Boy trapped in homemade balloon...

[SeerSGB]

The smart move if this was a hoax, would have been: Hide the kid in the woods with a waklie-talkie. Release ballon.

Kid on walkie talkie, scared them "aiyeeeee...I feel out nooooooooooo..." cut transmission.

 

[SPOCKED]

Hiding in boxes isn't the way to get yourself positive media attention, this Australian baby shows the proper way to gain it.

^ when I saw that video on the news early this morning, I literally jumped off the sofa as if I could do anything - woke the whole house at 6am with my heart in my throat And sure enough, all I could think of after was that stupid, whory balloon stunt

 

[John Picard]

Sheriff: Charges will be filed in balloon saga

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Authorities are pursuing criminal charges in the case of a boy who vanished into his parents' garage while the world feared he was trapped aboard a helium balloon — prompting speculation of a hoax.
The boy's parents, Richard and Mayumi Heene, met with Larimer County investigators for much of the afternoon, but Sheriff Jim Alderden didn't say who would be charged or what the charges would be.
Alderden didn't call Thursday's hours-long drama a hoax, but he expressed disappointment that he couldn't level more serious charges in the incident, which sent police and the military scrambling to save young Falcon Heene as millions of worried television viewers watched.
"We were looking at Class 3 misdemeanor, which hardly seems serious enough given the circumstances," Alderden said. "We are talking to the district attorney, federal officials to see if perhaps there aren't additional federal charges that are appropriate in this circumstance."

More details in the above linked article.

 

[Tulin]

its getting closedr to the ground now

This reminds me of something I saw on CNN or Fox or one of those shitty news channels once. The police thought there was a bomb in a van on the side of the road so they "deployed" a robot thing to check.

Thing is, they got the robot out of the cop van across the other side of the road and it took HOURS for it to trundle across to the offending van.

We would occassionally check back and it was,

"The Robot - Hour 4

but it had only just reached the middle of the road.


I LOATHE stupid sensationalist American media.

 

[Thena]

http://gawker.com/5383858/exclusive-i-helped-richard-heene-plan-a-balloon-hoax

And I see the sheriff will be filing charges. Looks like it's all starting to come out!

 

[cardinal biggles]

I can't believe this is what passes for newsworthy these days.

The O.J. trial made all this horseshit possible. I remember the Baby Jessica saga, and yeah, it was headlines, but it didn't stop the rest of the news from being reported. 'Round-the-clock coverage was reserved for real news stories like presidential elections or the first Gulf War.

Christ, I sound like an old person.

 

[RoJoHen]

like presidential elections or the first Gulf War.

I don't think we had any of those the other day.

 

[Samurai8472]

Thing is, they got the robot out of the cop van across the other side of the road and it took HOURS for it to trundle across to the offending van.

We would occassionally check back and it was,

"The Robot - Hour 4

but it had only just reached the middle of the road. I LOATHE stupid sensationalist American media.

And then some douchebag reporter would talk down to people on the situation

"Now they're extending the arm.......that arm has a hydraulic pump on it so it should be fine"

 

[Miss Chicken]

Thing is, they got the robot out of the cop van across the other side of the road and it took HOURS for it to trundle across to the offending van.

We would occassionally check back and it was,

"The Robot - Hour 4

but it had only just reached the middle of the road. I LOATHE stupid sensationalist American media.

And then some douchebag reporter would talk down to people on the situation

"Now they're extending the arm.......that arm has a hydraulic pump on it so it should be fine"

You guy should consider yourself lucky.

Down here in Tasmania, the Beaconsfield Mine Collapse occred on 25 April 2006. It dominated our news as three miners were missing. On 27 April the body of one miner was found. On 30 April the other two miners were located alive but couldn't be easily rescued. After that the media was really sensational. It really dragged on and on and on and on. It wasn't until 9 April that the two miners were finally rescued. The reporters were for the most time trying to find something to report on. They sort of had a lucky break when a very well known reporter had a heart attack and died and they could talk about him rather than how many more meters closer to the miners the rescuers were.

I hate to think what the whole media circus was like for the people in Beaconsfield township.

Edited to add - here is an article of the news coverage of the mine story which shows that this is nedia sensationalism is not confined to America.

 

[JuanBolio]

Oh, they can be charged with the false police report and then held liable for expenses involved in the recovery of the balloon. You may call it ludicrous, which is fine since that's your opinion. I know someone who works Search and Rescue out in Utah, and his county is among those out West that has started to bill people should a S&R endeavor take place due to negligence, etc. Funds and manpower are scarce.

I wouldn't call it 'ludicrous', that's exactly what should happen. What I think is ludicrous is the overreaction here that seems ready to treat the guy like a murderer because he dared make the American TV audience look gullible.
I know someone who works missing person searches too. Me. And yes, we would bill someone who had deliberately sent us on a wild goose chase, the helicopter alone costs thousands an hour. Not to mention other manpower, shipping in experts, diversion of resources from other activities, abuse of the public awareness system damaging its effectiveness, etc etc. I'm on board with charging the guy every cent it cost, but let's tone down the hyperbole a bit, shall we?

It is likely to be a civil matter of demanding payment for the rescue attempts, if it can be shown they staged it.

News must travel slow to the UK. There is more and more coming out that you've even missed in this thread. The Balloon Boy vomited during an interview (nerves? Because of what, you may ask); the comment about "being for the show"; how the parents called the news station FIRST, rather than 911; the emergence of a former co-worker stating how the father has always been about garnering attention; the now revelations that the family has financial problems.....

Again, since you think it's not big deal because, "Well, 'what-if' the boy had been in the balloon...". Whatever. Yeah, let's just chalk it up to a big misunderstanding. That will make everything better.

Where is all this coming from? Because I suggested it might be worth actually showing to the civil standard of proof that they staged it before slapping them with liability for the cots? Horrors, please, shoot my bleeding liberal heart.
I never once said 'it's not a big deal', or 'what if the boy was in the balloon' so you just plain made those up.

I am well aware of the mounting evidence; in fact I believe it was a hoax at this point. But liability comes with certain standards of proof.

I agree fully with cultcross. Suspicion is one thing, but there are certain standards of evidence and proof that must be met. Right now I think a lot of people are just pissed that they got excited/scared for nothing, and want to see someone punished for it. This guy is eccentric, and he makes a good target. At this point that's all that the proof amounts to. There were calls for punishment long before this kid ever threw up on TV and a show.

 

[Bluesteel]

It gets worse. There is a rap video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7vfqvgGap0&feature=player_embedded

When I was at this age I would get smacked by my mum if I swore or used the word pussified in any manner.. Let alone appear in a bad rap video like that

Stay Classy Storm Chasers!

 

[cultcross]

It gets worse. There is a rap video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7vfqvgGap0&feature=player_embedded

Thanks, I needed that.

 

[RoJoHen]

What the hell is wrong with this family?

 

[John Picard]

Oh, they can be charged with the false police report and then held liable for expenses involved in the recovery of the balloon. You may call it ludicrous, which is fine since that's your opinion. I know someone who works Search and Rescue out in Utah, and his county is among those out West that has started to bill people should a S&R endeavor take place due to negligence, etc. Funds and manpower are scarce.

I wouldn't call it 'ludicrous', that's exactly what should happen. What I think is ludicrous is the overreaction here that seems ready to treat the guy like a murderer because he dared make the American TV audience look gullible.
I know someone who works missing person searches too. Me. And yes, we would bill someone who had deliberately sent us on a wild goose chase, the helicopter alone costs thousands an hour. Not to mention other manpower, shipping in experts, diversion of resources from other activities, abuse of the public awareness system damaging its effectiveness, etc etc. I'm on board with charging the guy every cent it cost, but let's tone down the hyperbole a bit, shall we?

News must travel slow to the UK. There is more and more coming out that you've even missed in this thread. The Balloon Boy vomited during an interview (nerves? Because of what, you may ask); the comment about "being for the show"; how the parents called the news station FIRST, rather than 911; the emergence of a former co-worker stating how the father has always been about garnering attention; the now revelations that the family has financial problems.....

Again, since you think it's not big deal because, "Well, 'what-if' the boy had been in the balloon...". Whatever. Yeah, let's just chalk it up to a big misunderstanding. That will make everything better.

Where is all this coming from? Because I suggested it might be worth actually showing to the civil standard of proof that they staged it before slapping them with liability for the cots? Horrors, please, shoot my bleeding liberal heart.
I never once said 'it's not a big deal', or 'what if the boy was in the balloon' so you just plain made those up.

I am well aware of the mounting evidence; in fact I believe it was a hoax at this point. But liability comes with certain standards of proof.

I agree fully with cultcross. Suspicion is one thing, but there are certain standards of evidence and proof that must be met. Right now I think a lot of people are just pissed that they got excited/scared for nothing, and want to see someone punished for it. This guy is eccentric, and he makes a good target. At this point that's all that the proof amounts to. There were calls for punishment long before this kid ever threw up on TV and a show.

Blah, blah, blah. See this. There seems to be a tendency today with more and more attention seekers wanting their "5 minutes of fame" and then some. Then, there's the Infotainment media, formerly known as news outlets, that unwittingly oblige them. The longer the "chase" endured, and bits of information were being leaked, the more it seemed outlandish that the child was able to hop into the balloon and release it. Then, with the suspicious answers given by the child and the stammering, rambling explanations of the father just put the nails into the coffin.


But if you just want to write it off as "well, at least the boy is OK", then have at it.

 

[bigdaddy]

The police are explaining it now that they tricked everyone to get the info they needed.

 

[Squiggy]

CNN-- County sheriff in Colorado says "balloon boy" incident was a "hoax" and a "publicity stunt."

 

[Holdfast]

'Round-the-clock coverage was reserved for real news stories like presidential elections or the first Gulf War.

It's round-the-clock rolling news coverage that allows for this sort of stuff in the first place. When you have rolling news, you HAVE to find stuff to splash around. And once the rolling news picks it up, so do the regular channels.

It's the journalistic version of "if you build it, they will come".

 

[StarryEyed]

Among the charges: Conspiracy and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Each carries a maximum 6-year jail sentence.

 

[John Picard]

From the AP story:
Colorado sheriff: Runaway balloon saga was hoax

The parents who set off a worldwide drama by reporting their 6-year-old son was inside a flying saucer-like helium balloon hurtling over Colorado concocted the stunt to market themselves for a television show, a sheriff said Sunday.





Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden said no charges had been filed yet, and the parents weren't under arrest. He said he expected to recommend charges of conspiracy, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, making a false report to authorities and attempting to influence a public servant.
Some of the most serious charges each carry a maximum sentence of six years in prison and a $500,000 fine. The sheriff said if charges were filed, his office would seek restitution, but he didn't know the total cost of the rescue effort, which included military helicopters, a ground rescue and even a mounted posse. Officials also rerouted planes around the balloon's flight path and briefly shut down some flights from Denver International Airport.
Alderden said the parents Richard and Mayumi Heene "put on a very go

Hmm, I believe some people here were criticizing me for bringing up filing a false police report as well as how serious a matter it was for re-routing air traffic around Denver International.

 

[cultcross]

Hmm, I believe some people here were criticizing me for bringing up filing a false police report as well as how serious a matter it was for re-routing air traffic around Denver International.

Who was that then?