Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden convened a news conference on Sunday afternoon telling reporters evidence now shows that Richard and Mayumi Heene lied to police and news media when they reported their six-year-old son, Falcon, had been carried away inside a helium balloon. The Sheriff hopes to see charges filed against the parents for conspiracy, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, false reporting to authorities, and attempting to influence a public servant. The charges could carry a wide range of penalties, including jail time. Alberden said the whole family was in on the hoax, which was intended to attract media attention to help the eccentric family secure its own reality show. The family had rehearsed its story enough to initially deceive investigators. “They put on a good show and we fell for it,” said Alberden, who doubts the couple’s young children will face criminal charges because of their ages.
More ”Balloon Boy” coverage from EW:
Heene family’s TV past: the Wife Swap years
”Balloon Boy” TV coverage: Pass the popcorn!
Richard Heene holds news conference: ”Absolutely no hoax” (from Oct. 17)
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THIS kind of thing should be made into a reality show called “America’s Biggest Media Whores”. After bozos and morons stage dangerous publicity stunts that cost law enforcement tens of thousands of dollars (search teams, overtime, helicopters, fuel costs, etc etc etc) they should get featured on a multi-episode arc of a show documenting how they are made to PAY FOR ALL THE COSTS they have rung up. The first week could show them going to the banks to empty all their accounts, the next week could have them cashing in their pensions and 401Ks. Week 3 could be the Social Services investigation of the family’s parenting deficiencies, followed by an episode focusing on the hearing in Family Court when the kids are taken away and put in foster care because the parents have been shown to be unfit. Then we could watch the foreclosure sale of their assets and their house. After all their assets are drained, we could see them go to court to set up a repayment schedule for the remainder and watch the judge warn them that if they miss a payment they’ll go straight to jail. I’D CALL THIS MUST-SEE TV!!!!!
I knew this was coming. That poor boy Falcon will forever feel guilty for his slip up. Shame on the parents for not immediately protecting their child as soon as it happened by telling the truth and owning up to what they did. Shame on them for even conceiving the idea in the first place. Very self-centred, obviously.
His dad USED him!
If Falcon feels any guilt, it’s because his dad makes him feel that way. Falcon should feel angry at his dad, but he shouldn’t feel like he did something wrong. He should feel like his dad did something wrong!
Shame? Where have you been for the past 40 years or so? The idea of shame went out a long time ago.
SHAME WILL ALWAYS MEAN THE SAME.. It’s an excellent adjective to apply to this man.
THEY NEED TO GO TO JAIL
And get three meals fed to them a day. Tax payer money!!!
THEY SHOULD GET DEPORTED TO MEXICO
I live in mexico. We dont want them.
No, the parents should be punished for this outrage!
Yeah, poor Falcon will forever face embarassment because his name is Falcon.
Falcon is better than Buzzard Butt…
What’s wrong with the name Falcon? It’s original, MIKE.
That kid has NOTHING to feel guilty about it’s the parents that should beel guilty about teaching their children to lie to everybody from the general public to the police. Shame on those parents!
Remember that it was the police who started the big media circus. The police admitted that they lied to the media when they said that they thought it was real. They said they knew it was a hoax but they played along and told the media that it’s real, and started a big search and rescue operation.
The Police and even the media should also be charged with spreading hoaxes. Nobody would believe that balloon could lift a child. So why did the police tell people that was happening? Why did the media tell people that too?
Hoaxers: Heenes, Police, Media. Charge them all.
freddy, are you serious? The family called thier local news even before calling 911 – they got the media involved.
They made that boy keep speaking lies even as he was vomiting from the stress.
I feel so much sadness for him.
You know some greedy network is gonna give these people the reality show they want. God, I hope no one watches it.
Not if charges are filed, because that will lead to 5+ years in jail.
More like six months to a year max.
More like a slap on the wrist and a small fine…
More like a note saying, “Please don’t do this again”
more like a “no-no” finger wave.
more like a disapproving head nod.
More like a note saying ‘You know what, it’s ok. Just don’t do it again.”
More Like a a handshake from the judge and the district attorney and a big thank you for giving us such an interesting case to work on.
more like an approving nod from Jon Gosselin. Anyone notice the resemblance?
More like $100 fine and no charges.
More like TLC making this family into the next reality show.
More like, “Hey, thanks for putting our town on the map, this trial is only for show, have a nice day.”
More like this joke got tired at around 6 o’clock.
OMG…I don’t think I have ever laughed so hard over a comment section.
more like i have a cat!
Yes, some network probably will give them a show but it’ll have to wait till they get out of jail. they’ll need the money to pay back the FAA, the military, the sheriff’s department and everyone else who wasted time, money, and effort on these folks’ perverted hoax. Not to mention the years of therapy their son will need.
Years of therapy? He hid in a box for a few hours, and had to lie for a couple of days… It’s not like he got kidnapped and sexually assaulted. Children are more resilient than people give them credit for.
queue the Fox network…?
I must be missing something. I always hear the “resilient child” theory. Where then do all the messed up adults come from? Resilient childhoods?
You always hear it? I never do. I am not saying children can handle anything… but they can handle this. What will really mess them up is idiots like you making a mountain out of a molehill and sending them to therapy to make sure the event impacts them for life instead of letting it go. Childhood has a huge effect on adulthood, teaching weakness instead of strength isn’t a good idea.
Cripes, Jason, you just called a stranger an idiot for a fairly innocuous (and might I add, amusing) comment. Maybe therapy wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
It’s America’s fault. If you all of you didn’t watch these stupid reality shows, giving people 15 minutes of fame, none of this would have happened. Same people saying they feel sorry for Falcon are probably watching Jon & Kate plus 8.
People also have free will and personal responsibility.
That’s like blaming rock music for Columbine. In the end, it is up to the individual to commit the crime.
Nice to see some intelligent responses.
Agree Eric.
agreed!
Unfortunately, I don’t agree with this. As long as their is profit in something, someone will take the risk to make the money.
If people didn’t watch reality shows, there would be no profit in them.
Therefore, if no one watched these shows, we would have much less of this sort of thing.
VB
You must be kidding, Vinson. Yes, in a capitalist society, as long as there is profit in it, people will keep producing things and there will always be a percentage of people who will do wrong with it. By your theory, pretty much everything should be off television, music, and even books. People have committed heinous crimes over centuries because of what they’ve read, heard, or seen on the tube. You don’t blame the tube for that, you blame those making the mistakes. Throwing the baby out with the bathwater as you suggest only takes away the vast majority of good that comes from people learning and seeing and doing from what they’ve watched or heard. Good lord, ban the internet by your theory because oh my how many bad things have been done because of what people read there! Surely you can see that reality tv is not the problem here. No tv is. No book is. No movie or internet or music is. That mom and dad are responsible for the choices they made. If they’d decided to do the stunt because they wanted to sell a jazz record, would we ban all jazz music?????
@Vinson And if we locked everyone up in their house we’d have no murder. It would also take care of drug use. Should we ban ALL TV, or music, or cars, how bout cell phones? Oh by the way there are pedophiles on the internet, ban that. The news creates copycats, ban all news. Hey pedophiles hang out in stores, shut all those down too! Kids get injured at the park, rip those out. Someone got killed in a car wreck, if we didn’t have roads that would have never happened.
More like More like More like.
It’s ok, I know you want to continue watching your reality shows, so you don’t want to be part of the problem.
I don’t watch reality shows at all and find your post to be moronic as well. You can’t blame someone’s stupidity on other people watching reality TV. My watching TV should never cause someone to do something illegal.
I don’t own a TV for the express purpose of denying access to my living space, the kind of junk that’s on TV. I Still think it’s not the fault of “reality” TV for what happened. People are responsible for their own minds and actions. It is in fact people like you who always blame someone else that lets these people feel they aren’t really responsible.
Shamrock, you’re either 14 years old or completely narcissistic (or both). Either way, your “I’m right no matter what” attitude keeps facts from ruining a perfectly good argument. And it makes you look very ignorant.
this coming from someone whose country invented leprechauns…
A lot of Americans don’t watch reality shows. I don’t and my family doesn’t and a vast majority of the people I know don’t. It’s the people who feel insecure about their own lives who seek drama from someone else’s, be it real or not. I rarely ever watch tv anymore except for anime and discovery channel. Its still sad that these people were so crazied for fame that they lost sight of what mattered, their family and children.
As for Shamrock, he’s just the type of person who likes to get a reaction out of people. If you pay attention to him and give him the satisfaction of the reaction he wants out of you, he’ll enjoy it and win at your expense. Just don’t listen to him. His opinion honestly doesn’t matter considering there’s 6 million people in this world all with different opinions. So why should his be more important than ours? No one’s is more important than anyone elses’.
Dicovery is TLC. The proud family crashers of Jon & Hate
Most idiotic post I’ve ever seen on here. Blaming America for one family’s craziness.
Truth hurts doesn’t it. You better go now, I think TLC is showing a Jon & Kate plus 8 rerun.
Nope. They’re running Extreme Forensics all afternoon.
I don’t watch most Reality TV – but I also don’t blame it for people like the Heene’s. These people are selfish and put themselves before their children – as a matter of fact, I could be wrong but it seems like it is the husband who has put his agenda first and has dragged his wife and children along for the ride. CNN reported that there has been two 911 calls previously recorded and that one was a domestic violence call but in the end the wife didn’t want to press charges and they had to close the case due to insufficient evidence.
last domestic violence issue I saw
someone went to jail that reality
don’t watch there show and they will disappear like they appeared
got to love carol burnet sorry about the spelling not smarter than
a 5th grader don’t watch that either nasa
Shamrock, comments like that make commenting areas counterproductive. Throwing out harsh or inflammatory comments when you can remain faceless is pretty pathetic. Are you really stereotyping 304 million people?
I think Shamrock is partly right. Reality TV enables eccentric but otherwise pathetic people to be cast in the limelight. The only reason it exists is because people watch it and it justifies there existence when they can laugh and look down on them from behind the screen. It just finally happened that one of these families that we laughed at got addicted to the limelight and staged something ridiculous to get back in it.
The problem with this country is the degradation of personal responsibility. People like yourself point a finger at another in blame instead of admitting you make your own decisions.
Seems like there’s always some fool who waltzes in on these forums and blames the entire village for the actions of the village idiot.
I completely agree. Reality shows have turned the American public into complete attention whore morons. This incident is a mirror to a much larger problem. They better slap this family with serious charges or watch all the other crazy copy cat morons come out of the woodwork with other stunts. Yeesh.
Agreed!
You are 100% correct!
Shamrock is right. And it’s the media and public’s hysteria. How did a 911 call end up this way. Mass hysteria.
As has already been stated, the family called a local media outlet BEFORE they called the police. This family set the whole thing in motion, and no one else. Not those of us that watch reality shows. Not the police. I love it when people point fingers everywhere but at the source of contention.
If not for reality TV, Entertainment Weekly magazine would be all of five pages.
How could you not feel sorry for an innocent six-year-old boy? His own father has raised him to tell lies.
Reality show fever is the new Munchausen-by-Proxy.
Very well put- couldn’t agree more.
Beautiful!
A hoax!?! I didn’t see this coming.
Mr. Heene’s performance during his family’s first round of questioning from the media was entirely convincing. He certainly had me completely fooled.
I’m glad law enforcement officials aren’t as gullible as I am…
Another article stated that the parents originally met in acting school in California.
I wouldn’t be telling this to too many people if I were you. Most people could clearly tell this was a hoax from day one.
While it was always certainly possible that it was a hoax, it was also equally possible that it wasn’t. Just being automatically cynical doesn’t make you smarter. So insulting people for being willing to give others the benefit of the doubt just makes you look like a jerk.
This incident could reflect your gullibility index. You are a candidate for Scientology. They can help you if your problem is too much money.
Oh please, I knew this was a hoax before the balloon landed (a quick look at the Wife Swap episode on YouTube and Heene’s web site was enough).
So you’re insulting someone for being a trusting person? He had INVESTIGATORS fooled at first…lay off
“Wow!!” is clearly being sarcastic, friends, poking fun at the officials who DID take the bait. Observe the emphatic tones.
Wonderful parents…I’m surprised they didn’t throw Falcon down a well or pay someone to kidnap him.
yeah i agrre with you what kind of poarents do that to there kid
It’s only a class 3 misdemeanor.
Did you even read about the charges? They plan to file 4, 3 of which are felonies, not class 3 misdemeanors.
Initially it was only a Class 3, they must have updated. Calm down.
Fromm CNN:
If the incident was a hoax, the only charge local authorities could press would be making a false report to authorities — a Class 3 misdemeanor, Alderden told reporters Saturday.
And you are getting this from a media outlet, and they are always reliable. I hate to say this, but I am a cop, so the charges that could be pressed are much more extensive then just a false police report. You have obstructing an investigation, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, child neglect, just to name a few. And the child neglect is a felony. Get your facts straight, Mr. Blame Everything on the Media.
I know, initially CNN reported all the local authorities could charge them with is the Class 3 and then they updated. I was showing what the initial report was.
So Heather, read other posts where I said they had updated before you blast someone. Initially at 11:25 a.m. that’s all they were reporting that local authorities were recommending.
A little tetchy today, are we Shamrock?
No, just people who don’t read other posts. Everybody had different opinions, I respect that, but at least take the time to read other posts.
Shamrock, this kills me, but I acquiesce, this time you’re right.
This is the reason why they need to take reality shows off TV. TV channels give people shows despite having no talent or ability, but because it is a cheap show to put on. The ability to get a TV show without working for it is making people do crazy stunts like claiming your child was carried away by a balloon, or having your OB implant 8 babies in you. Sick people are being enabled by exploitive TV channels.
Sorry, but I’m not going to stop watching shows like Amazing Race and Hell’s Kitchen just becuase of all the Balloon Boys, Octomoms and Jon and Kate’s in the world. Sick people are also enabled by beer, violent movies, video games, sports, books, etc. Do we ban those too?
apples & oranges.
more like bobsleds and toboggans
I agree Quirky.
Shall we ban all movie/tv shows because young idiots go to Hollywood to get their fame and end up sleeping with the director to get a bit role?
Shall we ban all stock trading because of the latest insider trading arrests?
There will always be idiots who believe they should be in the spotlight–limiting their avenues won’t stop it.
Hell’s Kitchen and Amazing Race are competition shows. The contestants have to show skills. They are not the same as reality shows where people don’t have to have any talent or skills, like Jon & Kate, Real World, Big Brother, Rock of Love, etc. Those shows just exploit fame whores.
Competition shows like Amazing Race, Hell’s Kitchen, American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, and Project Runway, require ability, skill and talent. They aren’t reality shows, but contests.
Reality shows purport to show the “real life” of people. It has made “stars” out of people like Jon & Kate, Spencer & Heidi, and a bunch of other people with no special talent. What they do have is an overwhelming desire to be famous, and are willing to degrade themselves or their families to be famous.
Reality shows offer people the prospect of fame, and possibly fortune, with little or no effort. Just be yourself and the world will love you, is the promise.
Why not take off the news while you’re at it? Afterall, it wasn’t reality shows that gave this guy the spotlight this week, it was the news media. Maybe you should think about personal responsibility instead of getting on a blame bandwagon yourself.
Let’s just all blame tv and the music we listen to, instead of people actually taking responsibility for their own actions. So, now it is the reality tv shows to blame. Give me a break. Thug shoots and kills another thug, so it’s because society turned their back on them, liberal BS.
It’s not that people didn’t misuse their children before the days of ‘reality TV’ but that it wasn’t televised, we didn’t hear about it. Truly, since time began, some parents are going to go against the best interests of the child in an effort to make money, whether the child is cute or smart or fast or can sing well or can work twelve hour days in the mine or the field. As much as I’d love to find a reason to get rid of the reality TV and give that time back to scripted programming, this can’t be laid at the feet of the genre.
very well said
This is a tragic story. I can’t help but wonder how many others are in the wings living this type of lifestyle. If You Tube is any indication the “reality show mentality” is rampant in society today — on both sides of the camera. It’s a little early for New Year’s resolutions, but I’m starting mine today by removing reality shows from my TV watch list.
I would hardly call this tragic.
Think a bit deeper and perhaps you will see it.
Umm, nope. Still not tragic. Something like the Jaycee Dugard story is tragic.
That little boy is going to feel personally responsible for whatever happens from here on out – that he couldn’t maintain the lie his brothers and parents had been able to do. His vomiting showed his conscience and heart and it IS tragic that he will carry the biggest consequences in spite of being the youngest in the family. My youngest is six as well and I can’t imagine placing that kind of pressure on a grade one student. It IS tragic for him. It will follow him the rest of his life.
He’ll always feel his slip up brought this on his family when all he did was obey his parents’ selfish plan.
Umm, nope, still not tragic.
Heidi-I feel a bit sorry for your 6 year old. At 5 I was playing in the car, knocked it in gear and ran over my brother putting him in the hospital for a week. Felt so horrible I ‘ran away’ under my bed. But let me put your fears to rest–I’m 43 now and I don’t think my life has been particularly ruined. Children are resliant and time passes.
Here’s a way to get rid of reality shows: STOP WATCHING!
Here’s a concept for you. Why don’t we blame the parents? Since they are the instigators of this whole thing. They are money grubbing fame whores that want to put their kids on display like J K Plus 8. And I guarantee you, due to the media attention on this case, both parents will serve jail time.
Shamrock you probably don’t have much experience with 6 year olds let alone children raised in abusive households. I work in CPS so I do. Falcon’s whole life will be altered now, and not in a good way.
In any case something is clearly making you feel you know more and better than anyone else on the planet so I’m wondering if you are a bit too close to Mr. Heene’s personality type – arrogant, think you know best for everyone around you, domineering, a bully…
Why don’t you all just get a life and find more important things to do?
you have soft heart, but come on, life is tough on many people. Stop exaggerating a little boy’s misery like that’s the end of the world. He’s lucky enough that he has food and shelter and has you worrying about the rest of his life.
Because we’re all sitting around with bated breath waiting for people like Joseph Smith to tell us to get a life. By the way O Thou Great Oracle Joseph Smith what does your reply have to do with Heidi’s post? Enlighten us O Great Prophet.
Amen, Heidi. I counsel emotionally and physically battered women, and, you guessed it, pretty much all of us who find ourselves in an abusive marriage started out as an abused child. It’s what is familiar to us. So, yes, the story of Falcon and the Heene family is indeed tragic.
At least I don’t watch valueless talentless reality shows .
I agree with KPrice children are resultant. In twenty years this kid is going to be setting in a bar with his buddies telling them about the stunt his crazy dad tried to pull back in ‘09 and how he had to hide in the attic all day till he got the all clear to come out.
It depends…if he is with people who tell him it wasn’t his fault and has parents who step up and take responsibility, then I do agree that resiliency could help this boy move forward and not carry this around. I highly doubt, unfortunately, that his parents and therefore his brothers will be able to do that. After all, if it weren’t for him, they would have gotten away with it. That’s how they view it and that’s how his young brothers probably view it, if only out of fear about what is going to happen next.
Yes, this type of reality programming is awful and I certainly don’t waste my time watching it but the only people to blame are the parents. To do that to a child, make him hide and participate in a massive lie is rephrehensible. The responsibility he will feel for his little “slip” of truth will haunt him when it is in no way his fault. Not to mention the man hours and resources wasted looking for a boy who was never missing. I hope their case is strong and these people are prosecuted and that any others who think this sort of thing is a good idea sees the repercussions.
Right now, all the Sheriff’s Dept. can charge him with is a Class 3 misdemeanor.
No, the sheriff said that they can charge the parents with several felonies, including conspiracy.
They must have updated the charges. They will serve no jail time in either case.
From CNN:
If the incident was a hoax, the only charge local authorities could press would be making a false report to authorities — a Class 3 misdemeanor, Alderden told reporters Saturday.
They did indeed amend the possible charges. Check out CNN’S website
Yeah, I noticed they did update the charges, I was just showing what the initial report had stated at 11:25 am
I totally bought into the story when the father was initially interviewed. I thought he sounded very genuine. I feel disappointed that the family was this desperate.
I sincerely hope that Child Protective Services out there are going to do what they can to protect these kids from their parents. Parents who coerce their children into lying repeatedly in order to perpetrate a massive hoax are not acting in the best interests of their children and likely not good guardians. What is WRONG with people that it is more important to be famous than to be good parents?