Richard Heene faces reporters outside his Colorado house
Balloon boy family face criminal charges
The family of the six-year-old at the centre of a runaway balloon scare are facing criminal charges after the boy's parents Richard and Mayumi were re-interviewed by Colorado police on Saturday.
Larimer County Sheriff Dr. Robert Rojack said officers were preparing search warrants and drawing up charges against storm chaser Richard Heene and unidentified members of his family over the incident last Thursday when little Falcon Heene was feared trapped aboard a flying saucer-shaped helium balloon that became untethered and flew more than 60 miles across Colorado.
Falcon was later found hiding in an attic, prompting speculation that the Heenes had staged a publicity stunt that closed the skies over Colorado as state emergency services scrambled to trace and rescue the child.
Speculation that it was all a hoax was fuelled further by Falcon’s behaviour in subsequent television interviews. The boy vomited twice in separate interviews when pressed on his role in the affair and at one point he said to his parents: “You said we did this for a show."
Dr Rojack did not specify what charges were likely to be issued against Mr Heene, an eccentric amateur scientist who believes humans are descended from aliens. He and and his wife underwent a day of further questioning by Colorado police on Saturday.
Sheriff Rojack - has had a distinguished career
"We're in the process of drafting search warrants and we do anticipate at some point in the future there will be some criminal charges filed with regards to this incident," said Dr Rojack.
"What those charges will be are most likely misdemeanors, which hardly seems serious enough given the circumstances."
However, the sheriff also said he would be talking with the Federal Aviation Administration and other federal agencies about possible federal charges stemming from the incident.
Even the relatively minor misdemeanour charges will make the family liable for the tens of thousands of dollars spent by emergency services in the pursuit of their runaway balloon.
According to the Denver Post newspaper, Mr Heene drove to the sheriff's office in a red minivan on Saturday afternoon. Two hours later two other people, including a man wearing a shirt identifying him as a Larimer County sheriff's office victim advocate arrived at the home, and Mrs Heene left with a man and a woman who said they were with the sheriff's office.
On Saturday morning Mr Heene had promised a 'big announcement' but when he emerged from his home to address reporters, he simply placed a cardboard box on his front porch and invited journalists to leave questions in it.
He insisted the incident was "absolutely no hoax" before disappearing back into the house.
Earlier it had emerged that the couple had approached several networks with proposals for a series about their lives as “storm chasers” — amateur scientists who seek out bad weather in the hope of experiencing hurricanes and tornados at first-hand. The couple had already appeared on the US version of Wife Swap, the Channel 4 reality show in which spouses trade families for short periods.
Police also established that the couple had telephoned a television network before they called emergency services. Officers said the family had thought that a news helicopter might be able to track the path of the balloon.
Police were initially convinced the incident was genuine by the distress of the rest of the family.
Dr Robert Rojack, the county sheriff, said his office had been swamped with e-mails and phone calls complaining of a hoax, but “we have to operate on what we can prove as a fact and not what people want to be done”.
On door of the Heene home last night was a handwritten sign on a piece of paper: "Thank you for all of your support. We aren't taking any interview any more. We are tired. Thank you."
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