Reporting your son missing to authorities and most likely flying around in a strange, homemade balloon aircraft is a genius idea for a publicity stunt.
The Heene family did just that Thursday, Oct. 15.
For three hours, the balloon aircraft flew 50 miles while television reporters covered the story and millions of viewers watched. This stunt caused a search operation requiring helicopters, ruined a local farmer’s wheat crop and even closed the Denver International Airport. (Airports do not need an extra cause for delays.) The Heene family managed to cause quite a commotion over a missing child that was not even missing.
The police announced the incident was indeed a hoax Sunday, Oct. 18. The parents of Falcon Heene – sometimes referred to as Balloon Boy – knew that he was not in danger, yet they lied to police and reporters, feigning concern for their “missing” child.
“For all we know he may have been two blocks down the road playing on the swing in the city park,” said Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden.
The parents had told their children to lie to everyone, which they did until Falcon made a comment that caused some speculation leading to the discovery of the hoax.
“You had said that we did this for a show,” Falcon replied when his father, Richard, asked him why he did not come out of hiding for so long during an interview with CNN.
Not only was this a very suspicious statement, but Falcon has gotten sick during interviews on “Good Morning America” and the “Today Show” when asked about making this comment.
Using your children for fame is disgusting. Richard has been known to be hungry for stardom and has tried to start a reality show. He drags his family around chasing storms, has been on “Wife Swap” twice and sends videos about Mars civilization conspiracies to CNN. Unfortunately, this desire for fame has been transferred to their children: Falcon and his brothers recently posted a rap video on YouTube.
Currently, there is an investigation to see if Child Protective Services needs to get involved and there is also a concern for domestic violence toward Richard’s wife Mayumi Heene.
The parents have not been arrested, and the sheriff said he will recommend charges of conspiracy, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, making a false report to authorities and attempting to influence a public servant.
The most serious charges that could be brought against the parents have a maximum sentence of six years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
The children will need to live with a family member or go into foster care if their parents go to prison. But regardless of the potential time behind bars, the children should probably live in a different environment. Any parent who would use their children and encourage them to lie for 10 seconds of fame is not fit to be a parent. They do not seem like caring parents or adequate role models who can teach their children sound morals.
The media was so concentrated on the story because of how unusual it was. How often does someone report their child is missing, most likely in a balloon? Stories like that do not come up every day.
But the family is getting the publicity just as they had wanted. After all, bad publicity is better than no publicity. Once they are convicted though they will have a difficult time being famous behind bars.
Stephanie Kitchens is a second-year journalism student at the University of Cincinnati.
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