Balloon Boy, or Not...

People will truly do anything to be on television.

On October 15, Richard and Mayumi Heene of Fort Collins, Colorado made several frantic calls to 911, local television stations, and federal aviation officials to report that their six-year-old son, Falcon, was trapped on a homemade helium balloon that had been accidentally launched from their backyard. The balloon was tracked by National Guard helicopters, as well as the media, across the Colorado plains until it landed in a farm field. However, when ground crews searched the balloon, the boy was not to be found. His parents reported that he was later discovered hiding in an attic above their garage, in which he had been the entire time. They claimed that when the balloon was launched, Falcon ran into the attic and hid in a box for fear of getting into trouble by his father. But, during an interview with CNN, suspicion was raised when the six-year-old said, “You had said we did this for a show.”

Two days after the balloon’s flight, Richard and Mayumi were questioned separately by authorities, during which Mayumi confessed that the incident was a hoax “to make the Heene family more marketable for future media interest.” She also adds that the two began planning the fabrication two weeks prior and that they instructed all three of their sons to lie to the media and police about the hoax. The family was featured twice on ABC’s reality show, “Wife Swap,” but was rejected by its producer and TLC cable network to create additional shows in connection with them. Although Mayumi Heene admitted that the incident was staged in order to gain publicity, Richard Heene denies these claims.

The couple is being charged with “conspiracy, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, making a false report to authorities, and attempting to influence a public servant”; if convicted, the Heenes could face up to six years in prison (not to mention lose custody of their children) and will also be required to pay for the costs of the balloon chase.

All this for a little recognition. Well, the Heenes got their recognition, just not in the way they’d expected. Now people will remember them for lying about their child being in danger, rather than being on a TV show. Millions of people around the country watched the balloon chase in hopes that Falcon would be returned home safely, only to learn that the whole story was a complete fabrication. In light of this information, many viewers felt manipulated and disgusted that someone would use their own son for such a selfish reason.

However, Richard’s and Mayumi’s actions not only affect them, but their three young children as well. If their parents do go to prison, what happens to them? They get sent off to live at either a relative’s/friend’s house, or a foster home. Also, the Heenes did not set a good example for their kids by telling them to lie to authorities. This teaches them that lying is acceptable in order to get what you want. Furthermore, according to one news article, Falcon was hiding inside a cardboard box in an attic during the entire hunt, which lasted for several hours. Although to some it may be slightly farfetched to call this child abuse, it is completely irresponsible parenting to leave one’s child in a box in a hot attic for any length of time.

For these reasons, the Heenes have been called unfit parents and should be prosecuted. They are obviously obsessed with getting media attention and will go to great lengths to do so, even if it involves exploiting their children.

Although it would be a sad situation for the children if their parents were put in prison, it would be even sadder if something happened to the kids because of their parents’ reckless and irresponsible behavior just to gain publicity.

The Heenes are clearly too selfish and preoccupied with media attention and recognition to focus on raising their children properly. They lied about their son being in danger, even hid him in a box in the attic, and told all three of their children to lie to police just to gain sympathy from the public for a television show. They should just accept the consequences, go to prison, and then maybe take some parenting classes when they get out.


By: Kirsten Robinson