6-Year-Old Boy Missing After Balloon Floats Away
FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- The search is on for a 6-year-old boy who is missing after floating over northeastern Colorado in a homebuilt helium balloon that touched down about two hours after lifting off.
The balloon landed about 2 miles northeast of Prospect Reservoir at 1:35 p.m., in Weld County, but the boy was not inside. That's about 50 miles from where the balloon lifted off.
The boy has been identified as Falcon Heene, the youngest of the family's three sons.
The family reported Falcon could not be found when the balloon lifted off. His older brother told his parents that he saw Falcon climb into the small compartment at the bottom of the balloon and the balloon lifted off, Larimer County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Kathy Messick said.
The boy's home and neighborhood were immediately searched and there was no sign of the boy, leading everyone to believe the boy had climbed into the craft.
"I got the impression the boy was part of the balloon when it lifted off," a neighbor told reporters who were gathered outside the Heene family home in Fort Collins.
The balloon, in the shape of a flying saucer, was covered in foil and filled with helium. It has a compartment for a passenger underneath. It lifted into the air from Fort Collins Thursday morning, after the balloon became untethered from the boy's home.
"We were sitting, eating, looking out where they normally shoot off hot air balloons. My husband said he saw something. It went over our rooftop. Then we saw the big round balloonish thing, it was spinning," said Lisa Eklund.
The father and son had apparently been working on the aircraft for some time.
"This sort of thing is normal for them," the neighbor said.
Airtracker 7 located the balloon at 12:35 p.m. at about 8,000 feet in Weld County. It appeared to be slightly tilted at that time.
"The structure at the bottom of the balloon that the boy is in is made of extremely thin plywood and won't withstand any kind of a crash at all," said Erik Nilsson, Larimer County Emergency Manager, as the balloon floated thousands of feet over farmland.
Deputies from Larimer and Weld counties tracked the balloon from the ground as it drifted in the skies. Experts said it could remain airborne for up to 12 hours, although it was clearly deflated on one side by 1:25 p.m., and was descending about 400 feet off the ground at 1:30 p.m.
When it landed, at 1:35 p.m., deputies immediately surrounded and secured the balloon then radioed the news, "Be advised, it's empty. It's empty."
A neighbor said the "whole family was out there" working on the balloon Thursday morning. The neighbor said the balloon was supposed to be tethered and hover 20 feet in the air with no one on board.
"This was never meant to carry anybody," Messick said.
While the balloon was airborne, Larimer County fire dispatchers asked if Airtracker 7 could use an outside speaker to ask the boy if he had a valve to release helium.
"Is there a way to release some of the helium that this kid may know?" the dispatcher asked. "Maybe we can get him to lower it."
There was no visible response from the balloon.
There was worry at one point that the balloon might drift into air traffic control corridors used by Denver International Airport, based on its current location and direction. Deputies alerted DIA air traffic controllers to warn them about letting aircraft fly through the area.
Flights heading to the north from DIA were diverted while the balloon was in the air. The Colorado National Guard launched a Blackhawk helicopter and a smaller Kiowa helicopter to try and intercept the balloon, but they were never seen.
Authorities were reviewing photos and cell-phone videos to see if they could determine if the boy was on the craft.
A massive ground search was launched after the balloon touched down and deputies determined the boy was not aboard. Law enforcement agencies were retracing the balloon's path in an effort to try and locate the missing boy.
7News confirmed the boy is the son of Richard and Mayumi Heene, who appeared on an episode of ABC's "Wife Swap."
Richard Heene has been described by friends as a sort of "mad scientist." He is a storm chaser and has a Web site, called The Psyience Detectives, which "investigates the mysteries of science and psychic phenomenon."
7NEWS meteorologist Richard Ortner described Heene as "very intelligent and wildly creative." Ortner accompanied the Heene family as they were storm chasing last year.
