OMG! 6 year old alone in Hot-Air Balloon

[Happy 2B mommy]

Just turned on the TV and saw this!

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/10/15/national/main5386653.shtml

P & PT for his safety

[Melaine]

Praying for this situation right now.

[baileygirl]

Hoping he gets back safely and is doing well up there! I couldn't imagine being his parents right now.

[arivecchi]

How the heck can they intercept the balloon and rescue him? I mean, they can't use helicopters can they?

[vonfirmath]

The article says they are using helicopters.

[maestramommy]

Praying for this little boy. His parents must be wild with worry!

[BabyMine]

He has landed and it was a soft landing

[mommylamb]

That kid is going to be so traumatized. I feel so badly for him. Someone on my facebook said they heard he had been up there since 1 pm eastern time (3.5 hours so far).

[BabyMine]

He has been reported to have fallen out. There is nobody in the balloon. This is so sad.

[Happy 2B mommy]

The balloon has landed, but it looks like the boy isn't in there. Unsure if he fell out or got out before it took off.
His poor family and parents.

[elektra]

Oh no! How horrible. I thought for sure he would stay put and be fine.

ETA:
Wait, it was tethered in their backyard???? I figured it was at a fair or something. I guess I was getting that mixed up with the Little House on the Prairie episode that kept coming to mind.
I wonder if he never got in. Hopefully that's the case.

[KBecks]

Now I am going to freak out over this.

[ilfaith]

Hopefully he was never in the balloon to begin with.

[Moneypenny]

Oh heavens, this is awful!! Prayers for that little guy...

[hobie]

He was not found inside.

[Happy 2B mommy]

DS is waking up, so I'm going to turn the tv off. It sounds like he may never have been in there, but is missing. the boys dad is a weather man/scientist and it's a light weather balloon. He may have untethered the balloon and ran away because the balloon was part of an experiment. The family was on "WifeSwap".

[bubbaray]

DH just called me about this. Said the boy wasn't in the basket. I'm afraid to turn on the TV....

[TwinFoxes]

My husband just called me from the airprort to tell me about this. I literally feel physically ill. I don't know why this is upsetting me so. Maybe because of the stupidity involved, or maybe because I imagine how scared the little guy was. I'm hoping against hope it's some sort of hoax since TMZ is reporting the family was on Wife Swap (or one of those shows.) Maybe it's some crazy publicity stunt, but I really don't think it is. :crying:

[baileygirl]

Wow...I remember that family. I hope he wasn't in the balloon or jumped when it was still low to the ground.

[arivecchi]

What a nightmare. I cannot even imagine the parents' agony.

[ThreeofUs]

Oh, gosh. I'm so afraid to get an update. P&PT indeed. OMG.

[deborah_r]

I have a hopeful theory that maybe the sibling who says he saw the boy get in is playing a hoax, and he untethered the balloon and the boy is hiding somewhere. I can hope, right?

Reading comments on one of the dad's iReports on CNN shows some itneresting info, such as the dad likes to take the children with him riding into the eye of a hurricane (tornado? I don't know). Not sure if that is true.

[Happy 2B mommy]

OK -I cannot leave this story alone. It sounds really unlikely that he was in the balloon after it reached more than a few feet above the ground. Still, he is missing. Hopefully they find him hiding out somewhere, totally unaware that people like me were following the story!

[mommylamb]

Maybe he jumped out when it was only a couple feet up and is hiding because he's afraid he'll get in trouble.

[elektra]

I'm hoping against hope it's some sort of hoax since TMZ is reporting the family was on Wife Swap (or one of those shows.) Maybe it's some crazy publicity stunt
:yeahthat:
This is what came to mind when I read about it being in their backyard and the WifeSwap thing. I would be outraged if this was a hoax but I'm still hoping that's the case.

[shawnandangel]

This story has my stomach in knots. Latest update on CNN says that a deputy thinks he saw something fall from the balloon and they are now searching the area where he thought he saw something fall. They think there was a box attached to the balloon.

edit: now they are reporting there was never a basket attached to the balloon to begin with.

[bubbaray]

CNN says on their website he's been found alive.

[elektra]

Just coming to post this too. Headline says he was found safe at home.

[bubbaray]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/15/colorado.boy.balloon/index.html

[wellyes]

Yay!! Thank goodness it was much ado about nothing.

[MamaKath]

I am glad they found him okay! I had horrible thoughts of where he might be and kept recalling a case years ago when a boy was playing hide and seek and got trapped. I bet he was scared, it sounds like that balloon was very important to their family (building together). I hope he can be reassured that HE is more important than the balloon.

[arivecchi]

Great news!

[Melaine]

Thank the Lord....that was seriously scaring the daylights out of me.

[deborah_r]

Here are the Heene boys in a rap video...I think we all been had! This is an attention-seeking family. They've already been on WifeSwap twice...I'm sure TLC can find a place for them in their tasteful lineup...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8Ns87YkdRI

[TwinFoxes]

...I think we all been had! This is an attention-seeking family. They've already been on WifeSwap twice...I'm sure TLC can find a place for them in their tasteful lineup...


Hahaha!

Even if we've all been had, in this case I don't mind. I would have not been able to get the image of a scared six year old falling from a balloon out of my head.

[lablover]

Here are the Heene boys in a rap video...I think we all been had! This is an attention-seeking family. They've already been on WifeSwap twice...I'm sure TLC can find a place for them in their tasteful lineup...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8Ns87YkdRI


OMG, I just watched the video. I don't even know what to say....

[Sillygirl]

If that was a publicity stunt, I hope they get charged for all the hassle they caused. Re-routing flights, rescue aircraft lifting off - should hit half a million, easy. Sadly, I'm suspicious of their motivations instantly - two trips through Wife Swap, and he's trying to find aliens in his free time? Gross.

[EllasMum]

Just watched the youtube clip. I'm speechless. Publicity stunt, indeed.

[Happy 2B mommy]

well - DANG! I sacrificed precious naptime to watch and worry over this child and his family!!

that being said, I'm thankful that he's OK.

[clc053103]

I hate to say it- but as soon as I read the "missing boy in balloon" article and saw that they were on Wife Swap, I immediately thought it could be a publicity stunt. I wasn't at all surprised when the child was found safe.

After seeing that video, I'm speechless. what in the world is wrong with these people! And yes, I agree that they should be charged for the services of the police, FAA and every other organization that searched for their son. and how about a fine for stopping flight traffic as well?

[BabyMine]

Wow this family is um..... different. I didn't watch them on wife swap so I checked you tube. This is their last time on the show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr_zA5E7n7A

[hellokitty]

Wow this family is um..... different. I didn't watch them on wife swap so I checked you tube. This is their last time on the show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr_zA5E7n7A

I hate to say this, but the psychic family comes off looking more close to, "normal" compared to the balloon family. I'm sorry, but if you offer up your family to wifeswap to begin with, you're weird. They only like to showcase families that are very strange.

[kayte]

I just saw the clip from Larry King on CNN.

"When asked by his father on air why he didn't respond, the boy replied, "You guys said we did this for the show."

Yikes. I hope lots of fines are coming their way.

[shawnandangel]

When your child is so stressed from an ordeal that they throw up twice, don't you think that maybe it's time to get out of the media spotlight and let the boy rest?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_boy_in_balloon

[Melaine]

This is really sad. After reading that article though, it does sound like he could have been confused when he said it was for the show. He's only 6.....I hope it wasn't it a stunt.

[AnnieW625]

I think the older brother had more to do with it than he'll ever admit.

[Fairy]

I'm mobile and out of the loop and just heard about the recent dev'ts w/the throwing up. I am disgusted. I am just agog at what this father has put his son thru. Colorado DCFS, please get involved here! His son threw up on live TV twice. That poor poor baby. I'm so mad that this child is going thru this that I'm on my bberry to yell about it or I'll explode. In trader joe's parking lot. Ds home w/daddy. I am so in need of seeing my little boy and hugging him I'm in tears. Just hurt for the basic public abuse of this little boy, trotting him out like this. Insanity. Its insanity.

[Reyadawnbringer]

I'm mobile and out of the loop and just heard about the recent dev'ts w/the throwing up. I am disgusted. I am just agog at what this father has put his son thru. Colorado DCFS, please get involved here! His son threw up on live TV twice. That poor poor baby. I'm so mad that this child is going thru this that I'm on my bberry to yell about it or I'll explode. In trader joe's parking lot. Ds home w/daddy. I am so in need of seeing my little boy and hugging him I'm in tears. Just hurt for the basic public abuse of this little boy, trotting him out like this. Insanity. Its insanity.

:yeahthat:

[Ceepa]

I don't think the parents put him up to it. I believe the boys live in an environment where they're free to do whatever they want with little supervision. I bet the boys were screwing around with their parents' wacky experiment and it all went wrong.

I'm glad the boy is safe but am having trouble being sympathetic for those parents, especially after watching sonme of the video links posted.

[KpbS]

I am disgusted. I am just agog at what this father has put his son thru. Colorado DCFS, please get involved here!

:yeahthat:

I would rarely wish DCFS into any situation (or onto any family) but this situation is very, very odd. I think the family has made several cries for attention and help. They need it!

[Fairy]

Double Post

[Fairy]

No no no. No matter WHAT went down, these parents FOSTERED it and BRED it and put their SIX year old child out there to propogate it all. It's disgusting. I can't even concentrate on my frakkin' produce.

Edited for more vehemence

[JenaW]

WOW! What did I miss. I was glued to the TV last night while running at the gym, and actually started crying when they showed the picture of the "unidentified" object falling from the balloon. Hubby kept saying best case scenario would be that the boy was off hiding somewhere and was never actually in the balloon, but neither one of us really believed that was the case. We were so shocked this morning to read online that he HAD been hiding in the attic all along and was fine. Now people are saying the whole thing was a publicity stunt and calling for DFCS involvement? I am beyond stunned.

[Fairy]

I know! It's been upsetting me all day. Listened to Ed Schultz talk about it, read a few articles, but I cannot bring myself to watch the vid or look at a photo of the Today Show. I just. can't. do. it. I am, however, watchng Wife Swap clips. Taking a while to get thru them cuz I'm crazy busy. But I'm just stunned and so angry.

[fortato]

Did anyone else read that they called a news channel and the FAA before calling 911???

"The sheriff was also asked about the sequence of events when the Heenes reported their child’s disappearance to authorities. The Heenes called the FAA first, followed by a local TV station with a news helicopter, and then dialed 911. The sheriff said the TV station call made sense because the helicopter could have provided immediate assistance."

Yeah... that's usually my first thought when I see an accident... call the news, and THEN call for help.

The whole thing is sketchy.

[kijip]

Did anyone else read that they called a news channel and the FAA before calling 911???

"The sheriff was also asked about the sequence of events when the Heenes reported their child’s disappearance to authorities. The Heenes called the FAA first, followed by a local TV station with a news helicopter, and then dialed 911. The sheriff said the TV station call made sense because the helicopter could have provided immediate assistance."

Yeah... that's usually my first thought when I see an accident... call the news, and THEN call for help.

The whole thing is sketchy.

Word!

An interesting tale in non-news news.

[AshleyAnn]

Did anyone else read that they called a news channel and the FAA before calling 911???

"The sheriff was also asked about the sequence of events when the Heenes reported their child’s disappearance to authorities. The Heenes called the FAA first, followed by a local TV station with a news helicopter, and then dialed 911. The sheriff said the TV station call made sense because the helicopter could have provided immediate assistance."

Yeah... that's usually my first thought when I see an accident... call the news, and THEN call for help.

The whole thing is sketchy.

WTF? My husband is a freaking pilot and I know several helicopter pilots (including the local news crew) and my first thought would not be to call Bill and ask him to break out his chopper!

This whole thing is so fishy - I read somewhere that if it does turn out to be a lie the only crime they commited was creating a false police report which is a misdemeanor.

[kijip]

This whole thing is so fishy - I read somewhere that if it does turn out to be a lie the only crime they commited was creating a false police report which is a misdemeanor.

Sometimes people are held financially responsible for searches if they induced action on false information.

[kayte]

This whole thing is so fishy - I read somewhere that if it does turn out to be a lie the only crime they commited was creating a false police report which is a misdemeanor.

This morning's article said that even if they are convicted a of a class 3 misdemeanor, the agencies involved can request restitution.

[StantonHyde]

Just read that there have been 3 911 calls from that address in the last year. Last one was a hang up and when the sheriff got there he could hear a man yelling. Husband said he was yelling at kids to go to sleep, but wife had a mark on her cheek and a red eye--broken blood vessels--she said it was from her contact lens. They didn't have enough to do anything, so left the house. Very odd family.

[Fairy]

Did anyone else read that they called a news channel and the FAA before calling 911???

"The sheriff was also asked about the sequence of events when the Heenes reported their child’s disappearance to authorities. The Heenes called the FAA first, followed by a local TV station with a news helicopter, and then dialed 911. The sheriff said the TV station call made sense because the helicopter could have provided immediate assistance."

Yeah... that's usually my first thought when I see an accident... call the news, and THEN call for help.

The whole thing is sketchy.

Double Word. All I know, people, is that something is rotten in the state of Denmark. I mean Colorado.

[MMEand1]

Found this earlier when I was waiting 1.5 hours for my patient:

He and his family appeared on the ABC reality show "Wife Swap," and the show's producer said it had a show in development with the Heenes but the deal is now off. TLC also said Heene had pitched a reality show to the network months ago, but it passed on the offer.

It also said that Heene is an "aspiring" reality show star, so it's all weird!!

I'm not sure that a 6 yo BOY would be able to voluntarily stay hidden for that length of time - at least mine would not be able to and he is not anywhere near as hyper as that one appears to be in all the videos. And did you see the boys giving each other the one finger salute? Appalled...

[goodnightmoon]

CNN just added a newsflash that charges are expected against the father.

What an a$$.

[lchang25000]

Charges will be filed, but the Sheriff didn't say who would be charged or what the charges would be:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091018/ap_on_re_us/us_boy_in_balloon

[fortato]

IT WAS A HOAX!!!!
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/18/colorado.balloon.investigation/index.html

I hope the family has to pay for the waste of resources.

Those poor children.

[MMEand1]

IT WAS A HOAX!!!!
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/18/colorado.balloon.investigation/index.html

I hope the family has to pay for the waste of resources.

Those poor children.

I just came to post this!! This family is ridiculous!!

[Globetrotter]

I'm concerned for that boy. He probably got into huge trouble for outing them. All the kids, for that matter..

That is one of the sickest examples of shoddy parenting that I've ever seen!

[lchang25000]

I am not surprised. I hope those parents get what they deserve!! :hopmad:

[deborah_r]

There was something "off" about that guy in the interviews I saw. He gave me the creeps. I didn't see the Wife Swap episodes.

[bubbaray]

If they are charged with child endangerment, will DCS be involved? I wonder if they will lose their children over this?

I doubt they will get any more TV gigs if he has a felony conviction.

[Fairy]

I'm patiently waiting for the authorities to get involved and evaluate whether those kids should remain in the home.

[Happy 2B mommy]

What. A. Creep. I watched a bit of the Wifeswap episode online and the dad seems like a mean, immature, short-tempered, possibly violent person. I hope at the very least they are hit with a fine and mandatory counseling.

[Swimfreak78]

I just can't believe that a famly would do this. I hope that the authorities really look at the kids in this situation.

[tnrnchick74]

I can believe this hoax. It's ridiculous. I hope they force the family to pay EVERY CENT back for all the time, energy, and resources wasted!

DCF needs to investigate this craziness...

[StantonHyde]

I read today that authorities had talked to the wife "at length" about getting counseling for domestic violence and offering to take her to a safe house with the kids and she refused. ummm, what is your first clue that things are not ok here?????

Supposedly DCFS is reviewing the case but they don't have anything right now. The sheriff did say the father "has quite a temper".

Supposedly, he had pitched an idea to TLC and they turned it down but he was in current talks about another show and those talks have ended.

[kijip]

This is a sick thing to do to a child. Who the hell would cook up such a stupid scheme?