UPDATED: The family had been planning the prank for at least two weeks, and one media outlet appears to have been in on it
UPDATE: Sheriff Jim Alderden will be recommending the following charges against the Heene parents: “conspiracy, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, false reporting to authorities and attempting to influence a public servant.” It could mean a sentence of up to six years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
Police now believe that the Heene family staged the recent event in which their son was said to be aboard a helium balloon that flew away from their backyard. After the six-year-old boy, Falcon, made comments during a television interview that he was hiding in the attic because his father, Richard, said it was “for a show,” the Heene family became a target of suspicion. It’s now come to light that the publicity hungry family, who’ve been featured on Wife Swap, saw this as their way back into reality television.