Falcon Heene

Falcon Henne (C), 6, is shown outside his home October 15, 2009 in Ft. Collins, Colorado. Falcon was found hiding in the attic of his family home after his siblings had erroneously reported that he was riding aboard an experimental balloon built by his father. Media helicopters, military aircraft and the FAA all assisted in tracking down the wayward balloon, which landed in a field in Weld County, Colorado. l(Getty Images) more pics » It's been a wild 24 hours for Falcon Heene and his family. Yesterday morning, Richard Heene reported to authorites that he believed his six-year-old son had climbed into a homemade ... Read Full Story

FORT COLLINS (Reuters) - The parents of a Colorado boy whose apparent brush with death in a helium balloon transfixed millions pleaded guilty on Friday to staging a publicity-seeking hoax and will be sentenced next month. Richard and Mayumi Heene pleaded guilty to a felony and a misdemeanor and will be sentenced on December 23. The case has sparked outrage over the amount of money spent on a rescue attempt for the six-year-old child, dubbed "balloon boy," after live television images of the saucer-like homemade balloon soaring through the sky gripped the public. The judge at Friday's hearing told the Heenes they may have ... Read Full Story

A district attorney in Colorado has decided no criminal charges are warranted against the sheriff who disclosed that child welfare workers were involved in the inquiry in the runaway balloon case. Richard Heene's attorney claimed the revelation by Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden violated privacy laws. Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett, appointed as a special prosecutor, said Tuesday that Alderden didn't disclose any information from the Department of Social Services. The Heenes are under investigation for reporting that their 6-year-old son had drifted away on a homemade balloon that broke loose from its tethers Oct. 16 in Fort Collins. The boy was found ... Read Full Story

The father at the center of a runaway balloon investigation grew evasive when a friend asked him whether the saga that gripped millions was a hoax, the friend said. Dean Askew told The Associated Press late Thursday that he picked up Richard Heene from the Larimer County Sheriff's Department Oct. 17, two days after the balloon incident. "I said, 'Richard, here's the thing, you know, I need to know what's really going on so I don't put my family in harm's way,'" Askew said. "And then he's like, `What do you mean?' "Is this a hoax?" Askew recalled saying. "Be honest, tell the truth ... Read Full Story

The runaway balloon saga that gripped the United States was a hoax concocted by the family involved in a bid to secure a contract for a reality television show, police confirmed. Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden said Richard Heene and his Japanese-born wife Mayumi had fabricated Thursday's drama when their six-year-old son Falcon was reported to have flown away on a home-made helium balloon. Falcon Heene was later discovered alive after hiding in an upstairs attic at the family home for several hours, a bizarre ending to a televised drama that drew immediate suspicions of a hoax. Alderden revealed at a press conference that ... Read Full Story