Richard Heene is an avid storm chaser and "science detective" from Fort Collins, Colorado. He and his family were featured on the ABC reality show Wife Swap.
His son Falcon was believed to be trapped in a hot air balloon that flew over Denver on October 15, 2009. The homemade balloon landed a while after it launched, but the boy was not found inside. The boy was later found alive and safe in the attic of the family's home.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33330516/ns/us_news-life/
It was later determined that the incident was a hoax, allegedly planned in order to promote a reality show. On December 23, 2009, Heene was sentenced to 90 days in jail, 60 of which will be served on a work release program, and four years of probation. The judge also ordered that Heene was prohibited from earning any money from the balloon boy incident. Additional stipulations order Heene to apologize to the community, perform 100 hours of community service and submit to random drug and alcohol testing.http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/balloon-boy-dad-richard-heene-90-days-jail/story?id=9408887
In a January 6, 2010, interview with Larry King, Richard Heene claimed there was no hoax as he truly believed his son was in the balloon. He went on to state that he pleaded guilty to the charges so his wife Mayumi would not be deported to Japan.http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/01/06/colorado.balloon.boy/index.html
References
Fast Facts
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Age
48 (October 2009)
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Resides
Fort Collins, Colorado
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Fact:
Hosts the documentary and radio show The Psyience Detectives
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Fact:
Storm chaser, traveled to Hurricane Wilma
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Fact:
Appeared on the ABC reality show Wife Swap
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Wife
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Sons
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Fact:
Show features storm chasing and the paranormal
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Fact:
Son reportedly entered a homemade hot air balloon on October 15, 2009
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Fact:
Balloon took off, initially believed to be with the boy inside
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Fact:
Balloon landed some time later, but the boy was not found inside
