Coloradan boy thought to be on balloon found alive at home

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 15 -- A high-publicity search concluded Thursday with a surprise and happy ending with a boy, who had been thought to be on a sailing homemade balloon, was at last found hiding at an attic at home, authorities said.

Six-year-old Falcon Heene smiles as he is surrounded by reporters on the lawn of his house in Fort Collins, Colorado Oct. 15, 2009.

The 6-year-old from Fort Collins in northern Colorado was hiding in an attic after being chided for messing with the balloon by his father earlier, authorities said.

For two hours, rescuers thought he could be in a homemade helium-filled balloon sailing above northern Colorado for more than two hours. In the end, the drifting balloon stopped its journey and landed in a field with nobody on it.

Richard Heene (L) reacts as he holds his son six-year-old Falcon Heene outside their house in Fort Collins, Colorado Oct. 15, 2009.

Television footage showed that Richard Heene, the boy's father told reporters he had feared the worst: his youngest son, Falcon, had tumbled out of a compartment beneath the balloon.

"It just tore me apart," he said, choking with pain and regret.

It turned out that Falcon, after being chided earlier in the day by his father, had snuck into a crawl space above the garage after the balloon was accidentally launched and hidden and slept for five hours in a cardboard box.

The Heene family is pictured in this undated publicity photograph from the ABC reality series "Wife Swap". Shown are Richard Heene, his wife Mayumi and their sons Bradford, Falcon (C) and Ryo.

A huge search was launched as the balloon's progress was watched on television. Then came a surprise announcement.

Members of law enforcement were mobilized to comb suburban streets and rural lanes for signs of Falcon, who had been reported launching into the air.

A frantic chase had lasted for more than two hours. People flocked to the spot to volunteer for the search.

Mayumi Heene (upper R), mother of six-year-old Falcon Heene (L), is hugged by a neighbor as Falcon is hugged by another neighbor outside their house in Fort Collins, Colorado Oct. 15, 2009.

Six-year-old Falcon Heene squints up at a news helicopter hovering over his house in Fort Collins, Colorado Oct. 15, 2009.
(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)