Balloon Boy. Remeber him? On October 15, 2009, the country was captivated by Falcon Heene, the boy floating away a balloon ... or so it seemed.
His parents, Richard and Mayumi Heene, who had appeared on the reality show Wife Swap one year prior, frantically alerted authorities to this crisis.
A giant weather balloon they were in possession of was accidentally released from their property with their 6-year-old inside. A media circus erupted.
Local officers were dispatched. A National Guard helicopter was launched. Air traffic controllers halted all area takeoffs. All to rescue Balloon Boy.
Only when the balloon landed, no boy was found in it. Instead, Falcon Heene had been hiding in the attic of his parents' garage. The entire time.
Public concern quickly turned to suspicion, fueled by the boy's comments on CNN that it was "for the show," i.e. a future reality show his folks pined for.
After an investigation, authorities deemed the incident a hoax engineered by the Heene parents; they denied this, but pleaded guilty and served time.
Nearly five years later, they now live in Florida and don't mince words.
"It was never a hoax. Not once, not ever," Richard Heene says of the infamous Balloon Boy boondoggle on Oprah's Where Are They Now? series.
He and Mayumi pled guilty, Richard says, because it seemed like the best way to help the family. "I took the guilty plea to save my family," Heene says.
"It was the easy way out, rather than taking my kids to court, possibly losing them. There was [also] the possibility she could get deported," Richard says.
Falcon, now 11, offers clarification of his "for the show" comment.
"What happened was this Chinese reporter walked up to me. He asked me if I could show him how I got in the attic for his TV show," Falcon explains.
"After that, another person asked me, 'So what happened about this balloon thing?' [I said], 'I did it for the show.' I thought he was talking about the Chinese guy."
The Heenes prefer to focus on the future, not the past. Three years ago, Falcon and his two brothers formed "Heene Boyz - The World's Youngest Metal Band."
"We have gotten so busy with the kids that we can now earn a living having the kids go out and perform," Richard says. "That's our main focus."
"They make tips and they sell their merchandise."
"There's enough there to actually just survive."
Cue Balloon Boy Stunt #2?
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