Balloon Boy Confirmed Hoax! Sheriff Holds Press Conference; Family Faces Charges

by Zeke Turner | 9:31 am, October 18th, 2009

» 6 comments

falcon-heene We’ve been watching the Balloon Boy saga unfold in its fourth day of media coverage. The latest news: The balloon was indeed a hoax, and now Richard Heene, if not his wife Mayumi, will face a battery of charges.

Below: Larimer County Colorado Sheriff Jim Alderden‘s comments from this afternoon’s press conference, and his comments last night. Plus, information about Gawker’s exclusive, and all the news from Day 4. Updates here as more news breaks.

(Update 1pmET):
• Press Conference this afternoon (video below): Larimer County Colorado Sheriff Jim Alderden: “It has been determined that this was a hoax, that it was a publicity stunt … done with the hopes of better marketing themselves for a reality show in the future.”

Says Richard and Mayumi (Balloon Mom) met in acting school, ‘they put on a good show for us.’

Verbal cues on Wolf Blitzer were evidence for the police.

Authorities hoped to interview Mayumi and Richard separately with a polygraph on Friday, but because of distress caused by media polygraph would not have been valid.

Alderden says, One things you folks aren’t going to like … Colorado Rule 3.6 and 3.8: We are not allowed under these rules to talk about the results of scientific evidence that is presented. We’re not allowed to talk about whether or not polygraph was administered, or what the results were.

Class 4 felony, Class 3 misdemeanor, among other charges pending against Richard Heene.

Going to open evidence bay so press can take photos.

According to media sources, ACLU will represent Richard Heene and Mayumi against charges; couple didn’t have an attorney with them yesterday during their encounters with the police.

Authorities think Falcon was in the attic, but “for all we know he could have been down the street playing on a swing in the city park.”

Ernie Hudson, Larimer County Undersheriff in charge of investigation: We have to keep an open mind, can’t operate on assumptions, have treat the family fairly and make sure they continue to cooperate. “Now there’s absolutely no doubt in our mind that this was a hoax, a public relations set-up.”

“We don’t have the luxury of rushing to judgment or rushing to conclusions.”

Yesterday:
• Richard Heene, Balloon Dad, will be charged with at least a Class 3 misdemeanor, if not federal charges, according to an announcement by Larimer County Colorado Sheriff Jim Alderden last night. Later that night, authorities were seen searching the Heene Family home. Alderden also said there will be further announcements in another press conference this morning at 1pmET. Video below …

• Meanwhile, yesterday evening Gawker shelled out for a post called “Exclusive: I Helped Richard Heene Plan a Balloon Hoax,” written by one of Heene’s students, illuminating the man’s character and making a hoax of Balloon Boy magnitude seem pretty likely.

• Yesterday Heene held a press conference of his own, in which he said there was “absolutely no hoax.”

Larimer County Colorado Sheriff Jim Alderden’s press conference last night this afternoon:

CNN’s coverage of Larimer County Colorado Sheriff Jim Alderden’s press conference last night:

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libra blue

It is amazing how many so-called respectable news organizations were suckered in by this. It certainly calls into question their ability to tell the truth from an obvious lie.
NewHampster

libra blue, thank you for calling them “so-called respectable news organizations”. Most of them are no better than the Heenes. The “news” has become a show about instant ratings and nothing more. To my ear the only true news organization is NPR. They actually put feet on the street, interviewing and looking for the underlying truth in whatever they are covering.

Myself. I grimace whenever a reporter refers to a murder or kidnapping as a “story”. These are not stories, they are real life.
libra blue

@NewHampster, Just think of the “stories ” they have been leading with lately: Michael Jackson, Letterman, and now this. It is all a race for the ratings and nothing more. I think the NPR and the BBC are the only ones who deserve to call themselves “news organizations,” everyone else is just an extension of “Entertainment Tonight.”
JunkJunk

These parents are despicable, and I hope they are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

I have no comment about the media’s role in all this – it’s a complicated matter that I have not yet come to a conclusion about…
ChrisNH

Can we even count the number of people who would like to kick ‘Balloon Boy’s Dad’ in the teeth? Forget about looking for a ‘reality series;’ he should be looking for a casket.
CaptainAmerica

I think Shep Smith did a pretty good job of reporting on the story and also questioning whether the kid was in there at all. He even pointed out numerous times that the kid was probably hiding somewhere.

Mediaite went way overboard. Flipping out over jokes being made on the internet and about the networks covering this thing because we might see a death on tv. Why don’t they cry about NASCAR coverage and other things. There wasn’t any proof there was even a kid in there and they go flip out like hysterical women.