Other than Falcon's "maybe" slip of the tongue, something doesn't seem right.
How could the boy appear to his older brother to be getting into the balloon, then disappear off the roof w/o being seen by the brother, enter the house, then enter the attic over the garage w/o being seen by anyone?
How could the boy have untied the balloon while being inside it? Wouldn't it have begun to rise if he untied it first?
Would the older boys, assuming this was a prank with their involvement, think up such a thing and after all the searches not tell anyone?
Supposedly, all the family would pay, if involved in a prank, would be misdemeanor charges. I'm guessing the family researched the penalty if this was a prank.
And, what's with the mother? Can she talk at all?