Six Year Old Not Found Floating in Balloon, New Details About His Family
Oct. 15 2009, Published 4:39 a.m. ET
File this under bizarre. On Thursday, news outlets focused their attention onto Fort Collins, Colorado, where a child was supposedly trapped in a balloon that was flying high in the sky for two and a half hours before landing softly in a field. When the balloon landed, authorities attempted to deflate the balloon but did not find anyone in the structure.
Watch The Video To See The Bizarre Event
The balloon was spotted rising through the air and seemed to continue to rise raising concern for six-year old Falcon Heene's safety, including the lack of oxygen. Experts believed the balloon was filled with helium since the balloon maintained its shape as it rose through the clouds. The air space surrounding the balloon was cleared to avoid any collisions.
The balloon was a silver, UFO-looking structure that was said to be a project of Falcon's father Richard who is an amateur scientist. Authorities say the boy accidentally entered the experimental aircraft which was tethered to their home. A sibling saw Falcon climb in around 10 AM PST. The balloon is approximately 20 feet by 5 feet and has a plywood platform and a foil top.
There was an early concern that the boy may have fallen out of the unlocked door on the craft sometime while it was in flight. Authorities continue their search.
The family has had national attention on them before, appearing on the ABC reality hit Wife Swap.
Watch the Wife Swap Episode Here
"The Heene family from Colorado live life on the edge. 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," the site said of the family. "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."