All Blog Posts from Crimesider

NEW YORK - Want to create your very own "balloon boy" hoax? There's an app for that!

Developer Mosa Motion Graphics LLC announced last month that they have developed a new iPhone application called "Balloon Boys" that is inspired by the televised plight of Colorado couple Richard and Mayumi Heene, who are accused of pulling a spectacular hoax by reporting their son was aboard a runaway balloon.

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NEW YORK - The Colorado Sheriff who disclosed that "Balloon Boy's" parents, Richard and Mayumi Heene, were being investigated by child welfare will not face criminal charges, according to a special prosecutor.

David Lane, attorney for Richard Heene, father of the infamous "Balloon Boy," claimed the revelation by Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden violated privacy laws.

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CHIPLEY, Fla. - 7-month-old Shannon Dedrick, a Florida toddler who was missing for five days, has been found alive and apparently well, to the great relief and surprise of authorities. Washington County Sheriff Bobby Haddock said the discovery left "grown men crying."

But the joyous discovery is accompanied by shock and sadness as well, as authorities announced they plan to charge the child's babysitter, Susan Elizabeth Baker, her husband James Arthur Baker, and the child's mother Chrystina Lynn Mercer, in connection with the disappearance.

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CLEVELAND - Cleveland internet pedophiles had better watch out! They may soon have a new foe and he is over seven feet tall.

Cavaliers center Shaquille O'Neal is looking to continue his sideline career in law enforcement in the Midwest now that the NBA star is playing professional basketball in Ohio.

Did we mention deputy Shaq could be carrying a gun?

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FORT COLLINS, Colo. - By now, you have seen his face splashed across your television screen on any number of channels.

Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden, the lawman at the center of the runaway balloon saga, says he's not enjoying the media spotlight, but he has a lot to say and isn’t shy about shooting from the hip on his blog.

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FORT COLLINS, Colo. - On an episode of ABC's "Wife Swap," Mayumi Heene pounds her fists and shouts in frustration because she believes her co-star isn't paying enough attention to one of his sons.

Off-camera, the mother of Colorado "balloon boy" Falcon Heene is a stoic, hardworking woman who is loyal to her family and sometimes subservient to her husband, those who know her say.

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FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Richard and Mayumi Heene, in all their alleged balloon-boy hoax glory, have been reported to child protective services in Colorado, according to Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden.

Now the question is whether the couple that lost their silver weather balloon will lose their three boys after CPS investigates the children's well-being.

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FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The "balloon boy" story has now shifted focus to Robert Thomas, an associate of Richard Heene, who claims the two exchanged emails months ago that outlined Heene's plan to create a media sensation by floating a flying saucer-shaped balloon into the sky.

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NEW YORK - Richard Heene and his wife could soon face felony charges of perpetrating last week's alleged Colorado balloon hoax. But the balloon boy's father is no stranger to criminal charges.

CBS News' Crimesider confirmed with the City Attorney's office in Los Angeles that Heene was arrested in April 1997 and charged with misdemeanor vandalism, vehicle tampering and disturbing the peace.

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FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Call it a close encounter of the culinary kind.

Months before Richard Heene's "UFO-like" balloon ascended into the sky with his son supposedly on board, the amateur scientist and professional tile layer, explained on national TV his belief that aliens are humanity's ancestors, and that one spoke to him while he was at a fast-food restaurant.

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