Balloon Boy Dad: "Absolutely No Hoax"

Richard Heene Fails to Make Promised "Big Announcement"; Sheriff's Dept. Expected to Re-Interview Family

(CBS/AP)  Last Updated 12:48 p.m. ET

The father at the center of the "Balloon Boy" controversy reiterated this morning that the reported disappearance of his 6-year-old son aboard a helium balloon in the skies over Colorado was not a hoax.

A crowd of reporters and others gathered in front of the Heene family's house in Fort Collins, after Richard Heene promised to make a "big announcement" at 10 a.m. Mountain time. But the announcement did not materialize.

When Heene appeared, he instead simply displayed a box into which he invited the media to submit questions, to be answered this evening.

Richard Heene has dismissed allegations of a hoax as "extremely pathetic." Yet doubts surfaced after a CNN interview in which Falcon Heene told his parents "you said we did this for a show" after his father asked why he did not come down from his hiding place during a search of the house Thursday.

The family made the rounds on morning talk shows Friday, including CBS' "Early Show," where he claimed the boy's disappearance was not a stunt. Falcon threw up during two separate interviews when asked why he hid.

"Friends are telling me they're saying this and that," he said this morning about the allegations. "I have no idea what the news is saying - I don't have cable. Okay?"

"Can we just ask our questions at all?" said one of the reporters assembled.

"No. Not at all," he replied.

When a reporter asked, "Would you just say once and for all, was this some sort of publicity stunt? Was this a hoax? And will you talk to the police today?"

"Absolutely no hoax," was Heene's reply. "I want your questions in the box. I'll get right back to you. Okay?"

The family has been in the news since Thursday when the balloon Heene had in his backyard broke free of its tethers. Richard and Mayumi Heene reported their son, 6-year-old Falcon, was on board.

That set off a frantic search that included law enforcement agencies, the Colorado Air National Guard and TV helicopters. The balloon landed in a field about 50 miles from Fort Collins and no
one was on board.

Sheriff's investigators found the boy in the rafters of his family's garage where he said he hid because he thought he was in trouble.

Outside the house this morning, a crowd gathered including two young men holding signs and occasionally yelling, "balloon boy." One sign read "Put balloon boy on TV: America's Most Wanted." The other read, "10/15/09. We will never forget."

A man pulled a red wagon with coffee for sale. The sign had $2 scratched out with a new price of $1.

Police Want to Re-Interview Family

Sheriff's investigators hoped to talk to Richard and Mayumi Heene again Saturday to resolve lingering questions over whether the drama — with military helicopters scrambling to catch up to the helium balloon and rescue the boy supposedly inside — could have been a hoax.

Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden acknowledged that Falcon's comments on CNN had clearly "raised everybody's level of skepticism." But, he said, investigators had no reason to believe the whole thing was a hoax.

Alderden said the family seemed genuine during the panic, and he believed events could have unfolded just as they described: Falcon got frightened when his father scolded him for playing inside the balloon, and hid in the garage out of fear.

The sheriff said his office has been flooded with calls and e-mails about the matter. He added that officials "have to operate on what we can prove as a fact and not what people want to be done."

The Heenes say that when they couldn't find Falcon, they called the Federal Aviation Administration, then a local TV station with a news helicopter, and then dialed 911. The sheriff said the TV station call made sense because the helicopter could have provided immediate assistance.

In the 911 call, the boy's mother, Mayumi Heene, told a dispatcher in a panicked voice that her child was in "a flying saucer." She sobbed and said, "We've got to get my son."

It was not the first time someone from the Heenes' home has dialed 911. A Colorado sheriff's deputy responded to a 911 hang-up in February at the home, hearing a man yelling and noticing Mayumi Heene had a mark on her cheek and broken blood vessels in her left eye. She said it was because of a problem with her contacts.

Richard Heene said he was yelling because his children stayed up past their bedtime. The husband and wife said nothing had happened, and the deputy concluded he did not have probable cause to make an arrest.

If the balloon ordeal was a hoax, the parents could be charged with making a false report to authorities, a low-level misdemeanor, Alderden said.

He said authorities would need to bring a criminal case before attempting to recoup costs for the thousands of dollars spent on aerial and ground searches for the boy. Officials rerouted planes around the balloon's flight path and briefly shut down Denver International Airport.

Deputies searched the family's home but didn't look in the attic because they didn't think it was possible Falcon could climb up there, Alderden said.

While the balloon was in the air, the sheriff's department reached out to a university professor who determined that a balloon of that size could probably handle a payload of about 80 pounds, Alderden said. Falcon weighs about 37 pounds.

The balloon was supposed to be tethered to the ground when it lifted off Thursday. A video of the launch shows the family counting down in unison, "3, 2, 1," before Richard Heene pulls a cord, setting the silvery craft 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.

Over the years, Richard Heene has worked as a storm chaser, a handyman and contractor, and an aspiring reality-TV star.

He and his family appeared on the ABC reality show "Wife Swap," receiving no more than a few thousand dollars for each show, according to a person familiar with the production. The person requested anonymity because the source was not authorized to speak publicly.

In addition, the producer of "Wife Swap" said that it had a show in development with the Heenes but that the deal is now off. The producer did not provide specifics. TLC also said Heene had pitched a reality show to the network months ago, but it passed on the offer.

Barb Slusser Adams, who along with Heene and another man worked on a proposed show called "The Science Detectives," said she became used to his relentless attempts to get media attention for the program, which never aired. Heene described the show on his MySpace page as a documentary series "to investigate the mysteries of science."

Slusser said one of Heene's publicity ideas involved going at dawn to the top of a mountain with her and an associate from the show. They would be clad in black attire similar to that worn by characters in the "Matrix" movies, "and the helicopter would come by and strafe us or whatever," Slusser said. She and the associate said "absolutely not."

Slusser said Heene approached ABC to be on "Wife Swap" in an attempt to promote "The Science Detectives." She said Heene included her in his pitch to be on "Wife Swap" without her knowledge, describing her as a family friend who could be on the show.

Actor-comedian Perry Caravello said he met Heene back in the early 1990s, when Heene was struggling in Hollywood. Caravello said Heene rented out a room at the Comedy Store, and he and a handful of comedians performed, but that the event was a "total bomb."

The two worked on a couple of construction jobs before Heene approached Caravello about storm chasing. "He wanted to ride a motorcycle into the middle of a tornado. It was stupid, out-of-the-world stuff."

Maj. Justin Smith of the sheriff's office said social workers have been asked to get involved because of concerns about the family's storm chasing. He said authorities want to make sure the children are in a healthy environment.

The sheriff said investigators asked social workers to wait to talk with the Heenes until the family talks to authorities again.

On Friday, two of the Heene boys could be seen playing in the backyard and peeking through windows at reporters on the street. One of the boys, Ryo, would occasionally crack open the door and tell journalists that the family was not talking today.

"My dad said he's tired of this show," the boy said.

[zultar1]

Its quite possible this is a hoax and quite possible that it really happened the way it was televised. Youre free to form your own opinions and yes the family is very suspect. But lets not forget folks that its up to the police and a jury to find a man or woman guilty of a crime, your opinions, while valid... have no legal merit.

[Orlandojon]

A former assistant and employee of Rihard Heene has come forward and told a media outlet that he helped plan a stunt with a UFO shaped balloon 1 year ago. Richard Heene wanted to gain media attention to sell his reality TV show idea.

[bjenkins501]

These people have had MORE than their 15 minutes of fame. I'm already sick of the whole thing. This man is an idiot, the childern should be taken away and placed in foster care!! He should go into 72 hour observation in a mental hospital. Bet they would keep him!

[erasmus111]

by melchg07 October 17, 2009 7:24 PM EDT
abcnews.com has a video that the family released that shows footage of the balloon being released. If that is real footage then this thing certainly was a scam and the family should foot the bill for all the money that was spent on this BS.


I haven't seen the video, but they said that they were filming it and doing a countdown, so it would be impossible for them not to know that he wasn't in there. They had to untie the ropes to let it go!! I saw a picture of it and the ropes weren't very long. So that means they would have been right up to the box.

This guy is missing a few bricks.

[melchg07]

abcnews.com has a video that the family released that shows footage of the balloon being released. If that is real footage then this thing certainly was a scam and the family should foot the bill for all the money that was spent on this BS.

You can clarly see that they knew the kid wasn't in it....not that there looks like there is even a way for a person to be in it in the first place.

Fine the hell out of them and make them foot the bill.

[transmogrify]

Yo Richard, I know you're doin' your thing and I'll let you get back to that, but that Nigerian prince had the best hoax of all time!

[Gabby9900]

The media should teach this jerk a lesson by putting no questions in his "box" and not showing up for his "big announcement". Who cares what he has to say anyway? The only news about that family I want to hear is the parents have been put away and kids are in a normal home. Anybody with any common sense knows he's lying.

[45ford]

i live 15 minutes away from Henne and all day i have been tempted to drive over there to deposit a shovel full of animal waste in that box.

[aquahomme]

That moron he realy thinks hes goin to get away with this even the kid said it was a show. What a moron gets everybody worreid praying gets the fire department police and i could go on forever but he'll get it when he gets that bill!

[Skruffy1]

This story had H-O-A-X all over it from the beginning. Whoever the "university professor" is that they dug up to say "the balloon could have lifted 80 pounds), I have to question his determiniation. I spent 25 years launching weather balloons that were about half the size of this mylar "flying saucer". Their free lift was 2900 grams, or 6.5 pounds. Plus, Heene's saying in the 911 call that a device onboard produced a million-volt electrical charge one minute out of five in order to steer the balloon (that's impossible - it was a free-floating balloon)is very suspect... not to mention that such a device would have some weight to it. There's no way that toy could have lifted that child and the father very well knew that. He's trying to sell a "science" TV show, but he's a wacko... and NOT a scientist.

[olghina2012]

The FAA should have a law that you have to have a license in order to let something that flies. How long did it take for them to build that? And when they decided to let it go who knows what they were thinking. The boy is safe. And it could of been worse. An airplane could of crashed in to it. Hoax or not, the parents should of make sure all of the kids are safe. The parents should go to parenting classes.

[olghina2012]

Go home media. It doesn't make a difference that its a hoax, the boy's safe. Don't make it any futher remarks.

[myopinionpal]

When I was watching that balloon land to me it was quite obvious no one was in that balloon it was floating as if it were light as a feather and a 5 or 6 year old weighs at least 50 pounds.So in other words that balloon had too soft of a landing for someone to be in it.

[45ford]

for Henne to play up a supposed "accident" by saying he's got a "big announcement" then he waffles at making it is troubling. that act alone suggests to he's playing it up for all the attention he can get. later Henne exits his home with a cardboard then proceeds to instruct the throngs of people gathered outside to put their questions in the box and he will answer them later tonight. that's even more disturbing. it very much seems like he's milking this situation for all it's worth, and it really begs the question if it really was an accident. through it all, Henne has managed to tick off several neighbors and other residents in the proximity who have begun making public statements and holding protest signs for Henne to put an end to it. it's time for law enforcement to ratchet up the heat on Henne because the whole ordeal increasingly looks, sounds and smells fishy. perhaps they should take him into custody and force him to undergo a rigorous psychological evaluation. maybe then he'll get the message and come to his senses.

[hippie1973-2009]

I just have to ask: Was there a reporter dumb enough to leave a question in the box?

[erasmus111]

by hippie1973-2009 October 17, 2009 4:48 PM EDT
I just have to ask: Was there a reporter dumb enough to leave a question in the box?


Now that was a dumb question. I think we all know the answer to that one. : )

[linfinster]

It is possible the boy hid for so long and stayed there when people were looking for him AND threw up on TV when asked about it because he fears his dad that much ... and the show comment? Well I got nothing for that.

[dsnj1-2009]

Does anyone in this family have a job? Sad family. They have had their 15 minutes, now news groups should move on.

[exaf74]

Can anyone in authority say "psychiatric evaluation"??? This guy obviously was not breast fed as an infant, or he got same bad milk.

[eddie614]

Heene is a d*mn bullsh*t artist a$$hole...

[nirak2-2009]

Why don't I believe that guy?

[Laker612]

This seems to be the biggest hoax since Orson Wells Halloween radiio broadcast about the invasion from outer space. The media should walk away from this, leaving this perpetrator standing with only a grin on his face and no publicity.