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"Balloon" Boy Tells CNN: "We Did This For A Show"
By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 15, 2009
Modified Oct 18, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 15, 2009
Modified Oct 18, 2009
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[UPDATE, 10 p.m. with video after the jump]: "Balloon" boy Falcon Heene and family appear on CNN; Falcon tells his parents, CNN and the world that he didn't come out because "we did this for a show."
3:10 p.m. : ABC's Denver affiliate reports, "A 6-year-old boy is floating over northeastern Colorado in a homebuilt balloon and authorities are racing to try and rescue him. The balloon, in the shape of a flying saucer is covered in foil and filled with helium. The craft's dimensions are 20-feet across and 5-feet high." Somehow, the balloon became untethered—the boy and his father "had apparently been working on the aircraft for some time." The authorities are tracking it and it's possible it could remain airborne for 12 hours. There's live video of the balloon—which looks to be going pretty fast at times—on MyFoxNY and CNN.
UPDATE 3:38 p.m.: The balloon landed and the boy was not inside! The child, identified as Falcon Heene, was seen getting into the gondola (and he apparently untied it from its anchor); it's unclear what happened to him. The Denver Post notes that the boy's father "Richard Heene is an amateur scientist based out of Fort Collins. He and his partners call themselves the 'psyience detectives.' Heene is a storm chaser who collects data to prove that rotating storms create their own magnetic fields."
Apparently the Heenes were on Wife Swap: "When the Heene family aren't chasing storms, they 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."
According to the Lede, the Larimer County emergency manager Erik Nilsson said, "That’s good news and that’s bad news. He was no longer in danger from a balloon crash. The bad news is we don’t know where he is." Dozens of law enforcement officers are looking for Falcon and Nilsson added, "I am hoping the scenario is that he is scared of punishment and does not want to be found."
UPDATE 6:17 p.m.: Thank goodness—the Denver Post now reports that Falcon Heene found in his home's attic. Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden said, "He was found in a box in the attic above the garage," and said that his parents didn't realize he was there, "They thought he was missing." The boy's older (9-year-old) brother had told his parents and investigators that Falcon was in the balloon that floated away.
Also, apparently Falcon and his brothers are not pussified:
UPDATE 10:10 p.m.: "Balloon" Boy and his family were just interviewed by CNN's Wolf Blitzer. When asked by Blitzer and his parents why he didn't come out from the garage attic, Falcon replied: "Um. You guys said that, hrm, we did this for a show."
Tagged
balloon
balloon boy
colorado
falcon heene
Fort Collins
richard heene
runaway balloon
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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