Was Balloon Boy Stunt a Hoax?

Falcon Heene tells CNN 'we did this for the show'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 16, 2009 6:40 AM CDT

An apparent "slip" by Falcon Heene has fueled frenzied internet speculation that yesterday's balloon hoohah was a publicity stunt orchestrated by his family. When his dad asked him during a CNN interview with the family why the 6-year-old didn't come out of the attic when people were calling his name, Falcon responded: "You guys said we did this for the show." His mother leaned over to look at him and said: "No."

Dad Richard Heene quickly changed the subject, and got testy when asked to explain his son's comments. "Let me interrupt this real fast. I can see the direction you guys are hedging on this," he told Wolf Blitzer.  "I'm kind of appalled after all the feelings that I went through, that you guys are trying to suggest something else." He said that Falcon's use of the word "show" referred to the family's recent appearance on ABC's Wife Swap. A sheriff on the scene said earlier that the family's emotions seemed genuine.
(More Falcon Heene stories.)

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