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FORT COLLINS, Colo. – A Colorado sheriff said he was pursuing criminal charges in the case of a 6-year-old boy who vanished into the rafters of his garage while the world thought he was zooming through the sky in a flying saucer-like helium balloon. The boy's parents, Richard and Mayumi Heene, met with Larimer County investigators for much of the afternoon, but Sheriff Jim Alderden didn't say who would be charged or what the charges would be. Alderden didn't call Thursday's hours-long drama a hoax, but he expressed disappointment that he couldn't level more serious charges in the incident, which...

The Larimer County Sheriff's Office is drawing up search warrants and preparing charges against Richard Heene and the "balloon boy" family. Officials made the announcement after Heene and his wife met with officials at the Larimer County Sheriff's headquarters for several hours Saturday. Heene left his home in a red minivan and drove to the sheriff's office in mid-afternoon. A couple of hours later, two other people, including a man wearing a shirt identifying him as a Larimer County sheriff's office victim advocate, arrived at the home, and the boy's mother, Mayumi Heene, left with a man and a woman...

The Larimer County Sheriff says criminal charges are likely expected to be filed against Richard Heene. Heene is the Fort Collins man who reported his 6-year-old son missing in a helium-filled balloon on Thursday. The sheriff did not give specific charges, but said they would likely be a class 3 misdemeanor, which could be false reporting. The sheriff's office is working on getting a search warrant to search the Heene home and is planning a news conference Sunday at 11 a.m. Richard Heene and his wife Mayumi were interviewed by investigators Saturday.

Wow. Ready to have your mind blown? A former research assistant who slaved for Richard Heene is revealing the deceptive, tragic master plan that Heene concocted to manufacture a media thunderstorm. This...is completely insane. Here's a bullet-point summary:

A man who claims he once worked for Richard Heene says Heene was obsessed with becoming famous, wanted to get his own show, and had an idea for a massive media stunt that involved a "weather balloon" that "resembles a UFO." Sound familiar? Robert Thomas claims, in an interview with Gawker, that Heene believed such a stunt would "be the most significant UFO-related news event to take place since the Roswell Crash of 1947." Thomas said Heene was "driven by ego and fame" after appearing on "Wife Swap." He says Heene's idea for a show was something like "'MythBusters'-meets-mad scientist."...

Thomas spent several months earlier this year working on developing a reality science TV show to pitch to networks - the "show," Thomas says, that Falcon was referring to when he told CNN "We did it for the show." Among the ideas that Heene, Thomas and two others came up with for their reality TV proposal — and one that he says most intrigued Heene — involved a weather balloon modified to look like a UFO which they would launch in an attempt to drum up media interest in both the Heene family and the series he was desperate to...

Balloon dad says he has something to day according to reports

There is allegedly proof that the story of balloon boy Falcon Heene was a stunt to help pitch a television show. But the purported proof will cost you thousands of dollars to get. Today, we spoke with a Denver-area student who claims to have worked with Falcon's father, Richard Heene, on a reality show proposal for ABC. The student wants to sell the information and says the National Enquirer is considering buying it for between $5,000 and $8,000. The student claims to have been hired by Heene, and says the two worked together from March until May 2009 to prepare...

Here is video from the Today Show this morning where the "Balloon Boy" Family was on air. The father, Richard Heene, denied that the whole bizarre episode that unfolded yesterday was a "hoax." Meredith Viera asked him to clarify why son, Falcon, said hid in the attack because "we did this for a show." The father essentially said his son was "confused," and shortly after he gave that answer, the boy got sick to his stomach on camera. When asked directly if this was a "hoax," Richard Heene acted indignant and said he was tired of hearing that question. He...

I just heard Falcon threw up on the Today show. This is the balloon kid. The whole family should be deported in my view.

The homemade balloon contraption that soared through the air in eastern Colorado for several hours is vastly different from the giant hot air balloons that are seen at festivals and that are used for recreational purposes, experts say. Nearly all the giant balloons that drift and bob through the air are hot air balloons that are filled with air and fueled by propane, explains Howard Freeman, executive producer of the Quick Chek New jersey Festival of Ballooning in Reddington, New Jersey. As the air inside the balloon heats up to a temperature higher than the outside air, the balloon rises,...

http://laist.com/2009/10/15/uncomfortable_moment_balloon_boy_te.php Also on KFI Los Angeles, we just heard it...

He just said to his parents on Wolf Blitzer “You guys said we did it for a show.” Wolf didn’t seem to notice. Video at the link.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — The 6-year-old Colorado boy thought to have floated off in a homemade balloon has raised questions whether it might have been a family stunt. During a live interview on CNN, Falcon Heene said he heard his family calling his name as he hid in the rafters of their garage. At the time, there was a frantic effort to bring down the balloon safely. Falcon's father asked, "Why didn't you come out?" The boy answered, "You had said we did this for a show." After the CNN interview, the father said he didn't know what his son...

Speculation is mounting that the story of six-year-old American boy Falcon Heene who was feared to have floated away on a home-made weather balloon was a hoax organised by his family to gain publicity.

Congratulatory messages poured into the White House this morning from global heads-of-state celebrating President Barack Obama’s dramatic rescue of a 6-year-old Colorado boy, whose apparent flight in an experimental balloon yesterday captivated viewers around the world. While the White House declined to comment on how the president could have flown to Colorado, retrieved the boy from the balloon, and returned him safely to the attic of his family home, press secretary Robert Gibbs said President Obama was “surprised and deeply humbled” by the international attention. He said the president views this latest round of global tribute as “a call to...

Most of us have seen the "Balloon Boy" vomit live on the Today Show this morning. My question is this: Was he drugged? Pay close attention to the boy's actions and his general demeanor. Pain killers often cause nausea and vomiting in those not accustomed to taking them. He appears to be in a sort of haze until he calls out, "Mom, I need the cup!", and then the chunks fly. In my opinion these publicity whores slipped their kid a "Mickey" to prevent him from blowing their cover and saying something "off script" again. Watch the video and let...

When a UFO shaped helium balloon took off from Colorado, possibly harboring a 6-year-old boy, the broadcast and cable news organizations were transfixed. But when it turned out to be a possible "publicity stunt" the networks continued to give it enormous amounts of coverage. That's exactly the opposite of the way the networks covered made-up quotes attributed to conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh that had portrayed him as racist. ...more (w/video)...

As the homemade balloon took to the air, Richard Heene blasts wife about tethering. • While world worried, 'balloon boy' was safe in attic http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=7e7_1255709203

A TLC official tells TMZ the Heene family approached the network "months ago" with a reality show idea, but the network passed. TMZ has learned the Heene family has been pitching a reality show about the wacky family, as one TV source put it, "all over town." We're told Richard Heene pitched a series to Reality Real, as well as RDF Productions. RDF produces "Wife Swap," on which the family appeared back in March. We're also told the Heene's have made the rounds at the networks, including TLC. Of course, TLC produced "Jon & Kate Plus 8." So is balloon...