Goliath investergates "BalloonBoy" declares "NO HOAX"
FORT COLLINS. Colo. - This morning the noted treasure hunter and adventurer arrived on a
mission to investigate the balloon boy case. "Me is here to gets to the truths!" said Goliath. By all accounts, Goliath and Richard Heene is an unapologetic self-promoter who would pursue all sorts of off-the-wall stunts to get media attention. Flying saucers, mountaintop helicopter stunts, storm chasing, reality TV shows — no gag was beyond his limits.
But would he go so far as to hide his 6-year-old son in the rafters of his garage for five hours and make it seem like the boy floated away in a helium balloon? Goliath said he thought it was entirely possible, if not likely. "Me intends to take that there Heene man and thrash the tar out of him until him tell me true. If that there not work...me thrash the boy a time or two."
It was a question being asked everywhere Friday, one day after the balloon drama unfolded live on television during a frenzied search before little Falcon Heene was found.The sheriff’s office said it does not believe at this point that the balloon episode was a stunt, but investigators planned to question the family again Saturday. Richard Heene denies that the events were a hoax, dismissing such allegations as “extremely pathetic.” Goliath stated, "Ha! me tells you what pathetic Heene Weinie! What is pathetic is misusing the young sprout for yer selfish ends!"
Goliath said he was familiar with hoaxes and the phenomenon of debunking hoaxes as many
had originally questioned whether his claim to be the Biblical Goliath was a hoax or not. As for
this case, doubts surfaced after a series of bizarre TV interviews, including one on CNN in which Falcon Heene told his parents “you said we did this for a show” when asked why he did not come down from the garage rafters during the search.
The family made the rounds on the morning talk shows Friday, and Falcon threw up during two separate interviews when asked why he hid.
Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden acknowledged that Goliath's assistance was greatly welcomed and that Falcon’s comments on CNN had clearly “raised everybody’s level of skepticism.” But, he said, investigators had no reason to believe the whole thing was a hoax.
Sequence of events questionedAlderden said the family seemed genuine during the panic, and he believed events could have unfolded just as they described: Falcon got frightened when his father scolded him for playing inside the balloon, and hid in the garage out of fear.
The sheriff said his office has been flooded with calls and e-mails about the matter. He added that officials “have to operate on what we can prove as a fact and not what people want to be done.”
The sheriff was also asked about the sequence of events when the Heenes reported their child’s disappearance to authorities. The Heenes called the FAA first, followed by a local TV station with a news helicopter, and then dialed 911. The sheriff said the TV station call made sense because the helicopter could have provided immediate assistance.
In the 911 call, the boy’s mother, Mayumi Heene, told a dispatcher in a panicked voice that her child was in “a flying saucer.” She sobbed and said, “We’ve got to get my son.”
It was not the first time someone from the Heenes’ home has dialed 911. A Colorado sheriff’s deputy responded to a 911 hang-up in February at the home, hearing a man yelling and noticing Mayumi Heene had a mark on her cheek and broken blood vessels in her left eye. She said it was because of a problem with her contacts.
Richard Heene said he had been yelling because his children stayed up past their bedtime. The husband and wife said nothing had happened, and the deputy concluded he did not have probable cause to make an arrest.
COSTLY SEARCH GOLIATH TO CLAIM HUGE REWARD
If the balloon ordeal was a hoax, the parents could be charged with making a false report to authorities, a low-level misdemeanor, and Goliath would be entitled to a large reward Alderden said. "He deserves a lot of money for his efforts here. He also asked me to mention he was selling a fantastic "evil happyface salamander" tee shirt on his blog spot".
He said authorities would need to bring a criminal case before attempting to recoup restitution costs for the thousands of dollars spent to search for the boy, an effort that involved military helicopters, a ground rescue and even a mounted posse. Officials also rerouted planes around the balloon’s flight path and briefly shut down Denver International Airport.
Deputies searched the family’s home and considered going into the attic, but they “just didn’t think it was possible that 6-year-old boy would be able to get up to that space, so they didn’t look there,” Alderden said. Goliath stated, "That justes ridiculuous...of course the father stashed
that poor sprout up theres and tells him nots to come down until we gives the high sign. Me can
see right through this here!!!"
mission to investigate the balloon boy case. "Me is here to gets to the truths!" said Goliath. By all accounts, Goliath and Richard Heene is an unapologetic self-promoter who would pursue all sorts of off-the-wall stunts to get media attention. Flying saucers, mountaintop helicopter stunts, storm chasing, reality TV shows — no gag was beyond his limits.
But would he go so far as to hide his 6-year-old son in the rafters of his garage for five hours and make it seem like the boy floated away in a helium balloon? Goliath said he thought it was entirely possible, if not likely. "Me intends to take that there Heene man and thrash the tar out of him until him tell me true. If that there not work...me thrash the boy a time or two."
It was a question being asked everywhere Friday, one day after the balloon drama unfolded live on television during a frenzied search before little Falcon Heene was found.The sheriff’s office said it does not believe at this point that the balloon episode was a stunt, but investigators planned to question the family again Saturday. Richard Heene denies that the events were a hoax, dismissing such allegations as “extremely pathetic.” Goliath stated, "Ha! me tells you what pathetic Heene Weinie! What is pathetic is misusing the young sprout for yer selfish ends!"
Goliath said he was familiar with hoaxes and the phenomenon of debunking hoaxes as many
had originally questioned whether his claim to be the Biblical Goliath was a hoax or not. As for
this case, doubts surfaced after a series of bizarre TV interviews, including one on CNN in which Falcon Heene told his parents “you said we did this for a show” when asked why he did not come down from the garage rafters during the search.
The family made the rounds on the morning talk shows Friday, and Falcon threw up during two separate interviews when asked why he hid.
Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden acknowledged that Goliath's assistance was greatly welcomed and that Falcon’s comments on CNN had clearly “raised everybody’s level of skepticism.” But, he said, investigators had no reason to believe the whole thing was a hoax.
Sequence of events questionedAlderden said the family seemed genuine during the panic, and he believed events could have unfolded just as they described: Falcon got frightened when his father scolded him for playing inside the balloon, and hid in the garage out of fear.
The sheriff said his office has been flooded with calls and e-mails about the matter. He added that officials “have to operate on what we can prove as a fact and not what people want to be done.”
The sheriff was also asked about the sequence of events when the Heenes reported their child’s disappearance to authorities. The Heenes called the FAA first, followed by a local TV station with a news helicopter, and then dialed 911. The sheriff said the TV station call made sense because the helicopter could have provided immediate assistance.
In the 911 call, the boy’s mother, Mayumi Heene, told a dispatcher in a panicked voice that her child was in “a flying saucer.” She sobbed and said, “We’ve got to get my son.”
It was not the first time someone from the Heenes’ home has dialed 911. A Colorado sheriff’s deputy responded to a 911 hang-up in February at the home, hearing a man yelling and noticing Mayumi Heene had a mark on her cheek and broken blood vessels in her left eye. She said it was because of a problem with her contacts.
Richard Heene said he had been yelling because his children stayed up past their bedtime. The husband and wife said nothing had happened, and the deputy concluded he did not have probable cause to make an arrest.
COSTLY SEARCH GOLIATH TO CLAIM HUGE REWARD
If the balloon ordeal was a hoax, the parents could be charged with making a false report to authorities, a low-level misdemeanor, and Goliath would be entitled to a large reward Alderden said. "He deserves a lot of money for his efforts here. He also asked me to mention he was selling a fantastic "evil happyface salamander" tee shirt on his blog spot".
He said authorities would need to bring a criminal case before attempting to recoup restitution costs for the thousands of dollars spent to search for the boy, an effort that involved military helicopters, a ground rescue and even a mounted posse. Officials also rerouted planes around the balloon’s flight path and briefly shut down Denver International Airport.
Deputies searched the family’s home and considered going into the attic, but they “just didn’t think it was possible that 6-year-old boy would be able to get up to that space, so they didn’t look there,” Alderden said. Goliath stated, "That justes ridiculuous...of course the father stashed
that poor sprout up theres and tells him nots to come down until we gives the high sign. Me can
see right through this here!!!"
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