Balloon Boy: 'I Thought I Would Get In Trouble'

Falcon Heene took off for the attic after dad yelled at him earlier

By Will McCahill, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 15, 2009 8:31 PM CDT

(Newser) – The Colorado 6-year-old we all thought we were watching in that balloon today was hiding in the family attic after his dad yelled at him for getting in a box of batteries. “He scared me, and he yelled at me,” Falcon Heene told a jammed news conference. “That’s why I went into the attic because I thought I would get in trouble.”

“I am really sorry I yelled at him,” said Richard Heene, whose experimental craft was intended to lift commuters over traffic, “but we got him back. This is a relief. We are going to watch him a lot closer.”

[Images (2)]

[Videos (1)]

Six-year-old Falcon Heene is shown with his father, Richard, as they emerge from the family's home in Fort Collins, Colo. (AP Photo)

Falcon Heene, 6, gets a hug from his mother, Mayumi, after a news conference outside the family's home in Fort Collins, Colo. (AP Photo)

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Balloon Boy: 'I Thought I Would Get In Trouble'