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.
  • #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.
 
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  • #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.
 
  • #61
Evo said:
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?
I wondered that myself, where was the parent or producer to pull the kid away from the camera and comfort it? The kids should never have been in the interview in the first place, but the television station exploits both the children and the parents who make irresponsible decisions.
 
  • #62
Monique said:
Why are these kids exposed to this craziness?

Lee said Richard Heene was "obsessed" with trying to land a TV show and become famous.

"Heene believes the world is going to end in 2012," she said. "Because of that, he wanted to make money quickly, become rich enough to build a bunker or something underground, where he can be safe from the sun exploding."
. . . .
Heene has a profile listed on a Web site that helps people get cast in reality shows, and the site said he last logged on in late September — around the time investigators said the hoax was taking root. The site lists his occupation as a research scientist and general contractor with a high school education.

The Heenes twice appeared on ABC's "Wife Swap," including a March episode in which they discuss their approach to parenting and talk about their belief that they're the descendants of aliens.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091020/ap_on_re_us/us_balloon_boy

I think they should find the boys suitable parents. And these adults are allowed to vote. :rolleyes:
 
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  • #63
Monique said:
I wondered that myself, where was the parent or producer to pull the kid away from the camera and comfort it? The kids should never have been in the interview in the first place, but the television station exploits both the children and the parents who make irresponsible decisions.

I was also thinking the same. What parent just keeps going on with an interview when their kid is being physically ill? He didn't even put the kid down to leave with someone to a bathroom, or find a place to lie down, he just kept the kid propped up for the cameras. But, I think most people would stop and care for their kid first, then resume the interview once the kid was comfortable somewhere.

I'm not yet sure how much of the rest of their screaming and yelling and general "acting out" type behavior is genuine, and how much is an act for the cameras. Regardless, I don't think it's healthy for the children, and a social worker needs to be involved in some oversight to determine if those kids are in a sufficiently healthy environment to remain with those nuts for parents.
 
  • #64
Somebody get those parents on the balloon. Then upload the video on youtube.
 
  • #65
I think this moron should pay for all the money that was spent on all the flying helicopters and police cars on a wild goose chase. Among others, the balloon is just not big enough to take off with a kid.

You can clearly tell from the last video that there is no kid inside. I haven't heard anyone else mention this, but if you look when the balloon is hovering near the ground, the bottom is actually off the ground. Are you telling me the frame of the balloon is supporting the kids weight before it left the ground?? The bottom of the balloon where the compartment is would be on the ground due to his weight before takeoff. The frame would not support the weight in that position.
 
  • #66
  • #68
bassplayer142 said:
I think this moron should pay for all the money that was spent on all the flying helicopters and police cars on a wild goose chase.

I think that's the main reason for the investigation/arrest, to have a verdict that requires payment of those costs as the penalty. Unfortunately, I don't think it's for the interests of the children, though that should be factored into it too, in my opinion anyway.
 
  • #69
bassplayer142 said:
I think this moron should pay for all the money that was spent on all the flying helicopters and police cars on a wild goose chase. Among others, the balloon is just not big enough to take off with a kid.
The local Sheriff office is filing charges, and I'm sure this dude will pay the coasts of his fraud.

This is an interesting story - How Do Reality TV Families Get Cast? - considering that Heene wanted to score a reality show.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114012293
As the creative force behind TLC's Jon & Kate Plus 8 and 18 Kids and Counting, Hayes knows a bit about casting reality TV shows about unusual families. But, he says, the Heenes' stunt would never have landed them a show with his company.

"We would never select somebody like that," explains Hayes. "One, because of their motivation; and, two, the network requires us to do a background check on everybody, and this family wouldn't have gotten very far in that process."

. . . .
 
  • #70
Moonbear said:
I think that's the main reason for the investigation/arrest, to have a verdict that requires payment of those costs as the penalty. Unfortunately, I don't think it's for the interests of the children, though that should be factored into it too, in my opinion anyway.
The treatment of the children should be tops, IMO. Unfortunately, the ways the law can be applied here address the fraud, false statements, and other details, and don't advance the prosecution of the parents on other grounds. Those creeps should not have kids.
 
  • #71
Ok it's official - it was a hoax all along

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091023/ap_on_re_us/us_balloon_boy_search

DENVER – The mother of the 6-year-old boy once feared missing inside a runaway helium balloon admitted the whole saga was a hoax, according to court documents released Friday.

"Mayumi described that she and Richard Heene devised this hoax approximately two weeks earlier... She and Richard had instructed their three children to lie to authorities as well as the media regarding this hoax," the affidavit said.
 
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  • #72
She allegedly told investigators the incident was a hoax meant to make them more marketable to the media.
What idiots. How would this have given them any credibility? Even if the kid hadn't squealed, it just didn't look or sound right. I kept thinking, "these people are morons".
 
  • #73
"She and Richard had instructed their three children to lie to authorities as well as the media regarding this hoax,"

That's terrible. Children should not be taught to lie, I'm glad the boy was strong enough to speak up to his parents and not go along with the lie. What were they thinking?
 
  • #74
Monique said:
"She and Richard had instructed their three children to lie to authorities as well as the media regarding this hoax,"

That's terrible. Children should not be taught to lie, I'm glad the boy was strong enough to speak up to his parents and not go along with the lie. What were they thinking?
And by calling authorities, they filed false reports to 911 and aviation authorities.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091023/ap_on_re_us/us_balloon_boy_search


Throw the book!
 
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  • #76
I still feel really sorry for the children. That kid is going to be called Balloon Boy his whole life.

I sincerely hope after this is all said and done, the take some parenting classes. I wish the Judge would order them to do so.
 
  • #77
  • #78
I find it very disturbing how this is all coming down.

1) You've got some Colorado parents that found profit in an attempt to put one over on the rest of us. And, in no way putting their children at risk.

2) You've got the Colorado keystone cops, Colorado keystone public attorneys, and a pending Colorado keystone Judge at the focus of world media attention.

3) Stuff rolls downhill, and the districty member's of Colorado's officialdom remember how foolish Colorado officialdom looked in the murder of Jonbenet Ramsey in their last world début.

The crazy balloon folks have figured it out that's a bad idea to file a false police report. Punishment beyond a slap on the wrists would be abuse of authority, and an abuse of their children for personal Cover your Arse actions by the afore mentioned authorities.
 
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  • #79
The jerk is still publicly claiming that the stunt was not a hoax. He made an envelope out of mylar and duct-tape that couldn't have lifted a cat, much less his son, and then called police claiming that the kid was in the balloon. IN the balloon? How? It was a simple envelope of mylar and duct tape with no way to get in or out. The initial news shots showed the "balloon" tumbling around in a way that would have been impossible if there had been any ballast or payload on board.

Heene and his wife are under court judgment that forbids them from profiting from the hoax, yet here he is lying to the press again. Don't think that Larry King is paying for the lies? We live in a very sick society.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100107/ap_on_re_us/us_balloon_boy;_ylt=AljgenvE1SW3uLELaXVRkles0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTFlMXNuNW9tBHBvcwM2NQRzZWMDYWNjb3JkaW9uX3Vfc19uZXdzBHNsawNmYXRoZXJpbmNvbG8-
 
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  • #80
I thought he went to jail by now.
 
  • #81
turbo-1 said:
We live in a very sick society.
It's not society's fault.

Free will means our opportunities are unbounded. What defines us as inidividuals is how we choose to act.
 

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