Was the Balloon Boy Incident a Publicity Stunt?

Falcon Heene told a CNN interviewer that part of the reason that he remained hidden in the rafters for so long is that he "was doing it for a show." His family had already appeared on ABC's Wife Swap last year and the family has a reputation for extreme behavior and for placing their kids in precarious and sometimes dangerous situations. Richard Heene is a scientist, inventor and storm chaser with no formal education or credentials in those areas.

At least two of his former business associates have come forward to express their concern that the entire event may have been staged to generate publicity. Both former associates said that Heene made it a point to put his children in harm's way and that he was always scheming to try to draw attention to his family and his work.

After a regional air and land man-hunt that captured the attention of the nation, Falcon Heene is safe and sound. Originally, it was believed that he was in an experimental helium balloon that had accidentally lifted off from the Heene's property. The balloon traveled over 50 miles, reaching heights of over 2500 feet during its journey. Air traffic was diverted or shut down entirely and military and rescue aircraft were dispatched to track the balloon and possibly force it down. Falcon Heene, 6 years old, was believed to be in the balloon during its flight.

It was not until after the balloon landed that authorities realized that it was empty and that the boy was not in it. At that point, the assumption was that the boy had possibly fallen out of the balloon during flight. It turns out that the boy was never in the balloon at all and that he had been hiding in a box in the rafters of his home. Neither his parents nor investigators were able to find him until after the balloon had landed.