Six-year-old Falcon Heene was believed to be trapped in a homemade hot air balloon which was flying near 10,000 feet in the air over South Denver, Colorado, on October 15, 2009.http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/15/colorado.boy.balloon/index.html The balloon returned to the ground around 3:30 p.m. EST later that day, however Heene was not in the balloon at the time of the landing.http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/15/colorado.boy.balloon/index.html

Heene was later found alive in the attic of the family's garage. He never left the home.http://www.ktvn.com/Global/story.asp?S=11327480

In an interview with CNN later that evening, Falcon Heene stated he heard people calling his name, but didn't come out as "you guys said that we did this for the show", causing some people to believe the incident had been a publicity stunt.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI6UONWCq7A

Heene and his other family members, including brother Ryo Heene, father Richard Heene and mother Mayumi Heene, were featured on the ABC reality series Wife Swap earlier in 2009.