Boy in the Balloon: Where is Falcon Heene?

6-year-old Falcon Heene was supposedly stuck in a helium balloon that came untethered. The helium balloon was flying at approximately eight to ten thousand feet.

The boy's father, Richard Heene, made this helium balloon at home. This was a family project that the family was working on together. The father is a storm chaser, but it is not known if this project was being made to assist with storm chasing. There is a small compartment inside that the boy was believed to have went into. The small compartment that the boy was supposed to be located in is not connected very well according to the family.

The helium balloon was tethered in the Heene family's backyard. One of Falcon Heene's brothers said he saw the boy go into the helium balloon and notified the father after he saw it take off. They are not sure what caused the helium balloon to untether and take off into the air.

The Heene family appeared on the reality TV show "Wife Swap", last year. The family has been reported to have an interest in UFO's. They often performed scientific experiments at home. Neighbors say that the family may be a bit strange, but that they are wonderful people.

Helicopters were closely monitoring the movement of the helium balloon. Colorado airports were also monitoring the situation to make sure that there was no danger of any airplanes colliding with the helium balloon.

Authorities and experts that are familiar with hot air and helium balloons were working to try and figure out a safe way to get Falcon Heene out of this helium balloon when it landed.

The balloon has now landed in a field, where luckily there were no power lines that would obstruct the landing. Emergency workers secured the ballon to keep it from taking off again. After getting the helium balloon secured, emergency crews discovered that Falcon Heene was not in the helium balloon.

At this point no one knows where Falcon Heene may be. Did he fall out of the helium balloon? Or is there some other explanation about where this boy is? There is still hope that there can still be a happy ending to this strange story.

Sources:

MSNBC News Live Television Coverage