange822001
4:27 pm on October 15th, 2009
Oh wow. Someone posted this over at HuffPo, this never occurred to me:
“Missing child and an eccentric father with an anger problem. Why is everyone missing the obvious?”
katyk
4:47 pm on October 15th, 2009
Of course they were on Wife Swap.
I hope he’s just hiding or something. This is gut wrenching.
solange822001
5:00 pm on October 15th, 2009
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — A Colorado sheriff’s official says a 6-year-old boy climbed into a box that was attached to a homemade balloon, but the box wasn’t found when the craft crashed.
Kathy Messick, Larimer County sheriff’s spokeswoman, says one of the boy’s brothers saw him get into the box or basket, which was attached with pegs.
She says search teams are scouring the area from the house in the direction that the balloon flew. The craft was airborne for more than two hours and glided through two countries.
Messick says investigators are looking into every possibility, including whether the boy was ever in the balloon.
She described the boy, Falcon, as 3 feet tall with dark hair, and said his parents are “very traumatized.”
nicki
5:10 pm on October 15th, 2009
LARIMER COUNTY – Authorities are searching a specific area in Larimer County for a box that was attached to the bottom of an experimental aircraft that took off from a Fort Collins home with a 6-year-old boy inside after a sheriff’s deputy thought he saw something fall in that area.
http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=125161&catid=339
ImmortalOne
5:23 pm on October 15th, 2009
I find the irony in this… I watched this episode of Wife Swap just this past few days. They swapped places with a family that was “too safe” and they were “too lenient” about what their kids did. That’s where the irony and amusement ends.
I am really hoping that they find the poor kid in the garage hiding or something though… However I have a very bad feeling about this.
silvahalo
5:35 pm on October 15th, 2009
What an adorable child! One of my boys is the same age, I just can’t imagine the fear for both child and parents. Admittedly, this is all sounding very odd. I hope there isn’t more to this incident that leaves a child missing then dead for other reasons than falling out of the balloon.
Be found alive and well little one!
nicki
5:40 pm on October 15th, 2009
Falcon and his brothers actualy have their own music video on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBWJXXgaYBo
sarabei
5:54 pm on October 15th, 2009
I can SO see them playing a joke on their parents and hiding and then it getting blown out of proportion like this and them being SO afraid to say so….at least I HOPE it is a joke…otherwise…too upsetting to think about!!
nicki
6:04 pm on October 15th, 2009
saying he has been found in Ft Collins
nicki
6:06 pm on October 15th, 2009
Been found alive and is at his home! YEA
nicki
6:10 pm on October 15th, 2009
News is saying he has been hidding in a box in the attic of the garage…..boy I bet after all the hugs he is in BIG TROUB:E
Jaded
6:27 pm on October 15th, 2009
WTF is it with the attics today?
Glad to hear the little rugrat is still alive and in one piece.
Dr.Keegee
6:58 pm on October 15th, 2009
at least I HOPE it is a joke…otherwise…too upsetting to think about!!
Dad has a fledgling web site
family appears on a reality TV show
Kid is found in the attic (how’d he get there? They’re usually not that accessible to 6 yr olds – although it can be done)
I’m queasy with “susan smith” vibes
anywho – glad it wasn’t the tragedy I initially thought it was
MadeaBecBec
7:02 pm on October 15th, 2009
Youtube video of boy being found :
Falcon didn’t Fly…..Thank goodness!!
solange822001
7:58 pm on October 15th, 2009
Yay, I was right thank god! Now I hate to say this, but i am starting to think this was a publicity stunt. Why would the brother say he saw the little one get in when he didnt? I hope Im wrong on that though
popeyeray
8:01 pm on October 15th, 2009
Oh, dear. How scared the poor little thing must be. they are talking on CNN … I’m starting to have anxiety! Has the poor dear had a thing to EAT yet!? Has he admitted to “fibbing” about the whole thing?
solange822001
8:04 pm on October 15th, 2009
I forgot to mention this, but if I remember correctly one of the tv stations reported that the Dad called the station directly asking for help with their chopper, asking if the chopper could help locate the balloon. The station then called law enforcement to confirm that the story was true, and law enforcement told them that they were aware of the situation. However, how weird is it that he had the presence of mind to call the tv station? Granted, if the kid really had been in the balloon, it would have been smart of him to think to use the station choppers as a resource rather than waiting on law enforcement to do it, but it still makes you think..
Dr.Keegee
8:18 pm on October 15th, 2009
solange it is looking very suspicious, to me anyway. I have a feeling that dad was envisioning “GMA” “Today” “Larry King” etc –
I thought of the publicity angle during the day when I got ’self-promotion’ vibes from what I was hearing of dad. Frankly I hoped it was so.
sarabei
1:18 am on October 16th, 2009
I am SOOO glad the little one is alright, however my hink ‘o meter is off the charts about the dad. What parent would call a TV station before 911 or emergency services in that situation??
Wonder
2:28 am on October 16th, 2009
Amazing how fast that thing goes, and right after it passed the 1:10 point it looks like its goes back from which direction it came from.
Looks like a Jiffy Pop – amazing invention
Has there been any talk about the price or the cost to manufacture,
I would ever be so glad to see my child safe of course – somebody should supplement the disaster fund – wonder how much money it cost for this event.
adorkable
7:00 am on October 16th, 2009
omg these people are scum. It looks like they put the child up to this themselves for publicity!
the boy says “You said we did this for the show”
malq
8:05 am on October 16th, 2009
This was big news here, They even interrupted Rush Limbaugh.
LOL at the media, they never even considered the boy might not be in the balloon and had the story on full tilt. Reminds me of the time I took my dads new TV apart when I was a kid. I hid in the garage attic for two days. Turned out they knew I was there the whole time.
Saffron
8:29 am on October 16th, 2009
Did anyone catch Larry King Live? They were interviewing him, whoever was in for Larry asked them to ask Falcon why he did it. The mom was obviously coaching the boy to answer their “story”. The boy mumbled something that was unintelligible but ended with “we did it for the show.” Mom immediately said, “No, no.” The interviewer said “what did he say?” and the dad went off on some tangent and steered the story away. Later when they confronted them with the boy’s words, dad tried to put some spin on what Falcon said but when he realized there was no way to spin it in a good way, he flipped out because the interviewer was trying to make them look bad.
This is one of the most obvious set ups. His breakdown in the middle of the interview to cry about when they found the balloon empty made Ronald Cummins’ breakdown look like an Oscar winning performance.
This was about the publicity. They wanted to be on every show in America. Jerks.
solange822001
8:42 am on October 16th, 2009
Oh my god. Poor child. Im going to cry. What piece of shit parents he has. Now they are going to be mad at him for just telling the truth.
solange822001
8:43 am on October 16th, 2009
This comment on youtube made me laugh though:
this film will go down in history as being the most analyzed piece of film since “the zapruder film”…at 0:44, you can clearly hear? the father crap his pants.
sarabei
9:22 am on October 16th, 2009
Piece of shit parents!! If this was a publicity stunt, I hope and pray the parents have to answer for it, and the very least paying for the search that went on!!! Those poor kids! I feel sorry for them for being forced to be involved in something so cruel. People were caring SO much and this family just abused peoples caring…next time people will hesitate to help because…what if they are making this up. They make me puke!
Jaded
10:16 am on October 16th, 2009
Kids say the darnedest things!!!
nellymed
10:29 am on October 16th, 2009
The dad definently crapped his pants during the CNN interview.
Athena
11:15 am on October 16th, 2009
LMAO! It was a hoax and the kid busted dad on national television. And you can see the kid considering his response. That shit was intentional.
And dad comes off like a total sleaze, if you ask me. Listening to him try to explain away his son’s confession made me feel dirty.
solange822001
11:56 am on October 16th, 2009
This morning right when the father was asked about why his son mentioned the show, on two separate shows little Falcon vomited. Whatever happened, since we dont know yet and I want to give this family the benefit of the doubt, this little guy is suffering a lot. Someone needs to step in and do something. Stop doing interviews and let him recuperate from all this.
BriarRose
12:26 pm on October 16th, 2009
Can’t remember the last good hoax, so I’m rooting for a hoax!
In hind sight, the balloon didn’t look like it was pulling any weight. During the balloon chase, a caller to a national talk show said he’d done the math and the balloon couldn’t have lifted the boy, but ‘course that would have ruined the drama. We are soooo easily tweeked.
Dr.Keegee
1:11 pm on October 16th, 2009
I think dad was envisioning a ‘Flying high with the Heenes” ala kate + 8
I don’t doubt he’ll get a show out of it too. Octomom, Kate, Heenes – what a lineup – who’s next?
Coyote
1:14 pm on October 16th, 2009
After seeing the interview on the Today show this morning, I have no doubt this is a hoax. The little boy is getting sick because he’s so distressed, and after that the dad looked like he was about to get sick as well. They need to stop doing all interviews and fess up; stop torturing this poor kid.
Winterstar
4:38 pm on October 16th, 2009
My guy is a hot air balloon pilot and doesn’t think the balloon had enough lift to carry anyone even a six year old.
dreamstorm1220
2:02 pm on October 17th, 2009
I’ve been wondering… If MY kid hid in an attic while I screamed his name and thought he had floated off in a flying fucking saucer, the FIRST question I would ask upon finding him would be “Did you hear us calling your name?” “WHY didn’t you answer?”.
Is it just me, or did it sound like the first time they asked him that was in the interview?
adorkable
3:09 pm on October 17th, 2009
beacsuse they didnt need to ask him. they told him to hide there!
sleazebags!
Jaded
5:04 pm on October 17th, 2009
A storm-chasing inventor met with sheriff’s officials Saturday amid lingering questions about whether he perpetrated a big hoax when his 6-year-old son vanished into the rafters of his garage for five hours while the world thought he was zooming through the sky in a flying saucer-like helium balloon.
The saga grew stranger by the day. Richard Heene knocked on the windows of journalists camped outside his home early Saturday and promised a “big announcement” in a few hours, then did an about-face when he told reporters that they should leave questions in a cardboard box on the front doorstep.
“Absolutely no hoax. I want your questions in the box,” Heene said, waving a cardboard box before going back in the home.
A circus-like atmosphere formed outside the home, including men holding signs and occasionally yelling “balloon boy.” One sign read, “Put balloon boy on TV: America’s Most Wanted.”
[...]
Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden has said that he wanted to re-interview the family after Falcon told CNN that “you said we did this for a show” when asked why he didn’t come out of his hiding place. Then Falcon got sick during two separate TV interviews when asked why he hid.
Sheriff’s spokeswoman Eloise Campanella said she couldn’t comment on the details of the investigation, including whether investigators were questioning Heene or the rest of the family.
“We’re trying to figure things out. That’s all I can say,” she said.
The balloon was supposed to be tethered to the ground when it lifted off. A video of the launch shows the family counting down in unison, “3, 2, 1,” before Richard Heene pulls a cord, setting the balloon into the air.
“Whoa!” one of the boys exclaims. Then his father says in disbelief, “Oh, my God!” He then says to someone, “You didn’t put the (expletive) tether down!” and he kicks the wood frame that had held the balloon.
Falcon’s brother said he saw him inside the compartment before it took off and that’s why they thought he was in there when it launched. Before the launch, Heene said he had yelled at Falcon for getting inside.
Alderden thinks it’s likely that Falcon ran off because he was scared of getting in trouble, later falling asleep in his hiding spot. He said he doubted that such a hyperactive boy could be ordered to stay quiet for five hours.
[...]
He and his family appeared on the ABC reality show “Wife Swap” and the show’s producer said that it had a show in development with the Heenes but that the deal is now off. TLC also said Heene had pitched a reality show to the network months ago, but it passed on the offer.
Despite his attempts to get on TV, Heene insisted Saturday that he didn’t know what kinds of questions were being asked about him because he didn’t have cable.
“I’m going to place the box out front. Please write your questions down, because friends are telling me they’re saying this and that. I have no idea what the news is saying,” Heene said
Link
Dr.Keegee
6:06 pm on October 17th, 2009
Aren’t his 15 minutes about up? Well then, shouldn’t someone tell him?
defenestratethis
8:03 pm on October 17th, 2009
Wow…wonder how much this fiasco cost the taxpayers?
Jaded
11:14 am on October 18th, 2009
Deputies searched the home of a couple caught up in Colorado’s “balloon boy” saga Saturday night after the sheriff said he was pursuing criminal charges in a case that at first sparked fear for the child, then relief he was okay, to suspicions of a hoax.
[...]
But Sheriff Jim Alderden didn’t say who would be charged or what the charges would be. His deputies later showed up at the Heene’s Fort Collins home with a search warrant and at least three of them began a search. Sgt. Ian Stewart declined so say what they were after.
Alderden didn’t call Thursday’s hours-long drama a hoax, but he expressed disappointment that he couldn’t level more serious charges in the incident, which sent police and the military scrambling to save young Falcon Heene as millions of worried television viewers watched.
“We were looking at Class 3 misdemeanor, which hardly seems serious enough given the circumstances,” Alderden said. “We are talking to the district attorney, federal officials to see if perhaps there aren’t additional federal charges that are appropriate in this circumstance.”
[...]
After the sheriff spoke to reporters, Richard Heene and his wife walked out of his office after meeting with officials for several hours. As reporters yelled questions, all Heene said was, “I was talking to the sheriff’s department just now.” He then walked to his car with his wife and a friend, and they drove away.
It wasn’t clear where the family was late Saturday night. By 9 p.m., an AP reporter at the family home said the couple hadn’t returned after leaving the sheriff’s office. Their three sons were believed to have been at home being watched by sheriff’s officials earlier in the day, but their whereabouts also weren’t known to reporters in the evening.
Link
sayitisntso
11:14 am on October 18th, 2009
The parents are being charged with filing a false police report and may be ordered to repay the costs involved in the search for this kid.
sayitisntso
11:39 am on October 18th, 2009
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_balloon_boy
The parents have also been reported to CPS.
Just my luck sucks
3:11 pm on October 18th, 2009
Those parents should be horse whipped. They just set their children up for life long bullying. Poor kids–born to attention seeking whores.
LeeMouse
3:39 pm on October 18th, 2009
Sheriff Calls Balloon Chase a Hoax
The episode that transfixed the nation last week — a spaceship-like balloon floating through the Colorado skies with a 6-year-old boy named Falcon believed to be inside — was declared “a hoax” by the Larimer County sheriff’s office on Sunday.
“It has been determined that this is a hoax, that it was a publicity stunt,” the Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden said at a news conference in Fort Collins, Colo., one day after re-interviewing members of the now-famous Heene family about the case. “We have evidence to indicate it was a publicity stunt done with the hope of marketing themselves to a reality television show sometime in the future.”
Richard Heene and his wife Mayumi have not yet been arrested, but the sheriff said that among the charges being considered are three felonies: conspiracy between the husband and the wife to commit a crime, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and an attempt to influence a public servant., the last of which carries a prison term of six years. The charges could also include a misdemeanor, filing a false report.
The sheriff said his conclusions were based on separate interviews of the Heenes and their three children as well as searches of their computers, e-mail records and documents found in their home. He said the plot to launch a balloon and tell authorities that Falcon was aboard was planned two weeks ago, with the aim of obtaining a contract to do a reality TV show.
I cannot understand why anyone on earth would want to try to make an actual career out of being a reality TV “star.” Maybe go on something like WifeSwap once just for the experience, or to learn something…but aspire to do multiple shows, or to think you’re so gosh-darned fascinating that you pitch me!me!me! shows to various networks? Bad enough when it’s a brainless 20-something twit. But when it’s a couple of 40-something parents, it’s just downright pathetic.

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