CNN – 6-year-old missing after balloon lands in Colorado

Sent from stana2z@me.com‘s mobile device from http://www.cnn.com.

 UPDATE:  09/19/09 – Officials are now (finally) calling the whole thing a hoax, with charges pending.  No more coverage please…

6-year-old missing after balloon lands in Colorado

 

A balloon that was set adrift by a 6-year-old boy from his parents’ Colorado home was found empty, CNN affiliate KMGH said, citing a police report.

 

The balloon landed south of Prospect Springs, near Colorado Springs.

 

The boy was not inside the helium aircraft when it landed, KMGH reported.

 

A sibling saw the boy get into the craft Thursday morning. Officials were concerned that the boy may have fallen out of it, an undersheriff said.

 

Margie Martinez of the Weld County Sheriff’s Office said a sibling saw Falcon Heene climb into the basket before the balloon took off from his parents’ home.

 

Because the door on the balloon was unlocked, it’s possible the boy had fallen out, Martinez said.

 

The balloon appeared to be a saucer-shaped, Mylar-coated helium balloon, similar to a party balloon.

 

The helium balloon had been tethered to the boy’s family home, the Larimer County Sheriff’s Department said. The boy got into the craft Thursday morning and undid the rope anchoring it.

 

The department said the dome-shaped balloon is 20 feet long and 5 feet high.

 

“The structure at the bottom of the balloon that the boy is in is made of extremely thin plywood and won’t withstand any kind of a crash at all,” said Erik Nilsson, Larimer County emergency manager, according to CNN affiliate KMGH.

 

A dispatcher received a call Thursday morning, and emergency services personnel were contacted, Larimer County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Kathy Davis said.

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