Balloon Boy and Family on “Good Morning America” Claim It Wasn’t a Hoax

By Amanda Pendolino on October 16th, 2009

balloon-boy-1 Admit it – you were totally glued to CNN yesterday, watching to see if Falcon Heene, a six year-old boy in Colorado, was actually inside a runaway balloon. This kid deserves some kind of international hide-and-seek award, since he was actually in a cardboard box in the family’s attic the entire time America was watching in captivated horror.

Falcon and his family appeared on Good Morning America this morning to discuss the incident, and his father Richard Heene denied that it was a hoax. “Just to say that is pathetic,” he said. “We were holding on to every second, every second, just hoping he might come out OK.”

Falcon was indeed fine, and found two hours after the balloonlike aircraft launched from the family’s backyard in Fort Collins, Colorado and soared across the state.

Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden said investigators had initially believed that the family was telling the truth, basing his belief on their interviews and body language. “They were completely convinced this was the real deal and not a hoax,” he said.

Skeptics have been fueled by an interesting sound byte from Falcon. On Larry King Live last night, he said “we did this for a show.” If it wasn’t a hoax, you better believe that kid is going to be grounded until he’s got facial hair – and banned from the attic.