Update: 10/17/09

In a paid interview earlier on Saturday, a man who worked for Richard Heene between March 2009- May 2009, told Gawker that Heene’s foil balloon incident was a stunt.

Robert Thomas told the blog that Richard Heene told him he had an idea for a massive media stunt involving a “weather balloon” that resembles a UFO.

He said Henne believed the stunt would “be the most significant UFO-related news event to take place since the Roswell Crash in 1967.”

Upon hearing the news, Larimer County Sheriff’s Department said they are preparing to file charges against members of the Heene family sometime this week.

Update: 11:26 p.m.

Today on CNN, Wolf Blitzer interviewed the Heene’s and he asked Falcon if he heard his parents calling him and I think he said his family set up the entire thing.  I am pretty sure he said “You guys said that we did this for the show.”

I am sure his brothers knew he was hiding in the garage.

The Heene’s should get it bill for the cost of the search.

Update: 3:36 p.m.

Aircraft just landed and no one was inside.

The Heene’s have three children, Bradford, 8, Ryo, 7, and Falcon 5.

The couple considered themselves storm scientist. They take their children out of school to go on storm chasing missions to prove Richard’s theories about magnetic fields and gravity.

Update: 3:22 p.m.

The parents have been identified as Richard and Mayumi Heene who appeared on the ABC’s show “Wife Swap.”

Update: 3:13 p.m.

Authorities said the balloon is traveling about 30mph and it’s about 7,000 feet above the ground.

Original story

A Larimer County, Colorado 6-year-old boy unhooked his family’s experimental balloon-powered aircraft and floated away from home. 

Authorities said the boy’s family had been building a 20’x5’ experimental aircraft covered in tin foil that had a large helium balloon attached to it at their home.

Earlier today, the boy got into the aircraft and detached the rope holding it in place.

The aircraft was last seen two miles south of Evans, Colorado.

The Federal Aviation Administration is working to track the aircraft on its radar tower.