After the nation collectively held its breath last Thursday while a helium balloon flew uncontrollably over the skies of Colorado, presumably with a 6-year old child aboard, the Ft. Collins, CO Sheriff’s Department has now called the entire fiasco a colossal hoax.
Richard Henne built a mylar balloon device in his backyard, filled it with helium, then said the balloon accidentally escaped his backyard with his young son, Falcon inside. Local authorities went into immediate action, pulling out all stops assuming a child’s life was in eminent danger. While Sheriff’s officials searched the Heene family home and neighborhood for the boy, helicopters gave chase to the balloon across the plains of Colorado. At one point even the military became involved, scrambling the Air Force to attempt possibly landing a tethered man on top of the balloon to force it to the ground. But after hours in flight, the balloon simply ran low on helium and floated to the ground on its own, as rescue teams and ambulances raced to the scene fearing the worse for the little boy thought to be inside. Except the balloon was empty.
Hours later after Falcon Heene was discovered safe and hiding in the attic, the Heene family appeared on CNN’s LARRY KING LIVE, as the nation cheered a happy ending to a potentially deadly saga. But when guest host Wolf Blitzer asked young Falcon why he never came out of his hiding place after hearing police call his name for hours, the boy said he was instructed not to because his father told him they were doing all this “for the show.” HUH??? This unplanned slip of the truth sparked a number of immediate questions, which led authorities to further investigation and a conclusion that the entire event was a publicity stunt.
Richard and Mayumi Heene and family, who appeared on the ABC TV show WIFE SWAP, are said to have been shopping a reality TV show idea of their own featuring themselves. So it is believed they went forward with the balloon hoax to draw attention to their family and possibly sell the TV show idea to an interested network. Originally, Richard Heene said the balloon accidentally escaped from their backyard. But the Heenes just happened to have a video camera filming at the exact moment the balloon went airborne, and are even seen on tape performing a count-down as the balloon flies away. During a bizarre series of events over the weekend, Richard Heene called an impromptu press conference to make a “major announcement,” but canceled it at the last minute reportedly when his attorney reminded him that anything he says or does can be used against him in a court of law. 25-year-old researcher Robert Thomas also came forward over the weekend to announce that he helped Heene concoct this stunt weeks ago, but never anticipated it would grow into an international story. And a Fort Collins resident said their child, a classmate of 10-year- old Bradford Heene, claimed to have known about the planned stunt last week.
Formal charges against Richard Heene are expected today for filing a false report with police, which is a misdemeanor. But since the search and rescue mission will cost taxpayer’s upwards of $68.000., authorities are expected to seek felony charges including conspiracy, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and attempting to influence a public servant. Child Protective Services have also become involved following this incident and reports Richard Heene regularly chases tornadoes with his boys in tow. This is a bizarre and developing story that will surely continue to unfold over the coming days.
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I think the dad is a serious “head-case”; the mother is his enabler and together they’re a classic duo of media-attention seeking LOSERS__which does NOT bode well for their children who clearly are victims of their parents schemes (chasing tornados, wife-swapping, the balloon hoax and whatever else they've been up to over the years). Hopefully this latest stunt will cost them $$$ and land one or both parents behind bars!