UFO flying over Denver with six year old trapped inside

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A six-year-old boy was reported to be trapped in a homemade weather balloon that had launched from his backyard in Denver, reaching an altitude of 8,000 feet. Initial concerns arose about his safety, as the balloon was not designed to carry a person, and speculation about a possible hoax began to circulate. As the situation unfolded, it was revealed that the boy was actually hiding in his attic, leading to accusations that the incident was staged for publicity, particularly since the family was involved in reality television. The father’s actions, including calling a TV station instead of emergency services, fueled suspicions of a planned stunt. Ultimately, the incident raised questions about the family's motivations and the safety of their children in such situations.
  • #31
DavidSnider said:
You sure?

According to CNN. I think they even said that he was on a weather-chaser show for one of the major networks. They also mentioned the reality TV stuff, but nothing about UFOs.
 
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  • #32
DavidSnider said:
The dad is a bit of UFO buff =) See his iReport on structures and faces on mars: http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-65430
http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-65548

That has nothing to do with UFOs. That is plain old pseudoscience.

...just as a matter of fact. :biggrin:
 
  • #33
Videos of the balloon show it tipping and tumbling. It didn't act like it had any payload at all, so it was highly unlikely that a 6-year-old was on board, even if that balloon could have gotten a 6-year-old off the ground in the first place. Grandstanding and hoax are tops, here. "Wife-Swap" reality show? Can these people be trusted?
 
  • #34
Kids speak the truth, don't they?

In a later interview with CNN's "Larry King Live," Falcon said he heard his parents call for him from the garage.

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

When the father was pressed by Wolf Blitzer, who was filling in for King, to explain what his son meant, he became uncomfortable, finally saying he was "appalled" by the questions, and then adding that Falcon was likely referring to all the media coverage
.

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

This whole thing stinks to high heaven.
 
  • #35
DavidSnider said:
This probably will not end well I'm afraid. Really sad.
Here's the video of the big moment on CNN:


Right before he says "we did this for the show" you can hear a noise come out of the father's throat.

"mmAN..." "No?"

And no, it never was a UFO, but it was a flying saucer. :smile:
 
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  • #36
These people are flat out nuts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HoqRIAwkps
 
  • #37
Fox does it again; those clever boys. Time after time they yank us around.

For reasons that have worked so far, they've generated a lot of income taking the maverick road the other alphabet channels have followed with great caution. We have prancing with the stars, so called reality TV, Island (?), and all this other crap my wife loves so much, that I can't even name.

With this latest gambit, they are testing the envelop a bit further.
 
  • #38
Greg Bernhardt said:
These people are flat out nuts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HoqRIAwkps

I have to ask, are they scientologists?
 
  • #39
Mk said:
Here's the video of the big moment on CNN:


Right before he says "we did this for the show" you can hear a noise come out of the father's throat.

"mmAN..." "No?"

And no, it never was a UFO, but it was a flying saucer. :smile:


wooooooooooo .... children can't lie.
 
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  • #40
Greg Bernhardt said:
These people are flat out nuts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HoqRIAwkps

Watching the first minute nearly made me puke.
 
  • #41
Cyrus said:
wooooooooooo .... children can't lie.

Father: "We believe 100% that he was onboard."

It's fairly certain the parents worked something with Fox, and the kid spilled the beans. Silly daddy, when you get coached by the producer, remember to coach the kids. All is fair in love and entertainment news.
 
  • #42
Phrak said:
Father: "We believe 100% that he was onboard."

It's fairly certain the parents worked something with Fox, and the kid spilled the beans. Silly daddy, when you get coached by the producer, remember to coach the kids. All is fair in love and entertainment news.

It's not even what the kid said, but how he 'confessed' it. He was hesistant to say it was because of the show, you could tell he didn't want to lie.
 
  • #43
Mk said:
Here's the video of the big moment on CNN:

Right before he says "we did this for the show" you can hear a noise come out of the father's throat.

"mmAN..." "No?"

And no, it never was a UFO, but it was a flying saucer. :smile:

I heard a copy of the 911 call. The mother sounded genuinely distressed. She also referred to the balloon as being like a UFO and for the rest of the call they referred to it in that manner. Possibly that is where the UFO reference comes from.
 
  • #44
Phrak said:
Father: "We believe 100% that he was onboard."

It's fairly certain the parents worked something with Fox, and the kid spilled the beans. Silly daddy, when you get coached by the producer, remember to coach the kids. All is fair in love and entertainment news.

Right. So it was obviously Fox that came up with the idea. The crackpot tornado chaser who wants to be famous couldn't have come up with it on his own.
 
  • #45
TheStatutoryApe said:
Right. So it was obviously Fox that came up with the idea. The crackpot tornado chaser who wants to be famous couldn't have come up with it on his own.

To be fair, it's the job of producers to turn mole hills into mountains.
 
  • #46
lr_zA5E7n7A&feature=related[/youtube] KURAZAAAYYYYY
 
  • #49
Why are these kids exposed to this craziness?
 
  • #50
I just watched the video of it lifting off from their backyard, and read that some professor said that thing could lift 80 pounds. There is NO WAY that thing could lift anywhere near 80 pounds. That small, half inflated thing could barely lift its own weight.
 
  • #51
TheStatutoryApe said:
Right. So it was obviously Fox that came up with the idea. The crackpot tornado chaser who wants to be famous couldn't have come up with it on his own.

I don't know who came up with the idea, but it was half-baked, and appears coached (Daddy's a bad actor). I suppose authorities had no choice but to take it seriously, and "news" channels like CNN and FNC make their bread off of things other than car-chases, ... I dunno.

I think it looks too "wrong" to be concocted by FOX or any professional. To be fair, I only heard of this event after it was over, so my mind was thinking "hoax" right from the start. I don't know how real it would have seemed without this bias.
 
  • #52
This is from a Reality Show proposal he pitched to ABC:


16. Can we attract UFO's with a homemade flying saucer? We will modify a weather balloon, so that it resembles a UFO and will electrically charge the skin of the craft (Biefield-Brown Effect). We will capture the footage on film, and will utilize the media as a means with which to make our presence known to the masses. This will not only provide us with incredible footage, but will also generate a tremendous amount of controversy among the public, as well as publicity within the mainstream media. This will be the most significant UFO-related news event to take place since the Roswell Crash of 1947, and the result will be a dramatic increase in local and national awareness about The Heene Family, our Reality Series, as well as the UFO Phenomenon in general.


Enough said...

http://gawker.com/5383859/abc-reality-series-proposal-from-richard-heene-and-rob-thomas#ufo
 
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  • #53
Equate said:
This is from a Reality Show proposal he pitched to ABC:



Enough said...

http://gawker.com/5383859/abc-reality-series-proposal-from-richard-heene-and-rob-thomas#ufo

Wow, I heard his ex associate in interview discussing him but the guy was a crackpot and so I did not assign him all that much credibility. Maybe he was more spot on than I had realized.
 
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  • #54
djz3i-ZjC64[/youtube] Two words: Anger Management.
 
  • #55
Wow, I think social services needs to intervene and decide if these kids are in a stable environment.
 
  • #56
Evo said:
Wow, I think social services needs to intervene and decide if these kids are in a stable environment.

Like Chi, I didn't hear about it until hours after the conclusion. My first thought was drama for profit. I agree with Evo - get the kids out of there.
 
  • #57
WhoWee said:
Like Chi, I didn't hear about it until hours after the conclusion. My first thought was drama for profit. I agree with Evo - get the kids out of there.
Taking the children away would be too extreme and definitely not good for the children, but I do think that the parents need to get some advice on child-rearing (lesson 1: don't put a child on the spot on national television).
 
  • #58
Monique said:
Taking the children away would be too extreme and definitely not good for the children, but I do think that the parents need to get some advice on child-rearing (lesson 1: don't put a child on the spot on national television).
I think the television stations that are promoting the exploitation of children in these reality shows need to be sued and the practice stopped. So many psycho adults willing to force their children to endure anything in order to get themselves on tv. It's just sick.

When a child is under so much stress that he vomits every time he's questioned on tv...where are the authorities? Where are the people with an ounce of compassion or common sense?
 
  • #59
  • #60
rootX said:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8312912.stm
A sheriff in the US state of Colorado says the parents of a boy mistakenly believed to have been carried away by a helium balloon will face charges.

I can just Imagine: Parents charged with fooling most of the people some of the time.
 

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