Balloon Boy Reappears Safe, Was Hiding

Tools

Balloon Boy Reappears Safe, Was Hiding

Story Created: Oct 16, 2009 at 12:00 PM CST

Story Updated: Oct 16, 2009 at 12:17 PM CST

There was giant sigh of relief when a six-year-old boy was found in his Colorado home. A national audience had tracked a runaway helium balloon when everyone thought the boy was inside.

This home video shows the drama beginning in the family backyard. Falcon Heene's parents were there when the homemade helium balloon took off. After it floated away, Bradford Heene said he had seen his little brother climb inside.

Richard Heene, Falcon's father, said, "My first thought was how do we get him out, who do you call?"

Heene said he called the FAA and then 9-1-1. He also called a local television station. Cable networks followed the balloon on its 50-mile journey. When the saucer-like craft finally came down in a field and Falcon wasn't inside, his father said he feared the worst.

"I immediately thought he had fallen out," Heene said. The six-year-old had been hiding in the garage all along.

Falcon Heene, the boy everyone thought was missing, said, "They didn't find me; I just came out." Once Falcon was safe, questions about whether this was all a publicity stunt quickly followed. The Heene family is no stranger to the spotlight, appearing on the reality TV show "Wife Swap" and making a name for themselves as storm chasers.

Falcon fueled speculation this was a stunt.  He was asked during a CNN interview why he didn't come out when everyone was calling his name, and he had responded that "we did this for a show." Richard Heene now insists his son was talking about the camera crews at the house after he was found.

The county sheriff said his investigators don't believe this was a hoax, but they do want to interview the family again.

Courtesy of Drew Levinson with CBS News

Add a comment

Name:

Comment: 500 Characters Left

KAUZ News Channel 6 and its affiliated companies are not responsible for the content of comments posted or for anything arising out of use of the above comments or other interaction among the users. We reserve the right to screen, refuse to post, remove or edit user-generated content at any time and for any or no reason in our absolute and sole discretion without prior notice, although we have no duty to do so or to monitor any Public Forum.

More Good Stuff

Weather

Icon
Current Temp : 48.0 °
Fog
More Weather
High: Saturday -64
Low: Tonight - 42
Conditions Today
Mostly cloudy tonight. Increasing sunshine over the weekend.

KAUZ Poll Question

Would you vote for or against a same-sex couple for homecoming court?

  • For
  • Against

AP Video

Stock Quotes
This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.

What's On KAUZ

7.00
the mentalist
8.00 & 9.00
48 hours mystery