Friday, October 16, 2009

Falcon and the Balloon

On Thursday, Richard and Mayumi Heene, a Colorado couple, called 911 when they discovered that their 6 year old son, Falcon, was missing, along with their giant Mylar balloon. The police formed a search party in an attempt to find the missing helium contraption as well as the child. It turns out that Falcon had hid in the attic and disregarded his parent's pleas for him to show himself. When police discovered the crashed balloon later with no one aboard, they turned to the Heene's to conduct background checks.
Now that Falcon is safe and sound, police are wondering whether this entire incident was just a hoax created by the Heene's to get some attention from the media, or an actual legit event.
On CNN's "Larry King Live" Thursday night, the Heene parents asked Falcon why he had not come out from hiding when they were calling for him. "You guys said we did this for the show," he said.
Suspicions and doubts immediately began surfacing all over the country. Personally, I feel that Falcon was just confused at the time and said whatever he felt like, in which unfortunately led to some embarrassing moments for the family in front of live television.

15 comments:

Serena said...

I don't really think that a six year-old would say "whatever he felt like" in a situation like this. Six year-olds are still young and innocent. So most of the time, they would be following their parents' orders. Most likely, Falcon wouldn't say "You guys said we did this for the show", unless that was the purpose of the situation. And neither would he create such a big lie in front of the media. I believe this was created by the Heenes to recieve media attention for whatever reason. Especialy since no one was on the Mylar balloon and it"mysteriously" flew off with no one in it.

Amanda Rosas said...

HE Is The GREATEST hide and seak player EVER!!!! I understand that the little kid was scared when they were looking for him and he may not have wanted to get into trouble so thats why he didnt come out. But the real question is Why Would someone have a mylar balloon big enough to carry a small person.

Mei Mei Or said...

It is hard to tell whether this is legitimate or not. I agree with Amanda with the point that why would anyone even make such balloon? This entire story is a bit goofy. But all that matters is that the boy is safe. I think this story serves more for entertainment now. If I were the parents, I would be completely embarrassed.

Jodi Miller said...

I have to agree with Amanda on the Hide and Seek comment. The kid is amazing for that.

As for the "controversial comment", I don't think the kid would say something like that for no reason. He's too little to know how to lie that well ( i think) and he's too big to not understand what he's saying.

Definitely think something is wrong.

Sabrina said...

the truth is that this family has a history of desperately trying to get publicized by the media. i know that they participated in the TV show Wife Swap and were part of something else media-related that I cant remember. because of this, i have a VERY hard time believing that this incident is not a hoax. At six years old, Falcon is still a very young child, and very young children listen and obey their parents (for the most part). So, i believe that his comment "you guys said we did this for the show" was a slip on his part, which reveals that he was probably manipulated by his parents to hide in the attic and and answer the media questions with responses they had already conjured up.

Mei Mei Or said...

I just saw on yahoo! news that this story was a hoax and charges will probably be pressed. This doesn't surprise me at all. It is just surprising that anyone would create such a story

Catherine Riviello said...

first of all, what kind of a name is falcon? two, i don't really think the kid was aware of the consequences of his actions, but the whole thing does seem pretty suspicious. I mean, most 6 year olds have enough common sense to come out from wherever they are when their parents are shouting their name and looking for them. and i agree with amanda, why would someone have a mylar balloon that could cary a small person? seems pretty random if you ask me.

Goldie said...

I personally believe that this whole situation is a plotted act planned by both parents to receive media attention. Like what everyone has said, most six-year-olds are very innocent and they say what they hear or see; most six-year-olds don't make up things to say. I think that people should definately keep up further investigations on this event

SethXY said...

I've been keeping current on this particular topic because I've signed up for CNN's news texts to my phone. The messages started out with alarm but gradually turned to suspicion and then lastly turned to the news that a policeman who conducted the search for Falcon is going to press charges.
I feel like American's do a lot of slightly less intelligent things in order to get media attention. I think that this child was put up to the task. Also, who honestly has a huge mylar balloon!? This was definitely conjured up but I hope the real truth is revealed.

sabina hussain said...

Wow this is crazy! I really dont think that the boy was this calm about it there has to be another side of the story! This is a amazing story though and something this little boy can tell his kids when he does grow up! It is pretty amazing!

PH(OE)BE said...

This whole "Jon & Kate Plus 8" and "Octomom" fad is getting into the minds of Americans everywhere.

The Heene couple are obviously just too media/money starved.

Franklin Wu said...

To answer a couple people's question about why they even had one... I believe they originally claimed it was for their own weather experiments. Now, it's probably obvious that isn't true, but that was the original claim.

Rachel BH said...

I think that the whole situation is very sketchy, because who would have a giant balloon in their back yard. Not only that, but it if is is possible for a kid to get carried away in easily, why would they leave it in the open, since they have three sons?
Then the fact that the kid basically straight out says it was for the show. Although he is a little boy, he has to have a general idea about what was going on.
Plus as far as i remember, i never played hide and go seak for hours at a time.
Fishy!!

devin_yan said...

I remember watching this couple on the show Wide Swap, i thougth it was a very amusing episode because Mayumi and her husband were so scientific whereas the other family was plain old boring. I thought the Mayumi family was very cool, until this came up in the news. I dont konw why they would do that just to gain publicity because they were already on a show, isnt that enough?

devin_yan said...

I remember watching this couple on the show Wide Swap, i thougth it was a very amusing episode because Mayumi and her husband were so scientific whereas the other family was plain old boring. I thought the Mayumi family was very cool, until this came up in the news. I dont konw why they would do that just to gain publicity because they were already on a show, isnt that enough?