RUNAWAY BALLOON
LIVE VIDEO: 7NEWS Coverage
6-Year-Old Boy Found After Balloon Floats Away
Boy Found At House After Massive Search
UPDATED: 4:21 pm MDT October 15, 2009
FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- A 6-year-old boy was found in his home after a massive search. The boy was first believed aboard a helium balloon.
"He's at the house and he's fine," said Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden, shortly after 4 p.m. "He was hiding in a cardboard box in the attic above the garage."
For more than four hours, authorities believed the boy was in a hot air balloon that was floating over Colorado. The balloon landed about 2 miles northeast of Prospect Reservoir at 1:35 p.m., in Weld County, but the boy was not inside. That's about 50 miles from where the balloon lifted off.
The boy was identified as Falcon Heene, the youngest of three sons of Richard and Mayumi Heene, of Fort Collins.
The family reported Falcon could not be found after the balloon lifted off. His older brother told his parents that he saw Falcon climb into a box attached to the bottom of the balloon and the balloon lifted off, Larimer County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Kathy Messick said.
The balloon did have a box that carried batteries, she said.
The box was attached to the aircraft and there was damage to the area where the boy was believed to have been. Authorities had thought for some time that the box had become detached before the balloon landed.
"It was never intended for any more weight than the batteries that were in the compartment," Messick said.
Lisa Eklund
A black mass can been seen below and slightly to the left of the photo. Authorities are trying to determine if it something that fell from the balloon.
Earlier, authorities thought the boy might have fallen from the balloon and were closely examining an amateur photo that showed a black mass below the balloon to determine if it is something that fell. The photo was taken by Lisa Eklund as the balloon floated away from the boy's neighborhood.
Authorities earlier described the craft as a sort of "flying saucer" weather balloon and said it reached an altitude of 15,000 feet before it began descending.
Authorities said the boy's home and neighborhood were immediately searched and there was no sign of the boy, leading everyone to believe the boy had climbed into the craft. It was not clear why they didn't find the boy during earlier searches of the home.
Falcon Heene was out of school on Thursday because of teacher conferences at his school.
The foil balloon, in the shape of a dome, lifted into the air from south Fort Collins at about 11:30 a.m. Thursday, after the balloon became untethered at the boy's home.
"We were sitting, eating, looking out where they normally shoot off hot air balloons. My husband said he saw something. It went over our rooftop. Then we saw the big round balloonish thing, it was spinning," said Lisa Eklund, who took photos of the balloon.
The father and his sons had apparently been working on the balloon for some time.
"This sort of thing is normal for them," the neighbor said.
After the balloon lifted off there were sporadic reports on its location as it drifted with the wind over the flat Colorado countryside.
Airtracker 7 located the balloon, at 12:35 p.m., at about 8,000 feet in Weld County. It appeared to be slightly tilted at that time.
"The structure at the bottom of the balloon … is made of extremely thin plywood and won't withstand any kind of a crash at all," said Erik Nilsson, Larimer County Emergency Manager, as the balloon floated thousands of feet over farmland.
Deputies from Larimer and Weld counties tracked the balloon from the ground as it drifted in the skies. Experts had said it could remain airborne for up to 12 hours, although it was clearly deflated on one side by 1:25 p.m., and was descending to about 400 feet off the ground at 1:30 p.m.
When it landed, at 1:35 p.m., deputies immediately surrounded and secured the balloon then radioed the news, "Be advised, it's empty. It's empty."
The box that the boy is believed to have climbed into was not attached.
ABC.com
The Heene family, as seen in a promotional picture for ABC's "Wifeswap." Falcon is the boy in the black jacket.
A neighbor said the "whole family was out there" working on the balloon Thursday morning. The neighbor said the balloon was supposed to be tethered and hover 20 feet in the air with no one on board.
"This was never meant to carry anybody," Messick said. She said the family was in their home awaiting word on the boy's fate.
An investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board was examining the craft about two hours after it landed. The investigator could be seen taking photos of the bottom of the craft and peering inside.
Balloon Chased
While the balloon was airborne, Larimer County fire dispatchers asked if Airtracker 7 could use an outside speaker to ask the boy if he had a valve to release helium.
"Is there a way to release some of the helium that this kid may know?" the dispatcher asked. "Maybe we can get him to lower it."
There was no visible response from the balloon.
There was worry at one point that the balloon might drift into air traffic control corridors used by Denver International Airport, based on its current location and direction. Deputies alerted DIA air traffic controllers to warn them about letting aircraft fly through the area.
Flights heading to the north from DIA were diverted while the balloon was in the air. A DIA spokesman said flights were diverted for 15 to 20 minutes but airport operations were not affected.
The Colorado National Guard launched a Blackhawk helicopter and a smaller Kiowa helicopter to try and intercept the balloon, but they were never seen.
Authorities were reviewing photos and cell-phone videos to see if they could determine if the boy was on the craft.
A massive ground search was launched after the balloon touched down and deputies determined the boy was not aboard. Law enforcement agencies were retracing the balloon's path in an effort to try and locate the missing boy.
Airlife Denver -- a medical helicopter -- also joined in the search for the boy from the air.
Richard and Mayumi Heene appeared on two episodes of ABC's "Wife Swap."
Richard Heene has been described by friends as a sort of "mad scientist." He is a storm chaser and has a Web site, called The Psyience Detectives, which "investigates the mysteries of science and psychic phenomenon."
7NEWS meteorologist Richard Ortner described Heene as "very intelligent and wildly creative." Ortner accompanied the Heene family as they were storm chasing last year.
________________________________________________________________
I saw the "Wife Swap" episode that this family was on. A little fanatic about their
weather-related hobby. IMO. A publicity stunt? Perhaps.
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The Boy and the Balloon
Fact is stranger than fiction.
- along-for-the-ride
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The Boy and the Balloon
Post by along-for-the-ride »
My apologies to qsducks. I just noticed her thread after I posted mine.
Here's a link to her thread:
http://www.forumgarden.com/forums/gener ... ost1252348
Here's a link to her thread:
http://www.forumgarden.com/forums/gener ... ost1252348
Life is a Highway. Let's share the Commute.
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