Aahana Swrup
Richard Heene made headlines in 2009 when an eccentric backyard experiment put his and his family’s future in great turmoil. On October 15, the family, known in social circles for their storm chasing adventures, set out to release a home-made “flying saucer” into the atmosphere. However, once it took off 7,000 feet into the air, the horrifying realization crept in that their youngest, Falcon Heene, may have climbed inside the helium-fueled balloon. As a result, the local Sheriff’s department, news outlets, and even the National Guard became involved in the efforts to find the young boy.
In the end, the saucer landed, but Falcon was nowhere to be found inside. Instead, the six-year-old came out of the Heene house’s attic, where he had apparently been this entire time. Although the child’s reunion with his family eased the tension of the past few hours, it also raised a crucial question. Was the entire thing a hoax from the start? The Netflix documentary ‘Trainwreck: Balloon Boy’ delves into this same query, presenting points from many sides of the polarizing argument.
The CNN Interview That Jumpstarted the Hoax Allegations
Once news broke out that Falcon Heene might be aboard the saucer-like gas balloon, several reporters began circling the family’s house in Fort Collins, Colorado. Eventually, after the boy was found on the evening of the same day, Richard Heene decided to talk to the news by accepting a LIVE appearance on CNN’s talk show ‘Larry King Live.’ During the interview, journalist Wolf Blitzer asked the young boy why he’d remained hidden for so long if he had heard the unusual commotion overtaking his house from within the attic.
Richard acted as a buffer between the anchor and his son, allowing the latter to hear the line of questioning properly. In turn, Falcon replied, “You guys said that we did this for the show.” Consequently, a seed of doubt was planted in the minds of the millions who had been following the story from the start. Falcon’s ominous reply embedded itself in the story as an unplanned slip-up that unraveled what many believed to be an orchestrated, deceptive production. In the matter of two days, the local authorities at the Larimer County Sheriff’s Station called Richard in for questioning. The single dubious dialogue from the six-year-old boy dismantled his parents’ credibility in the eyes of the public as well as law enforcement.
The Polygraph Test Debacle
Eventually, the Sheriff’s department, helmed by Sheriff Jim Alderden, decided to conduct separate polygraph tests on both Richard and Mayumi Heene. The former’s test proved to be significantly more troublesome. The examiner reported that the father of three seemed “dodgy” during the questioning. Furthermore, reports suggest Richard seemed to be on the verge of falling asleep, and he claimed to have type 1 diabetes. In the Netflix documentary, Jim Alderden maintains that his suspect was employing every textbook method of tricking the lie-detector test. Inversely, the latter backed up his diabetic claims.
On the other hand, Mayumi’s test didn’t bear any positive results for the family either. In the end, the authorities informed both Heenes that they had failed their polygraph tests. Richard insisted on his innocence while his wife gave in under the mounting pressure. Mayumi told the authorities that the entire balloon fiasco was indeed a “hoax,” staged by her and her husband. Furthermore, she confirmed that the incident was an attempt at scoring public recognition and notoriety born of financially driven intentions. The family’s past history with brief reality TV fame corroborated this revelation, further enveloping the Heene family’s case under a dark cloud.
The Heene Family’s Affair With Reality TV
One of the key components that had a negative impact on Richard and Mayumi’s public credibility stemmed from their history with reality television. In 2008, the family was featured on the ABC reality show ‘Wife Swap.’ In the show, two members (usually the wives) from two drastically different families have to trade their lives for two weeks. The Heenes’ entered the program as a band of enterprising expeditors and storm chasers, going on to win over the audience’s hearts. In fact, when the viewers were given the opportunity to choose a family to make a comeback on the show in honor of its 100th episode, the Heenes received overwhelming support. Therefore, Richard was eager to land a reality show of his own, one that would focus on science.
The Heene couple had pitched the show to the producers associated with their appearance on ‘Wife Swap.’ Nonetheless, it never quite took off. Alternatively, Richard had a history of wild pitches to attract media attention to his potential projects. In one instance, while working on a proposed show called ‘The Science Detectives,’ the former put forward the idea of him and his associates getting “strafed” by a helicopter while donned in ‘Matrix’-inspired garb. Another instance found him including his then-associate Barb Slusser Adams in an idea to promote their project on ‘Wife Swap.’ Reportedly, this idea was pitched without Adams’ knowledge. Consequently, the concept of Richard resorting to a staggering hoax to capture the media’s attention to propel his reality TV show dreams wasn’t entirely unimaginable.
The Dubious Nature of Mayumi Heene’s Confession
Shortly after the incident, Mayumi Heene admitted to the authorities at the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office that the event had been a planned hoax. Inversely, her husband, Richard, maintained their innocence in the matter. In fact, he insisted that English wasn’t the first language of his wife, who was then a Japanese citizen. Therefore, the husband stood his ground, claiming that Mayumi misunderstood “hoax” to mean “an exhibition.” In their defense, the authorities could hold up the latter’s bachelor’s degree in English literature from her college days in Japan. In the end, the Heene spouses both pleaded guilty to different charges.
Richard accepted the felony charges of knowingly and falsely influencing a public servant (Sheriff Jim Alderden), and his wife faced the misdemeanor charge of knowingly filing a false report with emergency services. Even so, in the aftermath, the Heene couple maintained their innocence in the matter. Their defense attorney, David Lane, claimed that the prosecutors told Richard Heene they would pursue his wife’s deportation if he failed to plead guilty to the felony. If the same is true, then an argument can be made that the husband never had much of a choice to begin with. Currently, he insists that the only reason he accepted the plea deal was to protect his wife and ensure she wasn’t deported away from her family and kids. Mayumi herself has also shared that she only confessed to the alleged hoax out of fear of deportation. Contrarily, the Larimer County District Attorney’s office has denied any and all claims to the same.
Richard Heene Claims He was a Victim of Widespread Character Assassination
On December 23, 2009, Richard Heene received a sentence of 90 days’ imprisonment, 100 hours of community service, and four years of probation. Meanwhile, Mayumi Heene received 20 days of jail time and four years of probation. Additionally, they were also ordered to pay 36,000 dollars in restitution and barred from monetizing the “Balloon boy hoax” experience. Even though the couple went on to pay for these crimes, they have maintained their innocence in the matter. Despite the scrutiny of their intentions with the gas balloon, the Heene family retains an alternative perspective on the incident. In 2009, Richard and Mayumi were struggling financially. The former’s home renovation work and the latter’s at-home video-editing business weren’t flourishing in the wake of the Great Recession.
Still, Richard dreamed of an outlandish way to make some money. He wanted to build a helium-filled, foil-backed insulation balloon. Once properly invested in with sponsors, he imagined they could start up a trend of desert racing. Consequently, the family put together the money to buy the building supplies for their flying saucer. When it came to deciding a launch date, the couple chose October 12, their own wedding anniversary. Overall, the project remained an exciting family-centric endeavor with the kids pitching in until the very end. On the day of the launch, October 15, thanks to weather delays, the Heenes’ oldest son, Bradford, was entrusted with the recording camera.
As such, Bradford managed to capture the exact moment of the balloon’s take-off. Although it was only planned to hover 20 feet in the air, a complication with the tether let the saucer loose high into the air. Worse yet, around the same time, the family realized Falcon, the youngest, was missing. Bradford got his parents’ attention, claiming he had seen his brother crawl into a balloon compartment earlier. In fact, video footage shows Falcon’s fascination with getting inside the balloon throughout the day. Therefore, once the family couldn’t find the young boy, they concluded he must have been inside the now rogue helium balloon. Rather than instantly using the opportunity for publicity, Richard first reached out to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in hopes that they could track the balloon down.
After the FAA told Richard to contact the emergency services, a frightened Mayumi called 911. It was only then that the husband dialed a news outlet with the intention of employing the help of their helicopter. Shortly afterward, his wife’s emotional incoherence compelled him to take over the 911 call as well. Once local and national news began covering the incident, it inevitably reached Diana Fields, Richard’s sister. Back then, the latter never once doubted her brother’s honesty and intentions and continues to support his side even now. “If Richard was going to pull a stunt like that, he would have called me first,” Diana told 5280 Magazine in 2019. “He would have known I’d be worried, thinking one of my nephews’ lives was in danger. There’s no way he does something like that, worrying people he loves.” The home video captures Richard’s frustration and panic in the moment. Whether his reaction can be interpreted as genuine or put-upon remains up to the viewer’s perception.
Mayumi’s Handwritten Notes and the Official Pardon of 2020
The 5280 interview, first conducted in 2019, led to some intriguing revelations in the case. Apparently, Lee Christian, Mayumi Heene’s attorney, shared a box of case files, reports, and other documents that contained a stack of his client’s handwritten notes. They detailed a play-by-play of the events leading up to and including the day of the Balloon launch. Thus, a yet-uncovered truth began to take form. Her notes suggested Richard Heene had proposed the idea of Falcon hiding in the basement while the balloon took off. The implication remained that their son would be assumed to be inside the flying object.
The notes went on to claim that on the day of the launch, the family truly did not know whether or not Falcon was in the balloon. This is likely because the young boy went off to the attic, where he played with his toys and fell asleep, rather than the basement. As such, a new, plausible story began to emerge. One where the incident was both a planned hoax and a real scare that shook up the Heene family. It would explain Falcon’s innocent confession on LIVE TV while also legitimizing his parents’ tearful reunion with him. Nonetheless, shortly after Richard learned about these notes and confronted his wife about them, Mayumi confessed to making the entire thing up.
It posed a familiar situation, one that played out in 2009 inside the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office, where Mayumi made a confession only to take it back eventually. Another common denominator remained her husband’s adamant refusal of her statement. Ultimately, it seems Richard has his version of the truth, which might as well be the reality. Perhaps nothing on the balloon’s launch day was fabricated for ulterior motives. The Heene family certainly seems to be sticking with this story. Fortunately, Governor Jared Polis’s decision to pardon Richard and Mayumi for their crimes in 2020 further supports this theory. Yet, with mounting evidence evening out the other side, it seems a sliver of doubt will always prevail in the public’s consciousness.
Read More: Falcon Heene Today: What Happened to the Balloon Boy?
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