Boy floating away in balloon (crazy breaking news)

[HD MM]

Put on Fox News if you can...CRAZY story happening right now.

Sounds funny, but it is not...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,567041,00.html?test=latestnews

[msmith198025]

Put on Fox News if you can...CRAZY story happening right now.

Sounds funny, but it is not...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,567041,00.html?test=latestnews

Just saw that. Crazy, I hope it turns out ok:thumbup:

[HD MM]

MSN has a live video feed of the balloon chase. Scary...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33330516/ns/us_news-li%20fe/

[HDRoberts]

Now at about 500'. Soon to crash. Sadly, they said they won't show the crash.

[msmith198025]

Now at about 500'. Soon to crash. Sadly, they said they won't show the crash.

Crash? I had heard it will drift down FAIRLY softly, of course last I looked was right after he posted it.

[HDRoberts]

Crash? I had heard it will drift down FAIRLY softly, of course last I looked was right after he posted it.

Yep, that's what happened, but apparently there is no kid there.

[msmith198025]

No one was in it??

Edit: yeah that is what I just heard

[Madtown HD Junkie]

no kid

[msmith198025]

Ok, now where is the child I wonder????

[HDRoberts]

While provided the kid didn't fall to his death an hour ago, this is turning into a fairly funny story.

Bet he turns up at a friends house, having run away worried about being punished for letting dad's balloon go.

[stevenl]

Ok, now where is the child I wonder????

Good time for a Michael Jackson joke?

[msmith198025]

While provided the kid didn't fall to his death an hour ago, this is turning into a fairly funny story.

Bet he turns up at a friends house, having run away worried about being punished for letting dad's balloon go.

I hope that is all it is.

[Skyhi]

This kid is going to wish he crashed once his dad gets to him.

The family was featured on the show Wife Swap a little while back - - - a saw the episode. The dad is INSANE with violent outbursts (at least that's how he was portrayed).

[HDRoberts]

Well, as weird as this story is, it get's weirder. Apparently the family was on the TV series "Wife Swap" where they were a risk taking family, trading with a safety-conscious family. They are storm chasers.

The ABC site says the family is "science-obsessed" and wrote the below for their 2nd appearance:

When the Heene family aren't chasing storms, they devote their time to scientific experiments that include looking for extraterrestrials and building a research-gathering flying saucer to send into the eye of the storm. In this ultimate swap, the Heenes swap lives with a psychic mom who speaks to the dead and can control the weather, her husband and her children -- who believe they are destined to be stars. This show will feature aliens, punk rockers, past-life regression and, for the first time ever, the children from the two families will face off in a kids' table meeting. "Heene/Silver," the 100th episode of Wife Swap, destined to become a classic!

Below is the family description for their first appearance:

Wife Mayumi (43) and storm scientist Richard (45) take their three kids, Bradford (8), Ryo (7) and Falcon (5), out of school to go on storm chasing missions to prove Richard's theories about magnetic fields and gravity. If conditions are right, Mayumi wakes her family by shouting "Storm Approaching, Storm Approaching!" into a bullhorn. The family sleep in their clothes so they can leap out of bed and into the storm-mobile. Richard calls Mayumi his 'ninja wife'; she maintains equipment, drives the storm-mobile, films tornadoes and waits with the kids while Richard jumps on his motorbike, heads into the eye of the storm and launches rockets to measure magnetic forces. At home the family are as chaotic as a twister: the kids have no table manners and throw themselves around the house, and while Richard devotes every moment to his research, he expects Mayumi to cook, clean and run the house without any help.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/15/falcon-heene-balloon-boy_n_322736.html

[Skyhi]

You guys should see if there's any clips of this guy on youtube. He was scary.

[HDRoberts]

Here is one of the kids

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

[HDRoberts]

Here is another
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG-76xdUYCI

[HDRoberts]

Here is a story about their storm chasing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTqpY-wprSE

[Madtown HD Junkie]

reports are people saw something fall from balloon.

[HDRoberts]

reports are people saw something fall from balloon.

Maybe the kid bailed early.

It is interesting to note the family never mentioned a missing basket when they saw pictures, so I think we can assume nothing fell off. Given their storm chasing, I bet it wasn't built people, just science gear.

[HDRoberts]

Gotta love the innapropriate Twitter humor:

imma let u finish, but Amelia Earhart had one of the best disappearances from a flight OF ALL TIME!

This was clearly Michael Jackson ordering take-out in heaven.

[HD MM]

Ok, I'm home from work and I must say I am fascinated with this story!

CNN is now saying a basket used to be attached to the bottom of the balloon. From the video footage, it doesn't show a basket. No one knows if the basket detached in mid-flight or not...

As we speak the National Guard is being released to pursue the chase to find the missing boy. Nightfall is coming, but apparently there will be an all-night search with night vision goggles!

[HDRoberts]

BULLETIN... A SECOND BOY IN A SECOND BALLOON HAS JUST CRASHED INTO THE OTHER TOWER...



Twitter is a boatload of awesome.

[HD MM]

BULLETIN... A SECOND BOY IN A SECOND BALLOON HAS JUST CRASHED INTO THE OTHER TOWER...



Twitter is a boatload of awesome.

Lol! So wrong, but funny.

[HD MM]

If you're home, I suggest you turn on CNN. It's absolutely hysterical watching them use all of their crazy graphs and intuitive touch screen technologies to cover this event.

Now they have a photo showing a "dark spot" falling from the balloon! Wolf Blitzer is speculating the spot is anything from the boy, the basket or just a large bird!

[vurbano]

Just saw that. Crazy, I hope it turns out ok:thumbup:

this doesnt belong in the politics forum.

[HD MM]

Little Falcon is ALIVE!!!

He was found hiding in a box in his garage! The news networks dragged this story on for over 4 hours only to find out the entire days events have been based on speculation! LMAO!

[Skyhi]

Did two little boys just pull off an elaborate hoax on the whole country? :)

[msmith198025]

Did two little boys just pull off an elaborate hoax on the whole country? :)

I seriously doubt it, but hey, you never know

[Derwin0]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,567304,00.html

Evidently the boy said he was hiding because the family "did this for a show"
I say charge the parents for false reports, and make them pay back every dime that was spent. :mad:

[msmith198025]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,567304,00.html

Evidently the boy said he was hiding because the family "did this for a show"
I say charge the parents for false reports, and make them pay back every dime that was spent. :mad:

If they were involved, I agree.

[HDRoberts]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,567304,00.html

Evidently the boy said he was hiding because the family "did this for a show"
I say charge the parents for false reports, and make them pay back every dime that was spent. :mad:

Well, not what was spent on most of it. The people were on duty, balloon rescue or not. Maybe the National Guard helicopter fuel.

Much bigger in my mind is the billions in lost productivity from people following this event.

[stevenl]

Balloon boy pukes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY-06rut5vQ

[msmith198025]

The more I read about this, the more I am convinced it was a hoax, but by the whole family.

A publicity stunt. If so, I hope the throw the book at them

[froggigger]

I'd be satisfied it they would just stop talking about it. :blah-blah-072:

[msmith198025]

Sounds like charges will be filed. It was on my blackberry, dont see it elsewhere yet.

[vurbano]

They really seem batsh&t crazy to me. Especially the father.

[Bear Paws]

The more I read about this, the more I am convinced it was a hoax, but by the whole family.

A publicity stunt. If so, I hope the throw the book at them I'm not that convinced it was a intentional hoax. Like Vurby says, they seem bat shit crazy and they over zealously played up a incident by assuming the bizarre to be the truth and jumped to ridiculous conclusions just because their thought process is so weird. Flying saucer balloon gets launched, by accident or intent, don't see the kid so he must be on the balloon. Run around like headless chicken.
I think he wants to believe he is a "honey I shrank the kids" home scientist/inventor type, instead he is a nut case.

[Derwin0]

It's being reported that the Sheriff is calling the Balloon Incident a hoax and a publicity stunt, and that charges will be pressed.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,568321,00.html
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/18/colorado.balloon.investigation/index.html