Cops "Convinced" Balloon Boy was No Hoax

But Investigators Will Ask Colorado Family Some More Questions after Boy's "For a Show" Remark on Larry King

(CBS/AP)  A 6-year-old boy was found hiding in a cardboard box in his family's garage Thursday after being feared aboard a homemade helium balloon that hurtled 50 miles through the sky on live television.

The discovery marked a bizarre end to a saga that started when the giant silvery balloon floated away from the family's yard Thursday morning, sparking a frantic rescue operation that involved military helicopters and briefly halted some departures from Denver International Airport.

Then, more than two hours after the balloon gently touched down in a field with no sign of the boy, Sheriff Jim Alderden turned to reporters during a news conference, gave a thumbs up and said 6-year-old Falcon Heene was at his house.

"Apparently he's been there the whole time," he said.

The confusion over whether the boy was in the balloon arose as the family tinkered with the craft Thursday and Falcon's father scolded him for getting inside a compartment. He said Falcon's brother saw him inside the compartment and that's why they mistakenly thought he was aboard the balloon when it launched.

Photos: The "Balloon Boy" Incident

But the boy had fled to the garage, climbing a pole into the rafters and hiding in a cardboard box, at some point after the scolding and was never in the balloon during its two-hour, 50-mile journey through two counties. "I yelled at him. I'm really sorry I yelled at him," Richard Heene said, choking up and hugging Falcon to him during a news conference.

"I was in the attic and he scared me because he yelled at me," Falcon said. "That's why I went in the attic."

Heene said the balloon wasn't tethered properly, and "it was a mishap."

"I'm not going to lay blame on anybody," he said.

The boys' parents - Richard Heene and his wife, Mayumi - are storm chasers who appeared twice in the ABC reality show "Wife Swap," most recently in March. The show promoted the Heene family as storm chasers who also "devote their time to scientific experiments that include looking for extraterrestrials and building a research-gathering flying saucer to send into the eye of the storm."

CBS News Correspondent Ben Tracy reports the Heene boys have several videos on YouTube.

The Family behind the "Balloon Boy" Story

Richard Heene said the family had been working on a low-altitude vehicle that people could take out of their garages and use to hover over traffic. But it wasn't supposed to go higher than 20 feet or so, he said.

Richard Heene adamantly denied the notion that the whole thing was a big publicity stunt. "That's horrible after the crap we just went through. No."

During a live interview with CNN, Falcon said he had heard his family calling his name.

"You did?" Mayumi Heene said.

"Why didn't you come out?" Richard Heene said.

Falcon answered, "You had said that we did this for a show."

Later, Richard Heene bristled when the family was asked to clarify and said he didn't know what his son meant. He didn't ask his son what he meant by "a show."

"I'm kind of appalled after all the feelings that I went through up and down that you guys are trying to suggest something else," Richard Heene said.

Richard Heene told KUSA-TV in Denver that he thought his son was referring to earlier in the day when he showed reporters his hiding spot. He didn't return a message from The Associated Press.

The sheriff was already planning to meet with investigators Friday to see if the case warranted further investigation. After the CNN interview, Alderden told the AP: "It has raised some questions. Our personnel who were dealing with the family all day are convinced this is a legitimate incident and this is not a hoax."

Still, in light of the interview, Alderden said, "We intend to go back and further ask the family to cooperate with our investigation through answering more questions and resolve this issue."

Earlier Thursday, the sheriff said he would meet with investigators on Friday to see if the case warranted further investigation.

The flying saucer-like craft tipped precariously at times before gliding to the ground in a dirt field 12 miles northeast of Denver International Airport. Sheriff's deputies secured it to keep it in place, tossing shovelfuls of dirt on one edge and poking holes to let the helium out.

With the child nowhere in sight, investigators searched the balloon's path. Several people reported seeing something fall from the craft while it was in the air, and yellow crime-scene tape was placed around the home.

Neighbor Bob Licko, 65, said he was leaving home when he heard commotion in the backyard of the family. He said he saw two boys on the roof with a camera, commenting about their brother.

"One of the boys yelled to me that his brother was way up in the air," Licko said.

Licko said the boy's mother seemed distraught and that the boy's father was running around the house.

Licko said he didn't believe any hoax was involved.

"Based on what I witnessed in the backyard in the morning with the parents, I don't think that's the case," Licko said. "They're better actors than I thought they were if that's the case."

In a 2007 interview with The Denver Post, Richard Heene described becoming a storm chaser after a tornado ripped off a roof where he was working as a contractor and said he once flew a plane around Hurricane Wilma's perimeter in 2005.

Pursuing bad weather was a family activity with the children coming along as the father sought evidence to prove his theory that rotating storms create their own magnetic fields.

Although Richard said he has no specialized training, they had a computer tracking system in their car and a special motorcycle.

While the balloon was airborne, Colorado Army National Guard sent an OH-58 Kiowa helicopter and a Black Hawk UH-60 to try to rescue the boy, possibly by lowering someone to the balloon. They also were working with pilots of ultralight aircraft on the possibility of putting weights on the homemade craft to weigh it down.

Alderden said he didn't have an estimate of how much the search cost. Capt. Troy Brown said the Black Hawk helicopter was in the air for nearly three hours, and the Kiowa helicopter was airborne for about one hour. The Black Hawk costs about $4,600 an hour to fly, and the Kiowa is $700 an hour, Brown said.

Col. Chris Petty, one of the pilots aboard the Black Hawk, said he was thrilled the boy was OK.

Asked what he would say to the 6-year-old if he saw him, Petty said: "I'm really glad you're alive, I'm very thankful, but I'd sure like to know the rest of the story."

The episode led to a brief shutdown of northbound departures from one of the nation's busiest airports between 1 p.m. and 1:15 p.m. MDT, said Lyle Burrington, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association representative at the Federal Aviation Administration's radar center in Longmont, Colo. The balloon was about 15 miles northwest of the airport at that time.

Before the departure shutdown, controllers had been routing planes away from the balloon, Burrington said.

Jason Humbert said he was in a field checking on an oil well when he found himself surrounded by police who had been chasing the balloon.

"It looked like an alien spaceship you see in those old, old movies. You know, those black-and-white ones. It came down softly," Humbert said. "I asked a police officer if the boy was OK and he said there was no one in it."

Mayumi Heene told CNN she was speechless when she saw her son.

"He scared the daylights out of us," Richard Heene told CNN. "I just asked him to please never do that again."

[erasmus111]

"Sheriff's Official? Parents' emotions consistent with events taking place"


Well DUH! If it's a hoax they would make sure that they acted appropriately, don't ya think?


I just watched that interview with the Sheriff and there is so much that just doesn't make sense.

They thought that the parents had gone into the house, but they hadn't. They supposedly were launching this thing and had a countdown. So then how could they not know whether the kid was in it or not? They would have to undo the ties that held it and so therefore would have been up close to it. They would have been able to see in it.

They said that the boy was hyperactive, so I am wondering how this kid could have stayed in this box for that many hours. They said he must have been asleep. For that long? With all that commotion going on?

I say BULLCRAP to the whole thing.

[Scimajor]

I'm going to "take the high road" and presume innocence first. There's nothing to prove that this was a hoax (the boys statement was adequatly explained).

I for one see this a an example of the best of humanity. This incident sparked world wide attention and the response was wonderful and heart warming.

It's a shame a few people choose to see conspiracies in every dark corner. Fortunately, most of us "take the high road".

[erasmus111]

"It's a shame a few people choose to see conspiracies in every dark corner. Fortunately, most of us 'take the high road'."


I just find it amazing how many people are gullible.

[aubfmet]

These are quick thinking people. Nobody would think they could get away with this, because the balloon must come down.

[reschberger]

Falcon, Rhio and Bradford will be cast as "kid vampires" for the next Twilight movie. They will have to fight it out with the super-sibling-powered vampire kids, the Gosselin 6 - and their 2 older sisters who are the perfect age to market to tween Twilight fans.

[DaVicar8]

Cops "Convinced" Balloon Boy was No Hoax - -


Funny thing...cops were also "Convinced" that that black Harvard Professor was breaking into his own house, too.

I'm not too thrilled with cop's opinions nowadays.

[Harden_Tar]

Some stuff here doesn't add up. First of all, I believe the kid hiding in the attic was NOT a publicity stunt. He screwed up and hid away to pout. BUT, c'mon, that balloon was not not big enough to carry any size person period. The dad should have known that and stated that up front before mobilizing all the search and rescue resources. My problem is now that it is over, that familiy is MILKING it. Talking to anyone with a microphone. The mom and dad are classic media ******. I have watched a couple of interviews with them. I get the same disgusting feeling that I got watching Octomom.

[fabrat1]

I watched the interview and I still don't believe them. The cope may believe him but I don't.

[nor-one]

The cops have to believe him, otherwise they look pretty stupid. Or is stupider a word?

[erasmus111]

by nor-one October 16, 2009 8:58 AM EDT
The cops have to believe him, otherwise they look pretty stupid. Or is stupider a word?


I agree. They don't want to look like idiots that were sucked in by this moron.

[ncx]

This kid is just about the right age to be adopted by the Gosselins and if we can just get Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan to be the babysitter, I think we'll have something really great to keep us occupied while our culture continues to swirl down the toilet.

[AppleID8796]

right on!!!

[icww]

Great candidate for "Lie to Me" on CBS. The guy got what he wanted-to be on TV. Now it's time for Mr. Heene to pay for all the resources spent on this stunt.

[Fetima31]

I think the 6 year old was telling the truth when he said it was for a show. And this morning on the Early Show you can tell that he had been told not to say much. Can we say "Attention Seeking Behavior" on the parents part. They claim to have checked every room in the house did they forget they had an attic.

[findthetruth]

What a crock! I've just watched their interview and besides being tired, the kids were scripted in their answers, mom and dad were forcing faked emotions. With their OWN video showing they were RIGHT THERE when the balloon lifted off and if dad is as smart as he thinks, then he knew that the balloon would NOT lift the weight of his son. I feel this was a total publicity stunt dreamed up by a "sick" father to gain MORE publicity because he seems to like the spotlight. The parents should bear the cost of the resources that were wasted in this bogus stunt and should be considered for child endangerment.

ALL news agencies should stop feeding this personal gain stunt and focus on other priorities.

[rktcat]

It was truly embarrassing and painful to watch Maggie interview this family this morning. Every time I thought it was over she asked another question, it was truly awful. People wouldn't do stupid things like this if they didn't know they would get immediate attention from it. I hope they bill them for all the time that emergency workers spent in good faith trying to save their little boy.

.

[timdgrim]

They're vying for their appearance on the new reality TV show 'America's Most F---ed Up Family' starring the cussing 6 year old 'Baloon Boy'. What a country!

[BlandNancy]

Yes-But they have competition from "Jon & Kate Plus 8" for that coveted
"America's Most F---ed Up Family" role! Not to mention "Octomom" and others! What a country is right!

[LamiePie]

really!!! Anyone watch the "wife Swap" episode these people were on???
The child protective people should be following up on that home and what goes on there. The children go to bed at night dressed for the next day..."if case" they get a storm to chase at night?? They keep their children out of school and pull them out for a "storm to chase"???
They don't believe in caution. They encourage their children to be "adventerous"? I'm not at ALL surprised this happened. AM surprised the little guy wasn't actually IN that contraption! I think the family should pay for the search and rescue operation. If they weren't such idiots, this probably never would have happened. The man is a nut job and his wife supports his craziness!

[mick7744]

Has anyone set up a Falcon Heene Memorial fund yet? It could be administered by his publicity-starved parents.

Premature, you say?

Nonsense! We all gotta go sometime.

Go to the website and make your tax-deductable donation NOW!

[stuart-johns2]

Are these the same cops who said they believed that the boy was in the balloon and nowhere in the house?

[aznuggetbob]

Im going to apologize to the people that did everything they could to try to save this boy. I have to commend them in their effort to save this boy in the heat of the moment and never thought twice and were only concerned with the welfare of the child and that says a lot about them. sorry if I may have offended you.

[finkfust]

I don't know about you, but I don't need people with good intentions and no brains.

[aznuggetbob]

finkfust You may want to think about the next time your laying in the street beedin and people are walkin by saying I dont want to get involved

[finkfust]

aznuggetbob - If they're saying that then they don't have good intentions either!

As long as they have enough brains to dial 911 (or 999 here in the UK) then that's all I want.

There was a case recently when a passer-by found a boy who had been stabbed and they pulled the knife out. The boy bled to death, and he might have survived if the knife was left in place. I would RATHER have someone who only has enough brains to dial 911!

[DaVicar8]

Nobody tried to save this kid...they were NEWS choppers following the balloon, hoping to catch the "splat".

[finkfust]

DaVicar8 - You missed the point, but never mind.

[crapacceptor]

Cops "Convinced" Balloon Boy was No Hoax

What a mega-load of carpola.

[aznuggetbob]

I think the father should have known that too. something smells fishy?

[aznuggetbob]

I cant believe that everyone was convinced that a balloon that small could carry a 35-40 pound child????

[finkfust]

This is simply a story about American stupidity. A child is missing and nobody thought of searching the home first????????????

I would be more worried about why the kid was so scared that he hid for hours in a box. Kids of 6 years old get bored after only a few minutes, so for him to stay in a box for several hours means he was SERIOUSLY scared of his father.