CO - Richard & Mayumi Heene charged in Balloon Boy hoax, Fort Collins, 2009 - #1

[kant]

I have no idea why the mother said it was a "flying saucer" to the 911 operator. It's a balloon. I am not surprised 911 operator was confused, because when I think of a flaying saucer, I think of a flying saucer like in a movies, not a helium filled balloon.

Exactly. To me, she called it that to make it seem more outrageous!! exclamation point and newsworthy!! exclamation point and OMG!!! -- like that. It's a freakin jiffy pop balloon, for cryin out loud.
.

 

[mycroft]

I am really trying to follow this sheriff's reasoning, but I can't. As a mom of two boys, I cannot see either of my kids staying put in any place for that amount of time unless they were asleep. I do realize the boy may have been exhausted, but considering what was happening around him, I find it a little hard to believe.

I think it could be as simple as him not being able to get out of the attic alone. From the photo it looks like he had to climb onto things to get into the attic. Those things could be easily moved aside to make sure he stayed there. It can be fun to climb up high and scary to come down. When I was that age I would often climb trees and then have to call my dad to lift me out because I was afraid to jump down. Or maybe they gave him a dose of cough syrup.

Has anyone seen the details of who found him? I heard he just walked into the kitchen. It's too much of a coincidence that he was found only after the balloon had been recovered and proved to be empty. I wonder where dad was when he turned up. Was LE at the house to witness this?

 

[kant]

I don't think that this was a planned hoax, even if he was planning a hoax using the balloon at some future time. I think the mother accidentally let it go, then the dad lost his mind in a tantrum, and he bullied her into going along with this scheme. I can't believe that the 9-11 lady didn't hang up on them when they kept saying it was a flying saucer.

It has been reported that three 911 calls were made from this family in the last year. IMO, this wife was abused and battered from this sicko. Sheriff reported marks and bruises on wife.

The dad's kicking and cursing and screaming upon the launch seemed over-the-top fakey acting to me. But maybe Im just a cynical so-n-so.

heh.

Dad does seem to have anger issues [from the other clips floating around;] so IDK; maybe he did go ballistic. Wouldn't surprise me. Also, these two were actors at some point, or rather - wanna be actors so.... bucket of salt and all that.

.

 

[kant]

I think it could be as simple as him not being able to get out of the attic alone. From the photo it looks like he had to climb onto things to get into the attic. Those things could be easily moved aside to make sure he stayed there. It can be fun to climb up high and scary to come down. When I was that age I would often climb trees and then have to call my dad to lift me out because I was afraid to jump down. Or maybe they gave him a dose of cough syrup.

Has anyone seen the details of who found him? I heard he just walked into the kitchen. It's too much of a coincidence that he was found only after the balloon had been recovered and proved to be empty. I wonder where dad was when he turned up. Was LE at the house to witness this?

OMG exactly. Is that what happened? I didn't see all the coverage. How DID the kid get down?

And yes after the balloon went down was nice timing. I didnt' see that part either; I'm just trying to catch up from you guys' clips and stuff.

Anyone out there have the answers to mycroft's questions? That is significant imo.

Some bloggers are saying that the sheriff won't admit that he messed up on the search by not looking in the attic. (I wonder if Dad did something to encourage them not to look there - like move items that the kid could have climbed on) And some are suggesting that the sheriff is basically being forced into re-doing the family interview; The concensus is that even with all the clues that have surfaced that it may be a stunt, that LE will still conclude that is was real in order to save face. Gees, I hope not. But in retrospect LE should have checked everywhere themselves and not let a family member run the show and the search of the house.

There are several sad parts to this, but that kid will forever be "Balloon Boy" and Im seeing some serious therapy in his future.... and/ or bail.

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[octobermoon]

Father of boy in balloon saga meets with officers

By DAN ELLIOTT
Associated Press Writer
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) -- A storm-chasing inventor met with sheriff's officials Saturday amid lingering questions about whether he perpetrated a big hoax when his 6-year-old son vanished into the rafters of his garage for five hours while the world thought he was zooming through the sky in a flying saucer-like helium balloon.





http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_BOY_IN_BALLOON?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

 

[nnglas]

well the mother seemed shocked that the balloon was not secured because she thought she had already secured it. I thought perhaps the boy had messed around with her work at some point and he actually was responsible for it being released. he wouldn't have to be around to know he was the one that untied or loosened the ropes. Maybe he did it very deliberately.
A hyper child, when motivated, can certainly do what they need to to survive LOL.

I don't really have much of an opinion on this yet, but I thought I would offer some alternatives.

Right, but didn't the kid say that the father yelled at him and then he hid. On the tape, the boy is already gone, Before the father knew the tethers didn't work. I don't get it. Stevie Wonder can see this is a hoax.

 

[STEADFAST]

"A storm-chasing inventor met with sheriff's officials Saturday . . .
Richard Heene later left the house in a red minivan and drove to the sheriff's office. A few hours later, two other people, including a man wearing a shirt identifying him as a Larimer County sheriff's office victim advocate, arrived at the home, and the boy's mother, Mayumi Heene, left with a man and a woman who said they were with the sheriff's office."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091017/ap_on_re_us/us_boy_in_balloon

 

[mycroft]

Maybe there is something wrong with me for thinking this, but I thought it was amusing when the 911 operator asked, "Does the child know how to steer the flying saucer?" ("Why, yes, he's taken it for a test drive several times and he knows how to steer it, just not how to land it, so that's why I'm calling.")

Ok I'm an a$$.

.

You aren't. I hadn't listened to the actual call until today, and could not believe what I was hearing. It made me wonder if the woman almost hoped that they would blow her off. I can only assume that the nutjob husband insists that everyone call it a flying saucer. I think she was crying because her husband was freaking out, not because she thought the kid was in there. The operator was incredibly professional. I wonder what their procedure is for what they think are prank calls.

He claims to host a science documentary show on his myspace. I wonder if that refers to his youtube rants, or is just an outright lie.

 

[jjenny]

OMG exactly. Is that what happened? I didn't see all the coverage. How DID the kid get down?

And yes after the balloon went down was nice timing. I didnt' see that part either; I'm just trying to catch up from you guys' clips and stuff.

Anyone out there have the answers to mycroft's questions? That is significant imo.

Some bloggers are saying that the sheriff won't admit that he messed up on the search by not looking in the attic. (I wonder if Dad did something to encourage them not to look there - like move items that the kid could have climbed on) And some are suggesting that the sheriff is basically being forced into re-doing the family interview; The concensus is that even with all the clues that have surfaced that it may be a stunt, that LE will still conclude that is was real in order to save face. Gees, I hope not. But in retrospect LE should have checked everywhere themselves and not let a family member run the show and the search of the house.

There are several sad parts to this, but that kid will forever be "Balloon Boy" and Im seeing some serious therapy in his future.... and/ or bail.

.

I have seen "it didn't look accessible to the small child" as the reason given for why police didn't search the attic.
I think the sheriff should ask the kid to actually climb up there to see if he can get in there without help.

 

[mycroft]

"A storm-chasing inventor met with sheriff's officials Saturday . . .
Richard Heene later left the house in a red minivan and drove to the sheriff's office. A few hours later, two other people, including a man wearing a shirt identifying him as a Larimer County sheriff's office victim advocate, arrived at the home, and the boy's mother, Mayumi Heene, left with a man and a woman who said they were with the sheriff's office."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091017/ap_on_re_us/us_boy_in_balloon

This part of that story is hilarious:

Others carried aluminum foil stovetop popcorn makers that resembled the silvery balloon launched from the family's backyard Thursday, with 6-year-old Falcon believed to be onboard.

 

[octobermoon]

Has anyone seen this yet? sorry if already posted.....

Richard Heene, who is variously described as a contractor or amateur storm chaser, is credited as a writer and producer on a series of children's videos called "Box Time," which teaches kids imaginative ways to use cardboard boxes. The Internet Movie Database page for "Box Time: Playhouse" lists Heene's two oldest sons, Bradford and Ryo, as actors on the video.


http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13584589

scroll down

 

[kant]

I seen "it didn't look accessible to the small child" as the reason given for why police didn't search the attic.
I think the sheriff should ask the kid to actually climb up there to see if he can get in there without help.

bbm

Exactly --and since they reported that the attic was where he indeed was "hiding", then the above bolded is even more reason to have the kid demonstrate how he got up there... by himself. AND DOWN.

The sheriff's logic is just.... IDK. If I understood it correctly, his contention was that a small child could NOT get up there. Well, they said he DID get up there.

So HOW'D HE DO IT? sheesh.

MOO
.

 

[Spawngasm]

http://www.accesshollywood.com/is-r...dy-language-expert-investigates_video_1167521

 

[nnglas]

bbm

Exactly --and since they reported that the attic was where he indeed was "hiding", then the above bolded is even more reason to have the kid demonstrate how he got up there... by himself. AND DOWN.

The sheriff's logic is just.... IDK. If I understood it correctly, his contention was that a small child could NOT get up there. Well, they said he DID get up there.

So HOW'D HE DO IT? sheesh.

MOO
.

IMO, the Sherriff just wants this to go away. The problem is that the reporters are pissed off. Lol.

 

[Deborah1012]

He claims to host a science documentary show on his myspace. I wonder if that refers to his youtube rants, or is just an outright lie.

Yes, I saw videos on his youtube with some show that he hosted called Psycience Detectives. There used to be a webpage for it, but it is gone.

 

[mycroft]

Someone has posted one of their Wife Swap eps:[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr_zA5E7n7A"]YouTube - Balloon Boy on Wife Swap[/ame] (Sorry if I've overlooked it on the thread.)

 

[octobermoon]

this is how they say he was found....


He says they were sitting on the sofa in their home on Fossil Ridge Road in Fort Collins when Falcon came out and his wife screamed when she saw him. During the news conference, Falcon wandered away again and his mother, Mayumi Heene, went over and got him.


http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=125161&catid=339



Where were the LE officers? Anyone find any info?

 

[nnglas]

Another thing that bothers me about this family, is during the LKL interview, they seemed to be acting inappropriately. Before the supposed answer that led to the hoax speculation. In any of the interviews after Falcon I didn't see them thank all the LE and rescue efforts in trying to find his kid that was in the garage the whole time. On LKL he gave a freaking science class on his stupid jiffy pop container. (I love you whoever came up with that). Also where is the embarrasment. I would have been sooooo embarassed, after I was elated to have my child safe. But I would have been making my child thank everybody who was running around like chickens with their heads cut off. I didn't see any of that, and I am talking about before all the hoax talk. KWIM?

 

[mycroft]

At 3:25 on the Wife Swap I linked to above you can get a good view of the hole in the garage ceiling. That's a huge gaping hole. I'm amazed that they chose not to look there. It looks larger there than in the photos of him trying to climb into the gap. You can also see the ceiling in relation to the dad's height. I don't think that kid climbed in there alone, but I doubt that he would have jumped from that height if he had nothing to climb down on.

 

[octobermoon]

Hope this site is ok with the mods....

http://gawker.com/5383858/exclusive-i-helped-richard-heene-plan-a-balloon-hoax



Can we attract UFO's with a homemade flying saucer? We will modify a weather balloon, so that it resembles a UFO and will electrically charge the skin of the craft (Biefield-Brown Effect). We will capture the footage on film, and will utilize the media as a means with which to make our presence known to the masses. This will not only provide us with incredible footage, but will also generate a tremendous amount of controversy among the public, as well as publicity within the mainstream media. This will be the most significant UFO-related news event to take place since the Roswell Crash of 1947, and the result will be a dramatic increase in local and national awareness about The Heene Family, our Reality Series, as well as the UFO Phenomenon in general.

I clearly remember Richard telling me that, if we accomplish this, it would be the most controversial and widespread UFO news story since Roswell in 1947. (See audio at top of post.)