Hoax, Heene | featured news

Richard Heene is sentenced to 90 days in jail, including 60 days work release, for fabricating a story that his son had been carried off by a homemade balloon. His wife gets 20 days.

The Colorado parents in the "balloon boy" case will plead guilty to offenses for creating a hoax that their son had flown away in a large balloon.

A mother's confession that she and her husband faked their 6-year-old son's disappearance in a runaway balloon shouldn't have been made public, an attorney for the father said.

The wife of a Colorado father at the center of the "balloon boy" saga told authorities that the giant helium balloon was specifically created for a hoax to draw media attention, according to court documents released Friday.

An associate of the father accused of carrying out the now-infamous balloon boy ordeal to promote a reality TV show was wanted for questioning after e-mails surfaced showing the two had discussed a similar stunt months ago as part of a public relations campaign for the program.

The bizarre flight of a home-made helium balloon, thought to have a 6-year-old boy aboard, was a hoax and publicity stunt, a Colorado sheriff said on Sunday.

Criminal case mulled in connection with Colorado couple's report of son set adrift on helium balloon.

A couple who frantically told a 911 dispatcher their 6-year-old son had floated off in an inflatable balloon remain in the spotlight, but now it's for a series of bizarre TV interviews about the escapade, a previous 911 call and efforts to land a reality TV show gig.