FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Ten years ago Tuesday, the world watched as a balloon feared to be carrying a 6-year-old boy floated over northern Colorado. As it turned out, the whole thing was a hoax.
Around 11 a.m. on October 15, 2009, emergency crews began chasing a homemade balloon made by Richard and Mayumi Heene. The parents told authorities their 6-year-old son, Falcon, was inside the balloon, which ended up soaring for nearly two hours. When the balloon finally landed in a field east of Denver International Airport, Falcon was nowhere to be found.
Later that afternoon, the boy was found in an attic over the garage of his parents’ home. He had never been inside the balloon.
In an interview with CNN, Falcon said the family had manufactured the stunt for a show.
Richard Heene eventually pled guilty to attempt to influence a public servant, which is a felony. He was sentenced to 90 days in custody. His wife, Mayumi Heene, pled guilty to misdemeanor false reporting and was sentenced to 20 days in jail.
FILE – In this Oct. 15, 2009 file photo, Falcon Heene, 6, front right, is hugged by his mother, Mayumi, as television photographers crowd around them after a news conference outside the family’s home in Fort Collins, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
FILE – In this Oct. 15, 2009 file photo, six-year-old Falcon Heene is shown with his father, Richard, outside the family’s home in Fort Collins, Colo., after Falcon Heene was found hiding in a box in a space above the garage. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
A Larimer County Sheriff Department officer arrives to execute a search warrant on the Heene home Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009 in Fort Collins, Colo. (AP Photo/Will Powers)
FILE – In this Oct. 17, 2009 file photo, Mayumi Heene, left, leaves her home escorted by Larimer County Sheriffs in Fort Collins, Colo. (AP Photo/Will Powers, File)
The framework used to launch a balloon stands in the backyard of the home of Richard and Mayumi Heene in Fort Collins,, Colo., Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
FILE – In a Oct. 18, 2009 file photo, Richard Heene’s balloon is held for evidence in the Larimer County Sheriff’s evidence area in Fort Collins, Colo. (AP Photo/Will Powers, File)
Richard Heene holds police evidence photos showing his balloon during an interview in Fort Collins, Colo., on Friday, Jan. 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
5280 Magazine caught up with the Heene family at their home in New York last month. Read the story here.
