Balloon Boy Busts Parents

[TiggerTails57]

http://iphone.foxnews.com/story/0/567640-Father-Balloon-Boy-Center-New-Storm.html

Looks like they owe some taxes to California.....
Aspiring actors? LOL

 

[C.Ann]

In the news conference, Alderden addressed concerns that responding authorities had not thoroughly searched the home.

"[We] searched the house three times... went into crawl spaces [but] did not search the one where the boy was hiding," he told a group of reporters.

"Personnel didn't think it was possible for the boy to get there," he added in regards to the space where Falcon spent nearly five hours hiding.

Really, let's get real. If the police had any inkling that this was a hoax while they were there during the day, do you really think they would have listened to the dad if he said "don't go up there?" If they were any kind of cops, if they suspected the parents, they would see that as a red flag and would have immediately gone up there.

Alderman says it was the search team who made the decision that they thought a boy could not get up there.

You're missing the point.. Regardless of whether the dad said something or didn't same something, a thorough search should have included the garage attic..

What do these officers do? Wander around the house and property and say, "Yeah, I'll check that room.." - "Nah - I'm gonna skip the basement.."

Many, many years ago I was involved in a search for a 5 yr. old girl who wandered away from her home - riverfront property.. It was a large farm and not one inch; one room; one basement; one attic; one shed; went unsearched.. Eventually her body was recovered from the river..

Maybe it was the authorities who bungled the search from the get-go..

 

[blissventure]

http://iphone.foxnews.com/story/0/567640-Father-Balloon-Boy-Center-New-Storm.html

Looks like they owe some taxes to California.....
Aspiring actors? LOL

And I'll be interested to see if this is all verified:
http://www.film.com/features/story/balloon-boy-family-next-jon/30522155

"Richard Heene, who has appeared on the ABC reality series Wife Swap with his wife and three sons, has reportedly pitched a reality show to TLC and RDF Productions. This adds fuel to the ongoing suspicion that the balloon debacle was a hoax, heightened during a CNN interview in which Falcon said he did it "for the show."

TLC has a vacancy in its lineup now that Jon & Kate Plus 8 is on the way out ... please, TLC, don't replace one national trainwreck with another."


Really strange stuff.

 

[Geoff_M]

He said authorities contacted experts at Colorado State University who determined a balloon of its size could, in fact, carry a payload of up to 80 pounds.

However, the new video seems to clearly show that not to be the case. We now know that the balloon was un-weighted at launch. If it had anywhere near that amount of lift, it would have rocketed skyward. Instead it just drifted upward.

 

[Mickey's Minion]

You're missing the point.. Regardless of whether the dad said something or didn't same something, a thorough search should have included the garage attic..

What do these officers do? Wander around the house and property and say, "Yeah, I'll check that room.." - "Nah - I'm gonna skip the basement.."

Many, many years ago I was involved in a search for a 5 yr. old girl who wandered away from her home - riverfront property.. It was a large farm and not one inch; one room; one basement; one attic; one shed; went unsearched.. Eventually her body was recovered from the river..

Maybe it was the authorities who bungled the search from the get-go..

I am not missing the point at all. I agree the garage attic should have been searched.

What I was trying to point out is that many here are saying it was the Dad who told authorities not to go up there, thus pointing to guilt on the part of the dad.

Alderman clarified that and said it was the search team that did not think a child could go up there, thus no search.

 

[Mickey's Minion]

I watched the broadcast. Just to be clear, he discussed possible charges more than once during that presser. I'm a skeptic about the parents, and even I was surprised at how specific and how often he was comfortable speculating on charges. He also said they would seek financial restitution for the search if it was shown that there was intent/hoax. We'll just have to see what the investigators decide to follow up on, and where it goes from there. Sounds like LE wants interviews with the family tomorrow. (Saturday.) They were going to call the fam today to arrange them.
My opinion only, but I think if he truly believed there wasn't something rather stinky here, he would have refused to discuss any possible charges/financial restitution at all at this time.

He did say that they were going to re-interview the family because of some inconsistencies with the media interviews.

He answered questions of what would happen if it was a hoax.

It would only be false reporting and that is a minor penalty.

But he then again emphasized that they believed it was a real event.

He also said he asked Social Services to not contact the family until their interviews were finished tomorrow. Obviously, the sheriff is not that afraid for the children's safety if he has asked SS not to contact the family.

 

[AlleyKat]

Sheriffs don't hold press conferences specifically to dispel myths of a hoax unless they really do believe the family.

Perhaps there's a little "pocket padding" going on, they could be relatives, drinking buddies, etc.

the parents are just that strange

I hope they receive a hefty bill from all of the services they used!

BTW, there's "new" video of the FATHER releasing the balloon!

 

[Mickey's Minion]

However, the new video seems to clearly show that not to be the case. We now know that the balloon was un-weighted at launch. If it had anywhere near that amount of lift, it would have rocketed skyward. Instead it just drifted upward.

Determining lift, you also have to take into account the altitude of Denver. Ft. Collins is 5,000 ft above sea level.

If it is a hoax, shame on them.

But for now, I will believe the authorities that are trained in this kind of thing instead of rampant rumors, gossip and media speculation.

 

[Geoff_M]

Sheriffs don't hold press conferences specifically to dispel myths of a hoax unless they really do believe the family.

I'm guessing that the reason the Sheriff held the presser wasn't in order to defend the family, but instead to update the national and local media of the latest developments of a case that has drawn international interest (I heard the boy was safe from the BBC at the top of their news hour).

As for the lifting capacity of that balloon and the expert that the Sheriff contacted, I think they need a second opinion. Here's a listing from a company that sells weather balloons. This is rated for 3,000 grams (6.6 lbs.) lifting power. It's radius fully inflated is 6.25 ft. That's 1,023 cubic feet of helium for 6.6 lbs. The "saucer" balloon was only about 25-50% bigger tops by the estimates given. No way that home-made balloon could pull up a 6 year old.

 

[Geoff_M]

Determining lift, you also have to take into account the altitude of Denver. Ft. Collins is 5,000 ft above sea level.

The high altitude would decrease the lift of a helium balloon, not increase it. The lift is created by the weight differential between the gas in the balloon and the air outside it. "Higher" air weighs less than air at sea-level, therefore the differential between "mile high" air and helium would be less.

 

[MaumeeMom]

PARTIAL
Perhaps there's a little "pocket padding" going on, they could be relatives, drinking buddies, etc.

Wow! That's a pretty strong accusation. What evidence do you have?

There is an interesting timeline on a Denver News website HERE
Some things that I found interesting:

The father first called the FAA w/in minutes of his releasing the balloon. The FAA said to call 911 but it they didn't call 911 until almost 20 minutes into the saga.

Also, it is reported that they didn't search the house for the boy until 10 minutes after the balloon took off.

Heene called the media before he called 911 - supposedly to ask for a chopper? Why didn't he call 911? A city the size of Denver has to have access to some emergency choppers.

There do seem to be some inconsistencies with what was first reported and what the family is now saying or showing with their videos.

I did not view the latest news conference from the authorities but from what I have read they have not 100% ruled out that this was a hoax.

I would like to believe that this was real and that the family is not so foolish as to have planned this but they are making it hard to believe with what they are saying and how they are acting.

I am leaning towards this being a hoax but would love to be proved wrong.

 

[Zandy595]

And I'll be interested to see if this is all verified:
http://www.film.com/features/story/balloon-boy-family-next-jon/30522155

"Richard Heene, who has appeared on the ABC reality series Wife Swap with his wife and three sons, has reportedly pitched a reality show to TLC and RDF Productions. This adds fuel to the ongoing suspicion that the balloon debacle was a hoax, heightened during a CNN interview in which Falcon said he did it "for the show."

TLC has a vacancy in its lineup now that Jon & Kate Plus 8 is on the way out ... please, TLC, don't replace one national trainwreck with another."


Really strange stuff.

Not that this makes any difference in this story, but Kate Plus 8 will be back on TLC. At least that's what they showed on the news today.

I remember watching Wife Swap when this family was on and the first thing I thought when I heard about the balloon incident is that it is a hoax. The other wife that lived with them for two weeks at first thought it was a hoax also, but then she changed her mind.

 

[blissventure]

He did say that they were going to re-interview the family because of some inconsistencies with the media interviews.

He answered questions of what would happen if it was a hoax.

It would only be false reporting and that is a minor penalty.

But he then again emphasized that they believed it was a real event.

He also said he asked Social Services to not contact the family until their interviews were finished tomorrow. Obviously, the sheriff is not that afraid for the children's safety if he has asked SS not to contact the family.

You forgot the little bit about restitution for the search...and that total figure could be a rather sizable sum.

About social services...it's just easier for LE to interview and repeat interview the family all together. Separate, interview, compare notes, re-interview continue until LE feels they have a pretty good handle on what actually (truthfully) occurred yesterday.

The wait for one more day doesn't mean SS isn't concerned....If they weren't in the picture, why would LE mention them?

 

[love2disney]

Ok just throwing out a theory... what if the whole thing was planned to have Falcon on the balloon [lightest kid whose weight balloon may bear] ; call the media and make a big production out of how they help their kids learn science. They miscalculated how the balloon would fly.

They genuinely believed that Falcon was in there... horrified when he as not.. the kid had cold feet and hence he hid. Hence their reactions were genuine but their intentions were not. It explains his ride for the show comment too.

 

[vettechick99]

Wow. Is all I can say.

 

[SamRoc]

Ok just throwing out a theory... what if the whole thing was planned to have Falcon on the balloon [lightest kid whose weight balloon may bear] ; call the media and make a big production out of how they help their kids learn science. They miscalculated how the balloon would fly.

They genuinely believed that Falcon was in there... horrified when he as not.. the kid had cold feet and hence he hid. Hence their reactions were genuine but their intentions were not. It explains his ride for the show comment too.

I really know nothing about science, but my friend and i were watching this yesterday. And they said that if this kid was in the balloon and went above a certain height, that he could freeze to death!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Eyes for Lies opinion on this incident for now...

http://eyesforlies.blogspot.com/2009/10/falcon-balloon-boy.html


She's leaning towards accident at this point.

 

[surfergirl602]

You can just see the parents' whole body language change after the kid says that. If it's true, what a waste of time and energy for all those emergency workers.

I feel they should have to pay back the fees that it cost for everyone to be out searching etc. That took a lot of time and money on those people's part.

 

[hegsag]

I always thought that people blink when they lie and I didn't see the dad blink when he told his story. However, I just can't shake this feeling that it was for publicity. I just don't see mom being all emotional as I would be...

 

[Geoff_M]

Eyes for Lies opinion on this incident for now...

http://eyesforlies.blogspot.com/2009/10/falcon-balloon-boy.html


She's leaning towards accident at this point.

Interesting analysis... but it discounts a couple of things:

1) The parents were both actors before they skipped town in California.

2) Falcon could have been just off camera in the video.

I think the anger the father shows in the video is probably genuine and think the release was likely accidental. However, I do think that it's also likely that the "Falcon's in the balloon!" story may have concocted on the fly as a means to avoid any trouble the father might have feared for releasing the unlicensed craft into the air space over Ft. Collins.

As I think the math proves and video shows, they had to either be idiots or liars to honestly think that their kid was in that balloon as it floated off.