Y&R Discussion Group -- OK, so how many think the balloon thing was a hoax?

Y&R Discussion Group

Topic: OK, so how many think the balloon thing was a hoax?

Topic Posted by: Mitch
Date Posted: Fri Oct 16 7:44:58 2009
Additional Comments:

This notoriously cynical poster does.

The child "goes missing" simultaniously with the liftoff of the balloon, which mysteriously has the payload basket missing from the underside. If the boy had crawled in the basket, you would have seen him.

The father is some sort of media whore and, as others who purported know him, narcissistic.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.....what do you think?

If this does turn out to be a hoax, should the parents pay the $2M this "rescue" effort cost?

I think they should pay either way, the same as mountain climbers should pay if someone has to rescue them. As I pointed out on the DOOL Board, a patients have to pay for their ambulance ride --- or their insurers do. Why should this be different.

Posted by: SqueezeMe
Date posted: Sat Oct 17 23:52:20 2009
Message:

Unreal.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33340547/ns/us_news-life/

Posted by: Mitch
Date posted: Sat Oct 17 9:22:32 2009
Message:

Thanks guys for all your thoughtful responses. I think most people's suspicions are up in this matter.

Off to my medical coding class!

Posted by: diamond girl
Date posted: Sat Oct 17 6:34:31 2009
Message:
I ama fairly good judge of whether people are liars or not. When I saw this man on the morning shows yesterday , he had LIAR written all over his face. The wife certainly ( and mother also ) did not seem fazed at all by this supposed scare.I guess we can give the guy some slack.,and "blame it on the economy" , you know , no other way to feed his children.But how could he use his child like that? The boy looked totally bored. And the other two boys had that "here we go again" look on their face.All of this post is of course ,just my opinion.

Posted by: DebS
Date posted: Fri Oct 16 19:05:18 2009
Message:
I don't know. It's hard to tell. I think it's highly possible, though.

Posted by: SnopesQueen
Date posted: Fri Oct 16 16:25:17 2009
Message:
I am on the fence. It really is an unusual story, but stranger things have happened and been true. If necessary, I'm sure the authorities can administer a lie detector test to the parents. I don't find it personally necessary to pass judgment and demand that they repay the search money.

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Ditto! Well said SnoopsQueen. .......OT

Posted by: serialmom
Date posted: Fri Oct 16 16:07:27 2009
Message:

I'm right there with you Mitch. For something unnecessary and frivolous I think they should pay too. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck. This family has been quacking all over the place.

The kid hasn't learned to lie yet.

Posted by: faysie
Date posted: Fri Oct 16 15:22:56 2009
Message:
The more I hear/learn about them, the more the whole thing smells suspicious. IMO it's very unfair if the good citizens of (I believe?) Colorado get stuck with the bill for this whole affair, and the family isn't asked to pay at least part of it.

Posted by: Midge
Date posted: Fri Oct 16 15:02:02 2009
Message:
Well, well, well.....it seems the family has their own channel on "youtube" and those little boys are use to being coached. Here's a link to their youtube channel and the boys doing a crude MTV knock-off. If my kids would have done that, at their age, they wouldn't sit for a week, let alone parents coaching and posting it. Yeah, I feel sorry for the boys being used, but it looks like they learned the craft well.

http://www.youtube.com/user/YouTubianAwards#p/u

BTW blogs have videos from their days on "Wifeswap", with the boys dropping the f-bomb and shooting the bird at the camera. As for the dad saying what would be his motive, he has nothing to sell. bullkrap. The Wifeswap video shows mom going door to door with leaflets promoting their business. Me thinks this hoax was quickly put together as it looks like "Jon & Kate + 8" may leave a hole in the TLC schedule.

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Wife Swap video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr_zA5E7n7A

Posted by: Edward
Date posted: Fri Oct 16 13:39:19 2009
Message:
As soon as I heard about this family's reality TV background, I started getting suspicious, and the whole thing is really looking like a hoax. I say send them the bill for the rescue. If the dad and/or anyone else in the family knew the kid wasn't in the balloon and let all of this desperation play out on purpose, there's something seriously wrong with them.

Posted by: Midge
Date posted: Fri Oct 16 10:45:56 2009
Message:
I don't know if you guys are seeing the video (MSNBC) the kids shot, showing dad launching the thing but what I immediately noticed is there was NO BASKET or any other attachment! What about the basket they where saying the kid may have been in, thatmight have broke loose and they had searchers looking for it. The parents knew very well what the craft looked like at the launch, exactly as it looked the whole flight.

Also, with the release of the video, showing mom and dad doing the launch, he's now saying the launch was suppose be teathered and only go up 50ft. None of those teathers were long enough for the vehicle to go up 50ft, if it remained teathered.

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Curiouser and curiouser...............eom...Mitch

Plus wouldn't you have gone around and verified that all the tethers were secure instead of just assuming they were? . . . UncleJJJ

Midge, I don't think it is the usual kind of balloon with a basket. I think they thought he was actually INSIDE the whole balloon. And the bit about the tethers, no there would be no need to check that the tethers were all securre... they were actually launching the thing. SQ

I didn't think there was a basket, until after the landing when they started talking about how Falcon could have been in the basket and CNN showing stills of what they said could have been the basket falling away and that searchers were looking to see where it might have come down. Other than that, there was just that very small area, not the whole balloon, since most of it was filled with helium. The father said it was suppose to have been tethered, not launched freely. If it was meant to be launched freely, certainly he would have needed to notified the FAA before it was set to float without control, for miles across Colorado. Midge

Posted by: Mrs. Betty Slocombe
Date posted: Fri Oct 16 10:17:39 2009
Message:
I think there's something definitely fishy about it. If he had a video camera when the balloon took off then he certainly would have been able to hear the kid scream...which is what I am sure he would have done if he was in there. If they weren't sure he was in there, they would have scoured the house looking for him in a hiding place.
Time for an investigation and to get these people off the TV.

Posted by: Rose Bush
Date posted: Fri Oct 16 9:39:56 2009
Message:

It was a hoax, or a publicity stunt if you prefer.

Posted by: SusieB
Date posted: Fri Oct 16 9:39:34 2009
Message:

Yeah I do....what an idiot.

He should have to pay for all expenses incurred.

Posted by: Ginger G
Date posted: Fri Oct 16 9:18:53 2009
Message:
I definitely do believe it was a hoax! And they should have to pay for the rescue efforts.

Posted by: UncleJJJ
Date posted: Fri Oct 16 9:06:16 2009
Message:
I find it very interesting that when the balloon was "accidently" released that he had the video camera taping it.

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They are saying They had a video camera recording as the balloon took off Thursday. Alderden said that was because the family planned an experiment in which the balloon was to rise 20 feet off the ground. SQ

Posted by: Midge
Date posted: Fri Oct 16 8:41:56 2009
Message:
I'm very skeptical. Watching Larry King last night, the father certainly did a very inarticulate dance trying to cover Falcon's remarks. Trying to compare it to walking behind in the grocery after being denied a candy bar. WTH?

Given the parents past propensity for "reality" shows, which includes exposing the children and now, doing the Larry King Show, GMA and the Today show within HOURS after the event, with the children in tow,. I don't know, it sure seems to me most people would take a day or two to regroup as a family after a harrowing experience. But, with the weekend coming, if you want to milk these shows to your best advantage, you need to strike while the iron is hot.

This is from my inbox this morning.......

Balloon boy gets sick twice during TV interviews
October 16, 2009 6:52 AM EST

FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The 6-year-old boy at the center of the runaway balloon saga got sick twice on national television when he and his father were asked during separate TV interviews what he meant about his comment that "we did this for a show."

Sheriff Jim Alderman says his investigators believe there was no hoax, but will seek a new interview with the family after the CNN broadcast to clarify the statement.

During an ABC interview, Falcon Heene (HEE'-nee) said Friday: "Mom, I feel like I'm going to vomit." He then left the room with his mother and could be heard gagging.

During a live interview on NBC shown simultaneously on Friday, Falcon threw up into a container when his father was answering the same question.

Falcon vanished around the time that a homemade helium balloon floated away from his home, setting off a national uproar as authorities scoured the plains of northern Colorado for the youngster.

Posted by: H20
Date posted: Fri Oct 16 8:35:39 2009
Message:
Watch Good Morning America when the little Falcon feels queasy. It's very telling. Diane Sawyer even says, "is someone going to look after him?" Because the father is continuing the interview while Falcon goes to throw up. Something stinky here grows.

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I didn't see GMA or Today, but reading the AP article I posted above, it makes me wonder if after the comment on King last night, if Falcon was coached to say he had to vomit, to get him out of the way, before he said too much (again). Midge

Coached, perhaps. Little Falcon says I'm going to voimit and the father sits there for this prolonged awkward moment of silence before Falcon gets up alone and walks out of the room. The father never moves to go look after the boy. The mother finally does. It's as if he'd rather be on camera than care for his son. H20

I saw the GMA interview. Both parents just sat there like bumps on logs when the kid said he was about to vomit. Neither one was going to cut the interview short. Diane Sawyer finally asked if someone shouldn't take him to the bathroom. Again, neither parent budged. Then Diane suggested the mother take him. The mom and kid disappeared from camera and you could hear the kid wretching in the background. A couple of minutes later, he came back wearing a different shirt and told his dad he threw up 3 times. It was one of the weirdest interviews I've ever seen. ~i&b

Me too. I don't have kids but don't parents do that sort of thing naturally? Weeeiiirrd. They don't seem to put their children's welfare first, storm chasing, et cetera. H20

I think that kid is under so much pressure he is getting sick. This isn't a family that is a just little different; they are shameless in their attempts to get attention by using their children. We haven't seen the last of them. - Zoe

Posted by: Babyducks
Date posted: Fri Oct 16 8:35:13 2009
Message:
That is some weird family. I agree they should pay..but can they? Without a doubt, the parents are publicity seekers. Before it was resolved, that story really had me going for awhile. Terrible, if it was intentional.

Posted by: Pronoun
Date posted: Fri Oct 16 8:13:49 2009
Message:
Nope, don't believe it's a hoax at all.

Replies: (list all replies)

I'm with you Pronoun and completely amazed at how quickly people are to jump on the hoax bandwagon and condemn these people because they are a little different, a little odd. There has not been an investigation yet... let's wait and see when all the evidence is in. I was a bit taken aback that they put the children through those interviews though. I would have said no to that. It will be interesting to see the truth when all the dust settles. One thing is for sure... you better be careful what you do these days... the press and public will eat you alive. ... OT

Posted by: Mitch
Date posted: Fri Oct 16 7:59:12 2009
Message:

Sorry for the typos. It should be "simultaneously" and last sentence is a question.