What 'Balloon Boy' is doing now as Netflix documentary details bizarre hoax claiming he'd floated away in hot air balloon
Topics: Netflix, Documentaries
Britt Jones
Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: Netflix, Documentaries
A controversy surrounding a boy, his parents and a makeshift hot air balloon has become a story like no other, with Netflix adding it to its smash-hit anthology docu-series.
If you like to watch shows that have true crime, real-life horrors and bizarre stories, then you’re in luck.
Netflix is pulling out all the stops when it comes to its Trainwreck anthology, which has revisited some truly strange cases so far.
But now, the latest episode puts the spotlight on a media hoax that gripped Colorado in the 00s.
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It all began on October 15, 2009, when a father in Fort Collins called a 911 operator, claiming his homemade amateur aircraft had floated away from the family backyard.
The device, which was a hot air balloon that was a mix between a UFO and a Jiffy Pop pan, was now free-roaming 7,000ft in the sky.
Shockingly, it was detailed that the floating device was also carrying his six-year-old son, Falcon Heene, as the couple had discovered he had gone missing.
Soon, the media was all over this horrific case and young Falcon who was aptly dubbed ‘Balloon Boy’.
From the local sheriff’s department to the National Guard, everyone was desperately covering the case, all while attempting to ensure that the little boy was safe and sound on the ground.
However, as the balloon landed, people were shocked and angered to discover the device was completely empty, and Falcon was nowhere to be found.
As it turns out, Falcon had been hiding in their garage the whole time.
Falcon is now 22, and over on his Instagram account, he revealed he has business of building tiny homes in Florida, which he sells for between $25,000 to $79,000, as per the New York Post.
He has even amassed a small following on his platform and regularly updates and films video skits for entertainment purposes.
It seems like he’s doing well, despite his controversy.
As for the hoax, the whole thing unravelled after the Heenes appeared on an episode of Larry King Live and were interviewed by Wolf Blitzer.
There, Falcon sat on his father Richard’s lap, alongside his two older brothers, Bradford and Ryo, and his mother, Mayumi.
Richard, a handyman and storm chaser, did most of the talking, but Blitzer asked Falcon about the situation, particularly why he didn’t come out of the garage when his name was called.
Falcon answered: “You guys said that, um, we did this for the show.”
It was revealed that the whole thing had been orchestrated by the Heene parents, who aspired to create interest in a pilot for a reality television series they had been pitching about their family.
Soon after, Richard and Mayumi Heene pleaded guilty; Richard to attempting to influence a public servant, and Mayumi to the misdemeanor of making a false report.
Both were sentenced to serve a short time in prison and community service but were pardoned.