CNN: 6-Year-Old Colorado Boy Found Alive (In Attic) After Setting Loose Balloon

[Hissyspit]

Source: CNN / KUSA-9 News

6-Year-Old Colorado Boy Found Alive After Setting Loose Balloon

(CNN) -- The 6-year-old Colorado boy who is believed to have set adrift a helium balloon Thursday, prompting ground and air searches, has been found alive, authorities said.

The balloon landed south of Prospect Springs, Colorado, on Thursday afternoon.

He was found in a box in the attic at his family's Fort Collins home, according to authorities.

A sibling said he saw the boy, identified as Falcon Heene, get into the craft Thursday morning, authorities said.

But the boy was not inside the craft when it made a soft landing near Keenesburg, about 60 miles from its starting point in Fort Collins, at 1:35 p.m. (3:35 p.m. ET).

People across the world watched Thursday as the homemade helium balloon soared 7,000 feet over eastern Colorado for more than an hour and a half.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/15/colorado.boy.balloon/index.html

---

http://www.leaderpost.com/news/Witness+says+object+fell+from+Colorado

Witness says object fell from Colorado aircraft

CANWEST NEWS SERVICEOCTOBER 15, 2009 4:44 PM

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — A deputy with a Colorado sheriff's department saw something fall out of an experimental balloon that was believed to have carried away a six-year-old boy, authorities said Thursday as the search for the missing child continued.



Weld County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Margie Martinez said one of their deputies, who was following the balloon, noticed something fall out during its flight through the Colorado skies at altitudes reaching 2,100 metres.
Photograph by: Screen grab, CNN


Authorities: No 'basket' was on aircraft

BREAKING NEWS

LIVE UPDATES ON 9NEWS @ 4, 5 & 6
LARIMER COUNTY - While authorities search for a 6-year-old boy who was believed to be inside an experimental aircraft when it lifted off, investigators now say there was no basket on the balloon when it took off from his Fort Collins home.


CNN Reporter says that they were following live feed and "nothing ever fell from that balloon."

[Dinger]

1. Oh No

[tridim]

2. If there was no basket at takeoff then where's the basket?

This story is getting more and more bizarre by the hour.

[Dennis Donovan]

3. Looking at the size of the balloon from photos of it on the ground...

...it doesn't look BIG enough to carry any payload of significance.:shrug:

[kestrel91316]

4. Is that the boy himself we see falling???

[Hissyspit]

6. No way of knowing right now.

I'm leaning toward 'it is not.'

[elleng]

5. Would be good to know the timing, when the deputy saw whatever.

[Vehl]

7. how terrible.....in case he was in the thing when it flew off :(...pls let it not be so

:(

[Melinda]

8. The little guy is safe and sound - found alive at his home.

That's all! Great news!!!

[cal04]

9. A Larimer County Sheriff’s deputy said that he was found in a box in the family’s garage.

The 6-year boy, Falcon Heene, was just found alive, according to reporter Dan Frosch, who is at the boy’s house in Fort Collins, Colo. A Larimer County Sheriff’s deputy said that he was found in a box in the family’s garage.

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/15/6-year-old-alone-in-hot-air-balloon-over-colorado/?hp

Boy found at home after runaway balloon chase
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33330516/ns/us_news-life/

[Duer 157099]

10. Wouldn't it be funny if that other object were an actual UFO?

I mean, c'mon.

[SoxFan]

76. That would not only be awesome...

It would be unsurprising after the way this whole thing played out.

[Hissyspit]

11. kick with revisions nt

[slackmaster]

12. So, Timmy did not in fact fall down the well

Good news!

[LeFleur1]

13. The Box

The brother said he was in a box and he was. Did anyone listen to the kid or did they hear what they most feared?

[CatWoman]

14. kick

:kick:

[tomm2thumbs]

15. Balloon Boy Found Alive - 6 Year Old Falcon in the Attic

Source: breaking KDVR Denver

It has been reported that the balloon boy who 'floated away' in an experimental aircraft made by his family has been found. A page was received during a press conference that the boy is at the house (in a box in the attic in the garage) and is fine. The spokesman does not know how the boy got into the attic.

Investigators will be interviewing Falcon to find out exactly what happened.

A flying saucer-shaped helium balloon drifted away from a home in Fort Collins, Colorado Thursday. However, contrary to earlier fears, there was not a 6-year-old boy inside.

The Larimer County Sheriff's Office says the boy's family kept the saucer behind their home on Fossil Ridge Road in Fort Collins. The family initially told officials the boy, identified as Falcon Heene, climbed into the basket attached to the saucer and somehow the rope that held the aircraft in place became untied at about 11:00 a.m.

Authorities say the balloon may have risen to an elevation of approximately 15,000 feet as it drifted over Colorado's eastern plains. Due to high winds in the area, experts say the balloon may have reached speeds of nearly 60 miles per hour. Sheriff Jim Alderden was in the middle of briefing the media on the search for Heene when a deputy interrupted him with the good news.



Updating as available

Read more: http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-balloon-boy-found-101509,0,6905331.story

---

Brings to mind 'no child left behind'

[Dinger]

16. Great To Hear This

:)

[flvegan]

17. Fantastic news, thanks for posting!

[Sebass1271]

18. where was he? i had my heart coming out of my chest for this

kid!! where was he all this time?? please tell me this was a hoax!! and that the boy was found alive somewhere in the plains..

[flvegan]

20. The live stream says he ran and hid when it took off.

[IRemember]

21. at home? according to 9 news.. nt

[azmouse]

24. He was in a box in his family's home.

I guess he got scared after letting the balloon loose and hid.

[BR_Parkway]

19. So hoax or hiding so he didn't get in trouble for untying the balloon?

glad he's safe either way

[Duer 157099]

22. I predict someone is in a lot of trouble

Mostly the media, when it's finally realized that the "balloon" could never have lifted a child in the first place.

[Sebass1271]

31. maybe the parents? who will pay for all the expenses of

this fake rescue?

[stray cat]

39. Taxpayers and it beats most things we pay for

[Duer 157099]

41. Not if it turns out that it was physically IMPOSSIBLE

for a craft of that size to lift a child of that weight.

If it's shown that there was NEVER ever even the slightest possibility of that happening, then I, as a taxpayer, am pissed to be paying for the scientific illiteracy of our society and media.

[lordcommander]

90. [phone] n/t

[Ian David]

Cops said they "thoroughly" searched the house for the boy. n/t

[Drum]

42. The authorities who supposedly searched the home, twice, when this first began today? n/t

[IRemember]

23. boy hiding in box in attic above garage entire time nt

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

25. Trial balloon.

:think:

[Lasher]

26. Well I guess it's OK to laugh now.

What a bizarre story. Wonder what the parents' political leanings might be?

[Name removed]

27. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Oregone]

85. Kids or father. Dad is a major looney attention whore

[HuckleB]

92. That much is clear.

I wonder if this whole thing was staged.

[WriteDown]

28. If I was his father...

I'd say "I'm glad I found you so I can tell you the details of your year long grounding."

[Hepburn]

30. You meant "life long", right? n/t

[Sebass1271]

37. LOL!! exactly!!

[yellowcanine]

29. Maybe he will be ungrounded in time to go to his high school prom.

[tomm2thumbs]

32. I've heard of bats in the belfry but falcon's in the attic??

sorry :)

[dave29]

86. hehe

. nice

[Vidar]

33. Glad to hear it.

[Duer 157099]

34. So I never knew the Falcon was a flightless bird

Now we can make jokes

[Buns_of_Fire]

35. And people wonder why parents turn prematurely gray...

I'm glad he's safe and for once there's a happy ending to something like this.

Well, maybe not completely happy for Falcon, since I figure he's been grounded (no pun intended) for the rest of his life.

[Walk away]

36. I'm happy he's OK but he is in big trouble!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If he had really gone with the balloon and landed safely he would have been in trouble but totally golden for life.

Oh well, maybe next adventure.

[stray cat]

38. Always nice to hear a happy ending - how scary for the parents

[dysfunctional press]

40. i could hardly believe all the people who were practically having nervous breakdowns about it....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4104672&mesg_id=4104672

that thread is a hoot- all the fretters are just a riot...:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Techn0Girl]

49. i could hardly believe all the people who were practically having nervous breakdowns about it....

Welcome to the Hysterical Underground ;)

[oldhippie]

83. I can't believe all the people HERE that were believing it .........

My god, we bitch about the scientific illiteracy of the Fundies and the Pubs, and there were so many gullible people HERE buying this story. Poor kid "inside" the balloon! I suppose he just untied the neck of the balloon, climbed inside, and then tied the neck back up after himself, being oh so careful not to let any of that tricky helium stuff escape. If he was "inside" the balloon, what the fuck did they think he was breathing? Jeebus! It was obvious from the first videos of the thing that there could not be anyone inside.

I have lost what little respect I had remaining for journalists, and I seriously wonder about too many of the folks here.

[joeybee12]

43. Great news! But the headline...6 year old Falcon...

...I was thinking, what does this bird have to do with the little boy?

[pokerfan]

44. Son of a biscuits!

The Colorado youth feels terrible about causing such a ruckus...


"I'm a bad ol' falcon."

[Libertas1776]

81. BINGO!

:rofl:

[tomm2thumbs]

45. Does anyone NOT think they'll be all over the morning shows tomorrow?

and then in People magazine next week?

[treestar]

48. You betcha

They'll get their 15 minutes.

[Turborama]

94. They were on Larry King just now, the kid blurts out that they "did it for the show" (vid)

Hours after he worried America sick into thinking he was on a runaway balloon flying over Colorado - while he was just hiding in the attic - 6-year-old Falcon Heand the kid burts out "we did it for the show"nne, aka "Balloon Boy", appears with his family on "Larry King Live."

In this scene, Falcon admits that he heard his parents calling him, but declined to come out of the garage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI6UONWCq7A

At 0:40, he mutters, "We did this for the show."

This leads father Richard to try and explain what he just said. "Whenever we tell him things like, it's a bad thing t do, he does go and hide," he says.

More of the interview with Wolf on this channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/PoliticsNewsPolitics#g/u

Judging by his body language (he's always looking at the ground) and speech patterns, the father seems like he's lying.

[Techn0Girl]

46. Here's a Thought....

The parents previously appeared on Wife Swap and Storm Chasers....
What if, knowing their 30 minutes of fame were long gone, they decided to update the portfolio a bit by telling the boy to release the balloon and hide in the attic and never...never ever tell anyone.

Why wouldn't parents tie up a helium based aircraft in such a way that it was possible for their very own 6 year old to untie it? Wouldn't YOU use a locked chain - at the least?

Oh and since it WAS a helium balloon - who prepped it for launch? Helium is expensive in those quantities and can not stay in a craft indifinetly (that's why your helium balloons eventually stop floating) - or it leaks out through the skin and has to be replaced. Someone prepped that balloon for launch. Why was that do you think?

I am thinking there's is more to this that will be found out. I'm sure I;m not the only one thinking of this

[tomm2thumbs]

51. +1

[kath]

Oh, so the parents are publicity hounds? - hmmmmmm.....

[Boudica the Lyoness]

77. I'm thinking the same thing.

I also think there is more to this story. I have only watched two episodes of 'Wife Swap' and one of the episodes this family was featured in. I can imagine them pulling this stunt. It seems they go for every kind of publicity that they can get.

[mitchum]

82. I like the way you think, Techn0Girl...

I am pretty certain this was a stunt concocted by attention junkies

[rhett o rick]

47. Get Dickhead Cheney to get the truth out of the lad. jk. nt

[nolabear]

50. Glad he's okay!

[gmoney]

Reminds me of the movie "12 Monkeys" (spoiler?)

there's a plot point of a news story about a boy who falls down a well, and it becomes a huge media story, and it turns out to be a prank with the kid hiding in the barn.

somehow I kind of thought that would be the case here, but maybe I was just influenced by the movie.

[Duer 157099]

OMG does this mean I might meet Brad Pitt in the future?

Because that's how I'm reading what you're writing.

Gives me something to look forward to, thanks!

[gmoney]

89. maybe, but you're almost guaranteed to see Bruce Willis' naked butt

[bluevoter4life]

52. 6-year old balloon boy found alive

Source: MSNBC

FORT COLLINS. Colo. - A 6-year-old boy was found alive at home Thursday, sheriff's officials said, hours after the runaway flight of an experimental balloon riveted the nation and led to a frantic search for the child, who was feared to have fallen from the craft.

The news that the boy was safe came during a live press conference with Larimer County Sheriff's Office officials.

A family's runaway experimental balloon aircraft crash-landed in a field Thursday about two hours after floating away from home, but there was no sign of a 6-year-old boy.

Authorities feverishly began searching for the child on the ground, retracing the route of the balloon flight. The search was concentrated in a park southeast of the boy's home.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/

---

Glad to see this bizarre story had a happy ending.

[liberal N proud]

53. Wild story of the day

I turned on a few minutes of Crappy News Network when I got home from work. The bullshit way they were covering this story made me turn the channel very quickly.

[Art_from_Ark]

95. Ah, The Flyaway Boy

this year's version of The Runaway Bride

Crappy News Network really has gone downhill, and then some, since the Ted Turner days.

[joeybee12]

54. Found in a box in the attic...he must have released the craft, and got

scared realizing what he had done...I'm really glad this has a happy ending.

[damntexdem]

56. Yeah, his parents might box his ears.

Or maybe he was going to stick on a FedEx sticker and send himself to grandma.

[Kingofalldems]

58. That was my first thought--I would have done the same thing

as the kid. Good news.

[damntexdem]

55. He was in a box in his attic?

But what if that box had floated off?

Well, at least daddy found an effective way to get people to track his runaway balloon.

[rug]

57. He'll be grounded.

[TheDebbieDee]

60. Ha! Ha!

[Ian David]

59. I guess the cops didn't search the house so thoroughly after all. n/t

[elleng]

61. 6-year old found AT THE HOUSE

Source: msnbc Ed Show

Breaking!

Hiding, in a box.

No link yet.

[kestrel91316]

62. Somebody is gonna lose privileges for quite a while, I suspect.

[slackmaster]

64. The proper term is "grounded"

:evilgrin:

[polichick]

66. Lol - how appropriate! nt

[Juan_de_la_Dem]

68. Funny in a sigh of relief way

[elleng]

67. Somehow I doubt it, from what we've heard of the family.

My 21 year old daughter, studying education and having been summer camp/school counselor, just told me that this sort of thing happens a lot; more than people think. Same thing happened to one of her summer kids; he was napping, and couldn't be found!

[slackmaster]

63. Hiding from the ass whoopin' he fears for letting dad's balloon loose

No doubt.

[Geek_Girl]

65. I think its on msnbc web site

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/


Plus my mother just came upstairs to tell me. Good News my 6 year old well be happy to hear

:)

[KG]

69. possible publicity stunt?

:shrug:

[orpupilofnature57]

70. They were on the ' Wife Swap ' show , it's in their blood. 15 minutdom.

[frazzled]

71. This story pissed me off from the beginning

Once I heard of the family's reality-tv shenanigans, I was even more convinced it was a publicity stunt.

I couldn't respond to all the "oooh, poor little boy" stories, just in case I was wrong and they found a dead kid. But my intuition that this was a publicity stunt that the media (and apparently many here) fell for turned out to be dead on. Sometimes I think I am the most unsentimental person on earth. But usually I am just a realist.

That kid wasn't hiding in the attic. If you believe that ... well, fool me twice.

[Kahuna]

88. The lil scamp. I'm very happy that he was found alive. nt

[bluestateguy]

72. This nation is at war

Such a nonsense story would have been ignored during WWII.

[slackmaster]

73. I think you are comparing apples to oranges on multiple levels

World War II was a far larger conflict and involved orders of magnitude more people than the current fighting in Iraq and A-stan.

There was no Internet, no cable, no live video, no helicopters; only AM radio. It's unlikely that any aircraft would have been dispatched to follow the balloon. By the time any large news organization got hold of the story, the boy would have been found. It would have been all over long before hitting the newspapers, which most people relied on for real news.

[WriteDown]

75. You need to contact the Office of Censorship nt.

[Blue_Tires]

74. ass...meet belt!

:nuke: :thumbsdown:

[Anakin Skywalker]

78. So Glad I Didn't Watch TV Today!

Sounds like some parents are so desperate for their 15 minutes of fame!

[Swede Atlanta]

79. Nail his ass.......

I am all for innovation but developing an experimental aircraft and attaching it to your home in a residential area is not it. If you want to tinker in your basement go for it unless your experiments could harm your neighbors.

What was this jackass thinking? Putting this aircraft in his neighborhood and without adequate security.

He should be billed for all the emergency vehicles including the ANG helicopters, etc. that were dispatched to deal with this little episode.

I share the family's joy that the child was nor harmed but the father needs to be sent away.

[Libertas1776]

80. Well,

what kind of consequences will the parents face after this areal search exhausted all efforts from the local sheriff's dept to freaking NORAD?

[EFerrari]

84. Too bad all the stories about kids in danger don't end this way.

[HuckleB]

91. Actually, most of them do.

[miyazaki]

87. Ya know, too bad CNN fired its science reporter

especially when it comes to aviation/flight/space, since that was his strong point.
He could have professionally carried this story with some weight. Now they bumble around and resort
to calling anyone they can on the phone to put them on the air. always cracks me up.

[HuckleB]

93. Did the father put the kids up to this?

Is it all a charade?

No family that went through such trauma is going to invite the media in that same day, and then offer the staged pictures they offered up.

Attention must be paid, yes, but this seems like a father and family who demand a lot of attention.