Balloon boy ordeal questioned as hoax
Balloon Boy Ordeal Questioned as Hoax
Balloon Boy Ordeal Questioned as Hoax
Published: October 16, 2009
Updated: October 16, 2009
New questions are surfacing this morning about what really happened in the Northern Colorado sky Thursday.
A young boy, thought to have floated off in a homemade balloon was found safe in his family’s attic.
Just about everyone believed 6-year-old Falcon Heene was inside a runaway weather balloon as it drifted across the Denver area Thursday.
Cable TV tracked it for hours, military aircraft were scrambled, and part of Denver’s International Airport was shut down. But when the saucer shaped balloon touched down there was no little boy to be found.
It turns out Falcon was hiding in the family’s attic the whole time after being yelled at by his father.
“I went in to the attic, but I heard shouting, but I really didn’t want to come out really soon,” said Falcon. “I’d probably get in trouble.“
Not long after the boy was found, some raised the possibility that the whole episode might have been staged.
The Heene family has been in the TV spotlight before, in the reality show
“Wife Swap” and as storm chasers.
But the boy’s father adamantly denies he was looking for publicity.
“That’s horrible, especially after the crap we just when through,” said Richard Heene.
Later today, local officials will discuss whether this was a case of an accidental runaway balloon or if the story is full of hot air.
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