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Balloon Boy: Charges pending in hoax case

by Susan Marie Kovalinsky | October 18, 2009 at 04:49 am

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Charges are now pending in the case of the Colorado family whose six year old son was supposedly thought to be inside a helium balloon which "accidentally" launched.

The Larimer County Sheriff's office say they may upgrade the charges beyond a class 3 misdemeanor. The police have obtained search warrants and began a search of the Heene family home last night. The District Attorney's office has been notified and is reviewing the case for further filing of charges. The Sheriff has said that criminal charges will likely be pursued.

The sheriff of Larimer County, Colo., said late Saturday that charges will be filed in the case of the 6-year-old boy who vanished into the rafters of his garage for five hours while the world thought he was zooming through the sky in a flying-saucer-like helium balloon.
The boy's father, Richard Heene, met with sheriff's officials earlier in the day amid lingering questions about whether he perpetrated a hoax.

Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden didn't say Saturday night what the charges would be, but he did say the parents, Richard and his wife, Mayumi Heene, aren't under arrest.

and from the New York Times:

The sheriff, Jim Alderden, said a Class 3 misdemeanor “hardly seems serious enough given the circumstances.” He added, “We are talking to the district attorney, federal officials to see if perhaps there aren’t additional federal charges that are appropriate in this circumstance.”
The A.P. reported that Larimer County authorities had a warrant and began conducting a search of the Heene home on Saturday night.