Balloon boy parents 'wanted reality TV show'

Published: Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:36:14

The supposed disappearance of a six-year-old boy in a giant helium balloon was a "publicity stunt" orchestrated by his parents, police said on Sunday. A media frenzy and a frantic rescue operation was sparked when Richard and Mayumi Heene said their son Falcon had clambered into his father's experimental weather balloon, which subsequently travelled 60 miles and reached heights of 7,000ft. Falcon later emerged unscathed from his parents' attic when the balloon came down with him nowhere to be seen, prompting rumours the entire incident was a stunt.

Sheriff Jim Alderden of Larimer County confirmed those suspicions on Sunday when he said Mr and Mrs Heene, from Fort Collins, Colorado, had engineered the episode in the hope of "better marketing themselves for a reality television show at some point in the future". He said that detectives were certain of the involvement of the parents, who starred in the 100th episode of ABC's Wife Swap, when Falcon appeared to give away more than he should have during a live interview on CNN's Larry King Live. When asked by his father on-air why he had not come out of the attic when he heard his parents calling his name, Falcon said: "You guys said we did this for the show."

Sheriff Alderden, who described Mr and Mrs Heene as 'actors' who met in Hollywood, said charges would be filed on Monday, including conspiracy, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and attempting to influence a public servant. Speaking to journalists yesterday, Sheriff Alderden said the Heenes had put on a "good show for us, and we bought it". "The plan was to create a situation where it appeared Falcon was in the craft and that his life was in jeopardy in order to gain a lot of publicity with the ultimate goal of gaining some notoriety and perhaps furthering their careers by gaining a contract for a reality TV show," he said.

"On the bizarre meter, this rates a ten." He explained that detectives had played along with the Heenes' story on Friday even when it was clear their story was unravelling in order to gain conclusive evidence of their complicity in the incident. Mr Heene's attorney David Lane said he would turn himself in if charged to avoid being led away in front of his three children, of which Falcon is the youngest.

"If you got the goods, just tell me," Mr Lane said. After Falcon's supposed disappearance on Thursday it was claimed Mr Heene was an amateur scientist or a storm-chaser. It has since emerged he was most recently paid for tiling and that the balloon was a flimsy construct made out of wood and duct tape.

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