1
00:00:06,297 --> 00:00:07,340
[tense music plays]
2
00:00:07,424 --> 00:00:09,259
[dispatcher] 911,
what's your emergency?
3
00:00:09,342 --> 00:00:11,761
{\an8}[man 1 speaking]
4
00:00:11,845 --> 00:00:13,888
{\an8}-[dispatcher] Mm-hmm.
-[man 1 speaking]
7
00:00:14,389 --> 00:00:17,225
-[man 1] And, uh, it took off!
-[dramatic music plays]
8
00:00:17,308 --> 00:00:21,271
This is a very unusual situation
that is unfolding right now.
9
00:00:21,354 --> 00:00:25,358
It involves a home-built UFO
powered by helium.
10
00:00:25,442 --> 00:00:26,818
What the hell's going on?
11
00:00:26,901 --> 00:00:28,945
[chuckles] What is this thing?
12
00:00:29,029 --> 00:00:30,447
[man 2] My immediate response was,
13
00:00:30,530 --> 00:00:32,824
"You have to be jerking my bobber."
[chuckles]
14
00:00:32,907 --> 00:00:36,453
{\an8}[woman] It does have
the capability of going 10,000 feet.
15
00:00:36,536 --> 00:00:38,955
{\an8}It's so bizarre that you wanna laugh.
16
00:00:39,039 --> 00:00:40,957
[dispatcher] Okay, so what's wrong?
17
00:00:41,041 --> 00:00:43,251
[man 3] But then, all of a sudden,
it turns serious.
18
00:00:43,334 --> 00:00:44,711
[music swells, stops]
19
00:00:44,794 --> 00:00:47,797
[man 1 speaking and sobbing]
20
00:00:47,881 --> 00:00:48,715
[music resumes]
21
00:00:48,798 --> 00:00:49,924
-[tires squeal]
-[siren wails]
22
00:00:50,008 --> 00:00:52,469
[male reporter] Has there ever been
a situation like this?
23
00:00:52,552 --> 00:00:55,096
[man 4] I think that young man's in
for a heck of a ride.
24
00:00:55,180 --> 00:00:56,347
Holy cow.
25
00:00:56,431 --> 00:00:57,348
Oh my God.
26
00:00:57,932 --> 00:01:01,603
The first call that we got
to Sky9 came from the family's home.
27
00:01:01,686 --> 00:01:03,480
That sounds like the Heenes.
28
00:01:03,563 --> 00:01:06,900
-Three, two, one.
-[boy] Two, one.
29
00:01:06,983 --> 00:01:10,070
All I wanted to do was make
a really fantastic project for the kids.
30
00:01:10,153 --> 00:01:13,656
Mayumi! You didn't put
the… [bleep] …tether down!
31
00:01:13,740 --> 00:01:16,951
But what if my stupid experiment
kills my son?
32
00:01:17,035 --> 00:01:18,870
[reporters clamoring]
33
00:01:18,953 --> 00:01:23,166
[Mayumi] The reality was
so hard to accept.
34
00:01:23,249 --> 00:01:25,126
What have we done?
35
00:01:25,210 --> 00:01:29,380
[Kim Christiansen] It is like
a horrific version of the movie Up.
36
00:01:29,464 --> 00:01:33,343
I couldn't wrap my head around it.
It-- It really was like a science fiction.
37
00:01:34,177 --> 00:01:36,012
[man 3] The media starts digging in.
38
00:01:36,763 --> 00:01:37,847
Who are the Heenes?
39
00:01:37,931 --> 00:01:40,475
They're uncontrollable.
They're just, uh-- They're wild.
40
00:01:40,558 --> 00:01:43,520
[Kim] We just got confirmation
that this family had been featured
41
00:01:43,603 --> 00:01:45,897
on a reality show last year.
42
00:01:45,980 --> 00:01:47,065
Look at you, man!
43
00:01:47,607 --> 00:01:52,320
This family is crazy.
This dad should be arrested.
44
00:01:52,403 --> 00:01:54,614
Really, really focus on my voice.
45
00:01:54,697 --> 00:01:58,493
The motto at the sheriff's office is,
"You lie, you die."
46
00:01:58,993 --> 00:02:00,912
We're cutting this thing off, okay?
47
00:02:00,995 --> 00:02:05,500
Fuck those guys.
This is a tight-knit, loving family.
48
00:02:05,583 --> 00:02:07,043
[male reporter] He's at 100 feet.
49
00:02:07,127 --> 00:02:09,337
[man 3] We all thought
that once that balloon came down,
50
00:02:09,420 --> 00:02:10,839
this whole thing would be over.
51
00:02:10,922 --> 00:02:13,383
[suspenseful music builds, swells, fades]
52
00:02:13,466 --> 00:02:16,302
[voice breaking] It's supposed to be
a fun project.
53
00:02:17,137 --> 00:02:19,597
-[sniffles]
-But it was only just the beginning.
54
00:02:20,348 --> 00:02:22,642
[electronic whooshing]
55
00:02:22,725 --> 00:02:26,688
[distorted electric guitar note plays]
56
00:02:30,108 --> 00:02:31,109
[birds chirping]
57
00:02:31,192 --> 00:02:32,777
[pleasant music plays]
58
00:02:32,861 --> 00:02:35,405
[Richard Heene] In 2009,
we were living in Colorado,
59
00:02:35,488 --> 00:02:37,657
and we had moved there from California.
60
00:02:40,535 --> 00:02:41,744
[thunder cracks]
61
00:02:41,828 --> 00:02:46,040
We wanted to chase tornadoes
and do, uh, science research projects.
62
00:02:46,124 --> 00:02:47,375
[fuse crackling]
63
00:02:47,458 --> 00:02:50,211
[whooshing]
64
00:02:50,295 --> 00:02:54,382
{\an8}I have a very deep passion
for things that are unknown.
65
00:02:54,465 --> 00:02:56,050
[clicking rapidly]
66
00:02:56,134 --> 00:02:57,051
There it goes!
67
00:02:57,135 --> 00:02:59,012
-Yeah!
-[Mayumi] Congratulations!
68
00:02:59,095 --> 00:03:01,347
-How do you feel? [giggles]
-[Richard yells excitedly]
69
00:03:01,431 --> 00:03:04,475
{\an8}Our Heene family is very unique.
70
00:03:04,559 --> 00:03:05,727
[Falcon] Yeah! Look!
71
00:03:05,810 --> 00:03:07,145
[Mayumi] Falcon, six.
72
00:03:07,228 --> 00:03:09,189
-They're scissors.
-[Mayumi] Ryo, eight.
73
00:03:09,272 --> 00:03:11,399
-Strippers.
-[Mayumi] And Bradford is ten.
74
00:03:11,482 --> 00:03:14,235
We adventure together, build together.
75
00:03:15,069 --> 00:03:18,239
{\an8}-[intriguing music plays]
-We like to make sure we chase a thrill.
76
00:03:18,323 --> 00:03:21,242
{\an8}-[hail pattering]
-We're in the middle of Hurricane Gustav.
77
00:03:21,784 --> 00:03:24,871
-[hail thuds on window]
-[Richard] Oh my! Damn!
78
00:03:24,954 --> 00:03:28,416
{\an8}[Bradford] My dad was always making us
look up science experiments on YouTube.
79
00:03:28,499 --> 00:03:29,667
{\an8}[Richard] There we go! [gasps]
80
00:03:29,751 --> 00:03:31,794
{\an8}[Bradford] We were
super interested in UFOs.
81
00:03:32,462 --> 00:03:35,256
[electronic trilling]
82
00:03:37,383 --> 00:03:39,594
[Tina Chavez] We lived across
from the Heene house.
83
00:03:40,637 --> 00:03:44,557
{\an8}And Richard, just right from the jump,
just this big energy,
84
00:03:44,641 --> 00:03:47,560
{\an8}constantly pacing,
talking 100 miles an hour.
85
00:03:47,644 --> 00:03:49,771
But he was super smart.
86
00:03:49,854 --> 00:03:53,900
He could build anything.
He could put electrical things together.
87
00:03:53,983 --> 00:03:56,861
I always asked him and said,
"Are you from MIT or what?"
88
00:03:58,404 --> 00:04:02,242
[Tina] Our bedroom window
overlooked the Heenes' backyard.
89
00:04:06,204 --> 00:04:07,622
[Richard] All right, pull this off.
90
00:04:08,414 --> 00:04:13,002
[Dean] One time, I looked out the window
and noticed he was working on something.
91
00:04:13,086 --> 00:04:14,629
[Richard] Same thing we did last time.
92
00:04:14,712 --> 00:04:16,965
It really did look like a silver disk.
93
00:04:17,048 --> 00:04:19,133
-[Richard] Got it? Pull!
-[Bradford] Yup.
94
00:04:19,801 --> 00:04:26,724
My husband, Richard, always wanted
to build a flying saucer since 1979.
95
00:04:26,808 --> 00:04:27,642
[chuckles]
96
00:04:27,725 --> 00:04:31,688
I just thought, "What if everybody
could be flying around like The Jetsons?"
97
00:04:31,771 --> 00:04:33,773
[The Jetsons theme song plays]
98
00:04:34,941 --> 00:04:36,317
It would be just wonderful.
99
00:04:38,903 --> 00:04:41,864
Everybody could be pulling out
of their garage in flying saucers,
100
00:04:41,948 --> 00:04:43,324
going to school and work.
101
00:04:43,408 --> 00:04:45,702
And you wouldn't have all this traffic.
102
00:04:45,785 --> 00:04:48,788
[electronic whooshing and trilling]
103
00:04:49,580 --> 00:04:50,498
[ominous sting]
104
00:04:50,581 --> 00:04:52,292
[intriguing music plays]
105
00:04:52,375 --> 00:04:55,003
We started working on a flying saucer
106
00:04:55,086 --> 00:04:58,131
that was gonna be 20 feet across
and 6 feet tall.
107
00:05:02,468 --> 00:05:05,763
When he said, uh, "We're gonna try
to make, like, a flying saucer."
108
00:05:05,847 --> 00:05:08,141
And we're like,
"Oh fuck! That's fucking cool."
109
00:05:08,224 --> 00:05:12,729
Okay, Brad, take station A over here.
I mean, on B. I'll take number A.
110
00:05:12,812 --> 00:05:15,064
-[Bradford] Hurry up. Move.
-[Richard] Here we go.
111
00:05:15,148 --> 00:05:19,319
It took us two weeks
to assemble a whole flying saucer.
112
00:05:20,111 --> 00:05:21,112
Here we go.
113
00:05:22,113 --> 00:05:23,448
[Mayumi chuckles]
114
00:05:23,531 --> 00:05:25,074
-Pretty cool, huh?
-[Mayumi] Yeah.
115
00:05:25,158 --> 00:05:28,661
[Richard] We were hoping to do
the test launch on our anniversary.
116
00:05:29,370 --> 00:05:31,664
The concept is
to tether the flying saucer down,
117
00:05:31,748 --> 00:05:33,374
and let it hover at 20 feet.
118
00:05:34,292 --> 00:05:36,169
And we could observe
with the video cameras
119
00:05:36,252 --> 00:05:38,338
whether it's gonna move left or right
or up and down.
120
00:05:39,422 --> 00:05:40,423
Here we go.
121
00:05:41,257 --> 00:05:43,134
-What do you guys think?
-[boys giggle]
122
00:05:43,217 --> 00:05:44,302
[boy] Cool.
123
00:05:44,385 --> 00:05:47,847
[Richard] Underneath the flying saucer
is this compartment.
124
00:05:47,930 --> 00:05:49,682
Go, look in here.
125
00:05:49,766 --> 00:05:50,933
[Falcon] Can we go inside?
126
00:05:51,017 --> 00:05:53,019
[Richard] Uh, I don't think
that's a good idea.
127
00:05:53,561 --> 00:05:55,897
It was not designed
to have people go in it.
128
00:05:55,980 --> 00:05:59,400
It was a compartment that had
to have access to put the helium in it.
129
00:06:01,527 --> 00:06:04,364
[Bradford] My dad would make me video
pretty much every experiment,
130
00:06:05,239 --> 00:06:07,533
but, at the same time, like,
keep my brothers in check.
131
00:06:08,117 --> 00:06:10,370
-[Falcon] I'm inside!
-[Ryo] He's inside.
132
00:06:10,453 --> 00:06:12,705
[Bradford] Falcon was
pretty wild and chaotic.
133
00:06:12,789 --> 00:06:13,706
[Ryo] Falcon, out!
134
00:06:13,790 --> 00:06:16,376
[Mayumi] You are inside. Come on, get out.
135
00:06:17,001 --> 00:06:21,631
I don't wanna say a shit starter,
but, like, he's always getting into stuff.
136
00:06:21,714 --> 00:06:22,924
[Ryo] Get out!
137
00:06:23,007 --> 00:06:25,301
[Bradford] He'd be touching shit
he wasn't supposed to.
138
00:06:25,802 --> 00:06:29,180
He was super interested in hiding
in the bottom of the flying saucer.
139
00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:31,224
[Falcon giggles]
140
00:06:32,683 --> 00:06:34,310
[Mayumi chuckling] Sneaky!
141
00:06:38,564 --> 00:06:40,566
[adventurous music plays]
142
00:06:44,195 --> 00:06:47,407
So we're gonna put this on.
I need you to go take care of, um…
143
00:06:48,282 --> 00:06:50,910
-I need you to tether it down, okay?
-[Mayumi] Okay. All right.
144
00:06:51,661 --> 00:06:55,456
My main focus
was tie down the flying saucer,
145
00:06:56,165 --> 00:06:57,917
so it's gonna be secure.
146
00:06:58,626 --> 00:07:01,045
[Richard] So I guess
I'll bring the bottles out.
147
00:07:01,712 --> 00:07:03,881
-[clanks]
-We got the helium hose hooked up.
148
00:07:03,965 --> 00:07:04,799
It's filling up.
149
00:07:05,550 --> 00:07:07,677
-[boys giggle]
-Look at this. It's working.
150
00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:09,220
-It's getting puffy.
-[Mayumi laughs]
151
00:07:09,303 --> 00:07:12,640
-Yeah, Mom. Is this, like, the best?
-[chuckles] Yeah.
152
00:07:12,723 --> 00:07:15,226
-[Richard] Huh?
-I'm like a kid now.
153
00:07:15,309 --> 00:07:16,310
[laughing] Yay!
154
00:07:17,270 --> 00:07:20,064
[Richard] This is the moment
we've been waiting for.
155
00:07:20,148 --> 00:07:24,402
-Here we go. Three, two, one.
-[Mayumi] Two, one.
156
00:07:25,445 --> 00:07:26,446
[Richard] I pull the pin.
157
00:07:26,529 --> 00:07:28,781
-[Ryo] Whoa!
-[Richard] Oh my God.
158
00:07:28,865 --> 00:07:31,409
I'm watching this,
and here's-- here it is.
159
00:07:31,492 --> 00:07:33,244
I mean, this is it at 20 feet.
160
00:07:33,327 --> 00:07:34,662
[adventurous music swells]
161
00:07:34,745 --> 00:07:35,997
[ominous music plays]
162
00:07:36,080 --> 00:07:37,748
[shouting] Mayumi, the tethers!
163
00:07:37,832 --> 00:07:38,666
[Mayumi] What?!
164
00:07:38,749 --> 00:07:40,960
-You didn't put the fucking tether down!
-I did!
165
00:07:41,043 --> 00:07:42,253
-[grunts]
-I did!
166
00:07:42,336 --> 00:07:44,422
-No. No.
-[tense music playing]
167
00:07:45,298 --> 00:07:46,340
It wasn't 20 feet.
168
00:07:46,424 --> 00:07:49,760
The tethers, like, snapped,
and it took off.
169
00:07:49,844 --> 00:07:53,264
It keeps going up, going up.
170
00:07:54,140 --> 00:07:56,476
-[Richard] Why didn't you tie it down?
-[Mayumi] I did!
171
00:07:56,559 --> 00:07:59,187
[Richard] I was so fucking pissed.
172
00:07:59,687 --> 00:08:02,398
It was hundreds of dollars… gone.
173
00:08:03,191 --> 00:08:06,235
As I was recording, I remember
looking around and not seeing Falcon.
174
00:08:06,319 --> 00:08:07,945
[Bradford] Dad! Dad!
175
00:08:08,029 --> 00:08:11,866
And I kept trying to tell him
that Falcon was in the flying saucer.
176
00:08:11,949 --> 00:08:13,493
-Jesus Christ!
-Falcon was in there.
177
00:08:13,576 --> 00:08:14,785
Falcon was in the ship.
178
00:08:14,869 --> 00:08:17,455
And I was, like, super fucking scared.
179
00:08:17,538 --> 00:08:19,123
Like, that's my brother.
180
00:08:19,207 --> 00:08:21,959
This shit's taken off,
and there's nothing you can do.
181
00:08:22,043 --> 00:08:24,128
-Dad, Falcon's in there.
-[Richard] Where?
182
00:08:24,212 --> 00:08:26,714
-[Bradford] In the ship!
-[Richard] He was just here.
183
00:08:26,797 --> 00:08:28,466
[Bradford] No, he's in there!
184
00:08:29,175 --> 00:08:31,802
-[Richard and Mayumi] What?!
-[Bradford] I saw him crawl in.
185
00:08:31,886 --> 00:08:34,639
-[Richard] No, he's not. He was just here.
-[Bradford] Yeah.
186
00:08:34,722 --> 00:08:36,182
Wait a minute. Where is Falcon?
187
00:08:36,682 --> 00:08:38,392
[unsettling sting]
188
00:08:38,476 --> 00:08:41,521
I'm running around the yard.
I go towards the garage.
189
00:08:41,604 --> 00:08:42,438
Falcon!
190
00:08:42,522 --> 00:08:43,481
He's always hiding.
191
00:08:43,564 --> 00:08:44,649
-Falcon!
-[Mayumi] No!
192
00:08:44,732 --> 00:08:47,068
[Richard] I go inside the house.
I'm shouting.
193
00:08:47,151 --> 00:08:48,569
Maybe he went to the bathroom.
194
00:08:48,653 --> 00:08:51,948
I'm running through the living room.
I go upstairs. I'm shouting for him.
195
00:08:52,031 --> 00:08:53,115
-Falcon!
-[door opens]
196
00:08:53,199 --> 00:08:57,828
[Mayumi] And the more we visit
every place he could be in…
197
00:08:57,912 --> 00:09:01,541
[voice breaking] …is, "This is out.
This is out. This is out."
198
00:09:01,624 --> 00:09:02,500
[whimpers]
199
00:09:03,918 --> 00:09:05,461
What have we done?
200
00:09:05,962 --> 00:09:07,380
[eerie music plays]
201
00:09:07,463 --> 00:09:09,465
[Dean] I heard
all the screaming and yelling
202
00:09:09,549 --> 00:09:11,425
and the chaos in their backyard.
203
00:09:12,593 --> 00:09:14,720
My son, Brennan, he ran back, he says,
204
00:09:14,804 --> 00:09:19,392
"Dad, they said Falcon got in the balloon,
and it took off."
205
00:09:19,892 --> 00:09:22,353
And my heart started to beat
through my chest.
206
00:09:22,436 --> 00:09:25,022
I was getting very frantic, you know?
207
00:09:25,106 --> 00:09:27,483
And I was like,
"Okay, this cannot be happening."
208
00:09:29,902 --> 00:09:32,863
[Richard] All I could think about was,
"Oh my God."
209
00:09:33,364 --> 00:09:36,367
"The winds were taking him straight
to an airport."
210
00:09:36,450 --> 00:09:38,953
"He's headed straight for air traffic."
211
00:09:40,329 --> 00:09:42,123
I thought, "I gotta call the FAA."
212
00:09:43,624 --> 00:09:45,626
I get on the phone, and I told them,
213
00:09:45,710 --> 00:09:48,129
"I think my son's
in this experimental flying saucer."
214
00:09:48,212 --> 00:09:51,382
And then she told me,
"Well, if you've got an emergency,
215
00:09:51,465 --> 00:09:53,509
then you need to dial 911."
216
00:09:54,510 --> 00:09:56,429
So I called 911.
217
00:09:56,971 --> 00:09:59,056
-[dispatcher speaks]
-[Richard speaks]
218
00:09:59,140 --> 00:10:00,433
[dispatcher speaks]
219
00:10:01,058 --> 00:10:04,061
-[Richard speaks]
-[dispatcher] Okay.
220
00:10:04,145 --> 00:10:05,646
[Richard speaks]
221
00:10:06,188 --> 00:10:07,440
[dispatcher speaks]
222
00:10:08,232 --> 00:10:11,652
The operator asked me to get on the phone,
223
00:10:11,736 --> 00:10:15,448
so she could verify
what he was saying to her.
224
00:10:15,531 --> 00:10:18,284
She asked me
the same question over and over.
225
00:10:18,868 --> 00:10:20,786
[dispatcher speaks]
226
00:10:20,870 --> 00:10:21,746
[Mayumi] Yes.
227
00:10:21,829 --> 00:10:23,664
[Mayumi speaks]
228
00:10:23,748 --> 00:10:29,837
You heard him. Why I need to explain?
Please put somebody on it.
229
00:10:29,920 --> 00:10:32,131
[Mayumi sobbing]
230
00:10:32,214 --> 00:10:33,466
[Mayumi speaks]
231
00:10:33,549 --> 00:10:34,425
[Mayumi sobs]
232
00:10:34,508 --> 00:10:36,135
[voice breaking] Why you don't get it?
233
00:10:36,218 --> 00:10:38,846
-[siren wails intermittently]
-[ominous music plays]
234
00:10:41,807 --> 00:10:43,643
[Bob Heffernan]
I'm sitting in my patrol car,
235
00:10:44,393 --> 00:10:47,438
about to get off duty
before going on an elk hunt…
236
00:10:47,521 --> 00:10:48,898
-[radio beeps]
-[dispatcher speaks]
237
00:10:48,981 --> 00:10:51,567
…when I started hearing
cracklings over the radio
238
00:10:51,651 --> 00:10:54,236
{\an8}of a missing six-year-old boy
239
00:10:54,320 --> 00:10:57,948
{\an8}that supposedly went up
in a flying saucer,
240
00:10:58,032 --> 00:11:01,327
{\an8}and I'm thinking,
"What in the world's going on here?"
241
00:11:01,410 --> 00:11:02,953
-[sirens wailing]
-[tense music plays]
242
00:11:03,037 --> 00:11:05,873
So I got to the Heene house
as soon as I could.
243
00:11:07,083 --> 00:11:09,710
Richard and Mayumi were very distraught.
244
00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:14,465
We conducted
a very thorough search of the home.
245
00:11:15,091 --> 00:11:17,968
Not only did we do it a second time,
we did it a third time.
246
00:11:18,052 --> 00:11:19,428
[camera shutter clicking]
247
00:11:19,512 --> 00:11:22,264
Plus, there was other people
searching for other possibilities
248
00:11:22,348 --> 00:11:24,934
of where the child may be, um,
249
00:11:25,434 --> 00:11:28,979
but I started to have
this gut-wrenching thought of,
250
00:11:29,772 --> 00:11:31,816
"Man, this could be really bad."
251
00:11:31,899 --> 00:11:33,275
[music fades]
252
00:11:33,359 --> 00:11:35,695
{\an8}I'm Kim Christiansen.
We'll get to the economy in a moment,
253
00:11:35,778 --> 00:11:39,949
{\an8}but, first, some breaking news
about a very unusual situation.
254
00:11:40,032 --> 00:11:41,575
It involves a child
255
00:11:41,659 --> 00:11:44,870
and a home-built aircraft
in the shape of a UFO,
256
00:11:44,954 --> 00:11:46,414
powered by helium.
257
00:11:46,497 --> 00:11:48,958
-[timer beeping]
-[tense string music plays]
258
00:11:49,041 --> 00:11:51,877
The child's father actually called
our information center in a panic,
259
00:11:51,961 --> 00:11:53,963
asking if we would launch our helicopter.
260
00:11:54,046 --> 00:11:55,673
[dramatic sting]
261
00:11:55,756 --> 00:11:59,844
[Jimmy Negri] The news director told me
that we needed to find this flying saucer
262
00:11:59,927 --> 00:12:01,929
that has a six-year-old boy in it.
263
00:12:02,638 --> 00:12:07,810
I was just in shock and awe
and ran to the airport as fast as I could.
264
00:12:07,893 --> 00:12:10,980
{\an8}And we take off like crazy,
flying southeast,
265
00:12:11,063 --> 00:12:14,150
{\an8}to try to find
this poor little boy in this craft.
266
00:12:15,484 --> 00:12:19,530
{\an8}We're just out in the middle of nowhere,
looking for a spot in the sky.
267
00:12:20,114 --> 00:12:23,409
{\an8}-[male reporter] There. Oh! We passed it.
-[Kim] We thought we saw it.
268
00:12:23,492 --> 00:12:24,952
{\an8}I think we're getting back to it.
269
00:12:25,035 --> 00:12:27,913
{\an8}[reporter] Up and right. There you are.
Oh! You went past it.
270
00:12:27,997 --> 00:12:29,915
{\an8}-[Kim] There it is.
-[hopeful music plays]
271
00:12:29,999 --> 00:12:33,919
{\an8}[Negri] Finally, finally. Sorry, guys,
it's been a needle in a haystack here,
272
00:12:34,003 --> 00:12:36,088
{\an8}but we've tracked it now, and it's, uh…
273
00:12:36,172 --> 00:12:40,718
{\an8}If you'll be patient with me for a moment,
I'll zoom in. Maybe see the child in here.
274
00:12:40,801 --> 00:12:42,553
{\an8}When I first see it,
275
00:12:42,636 --> 00:12:43,971
{\an8}it's at like 10,000 feet,
276
00:12:44,847 --> 00:12:45,931
{\an8}but it's cooking.
277
00:12:46,015 --> 00:12:48,809
{\an8}It's blowing as fast
as the winds will blow it.
278
00:12:51,020 --> 00:12:53,564
{\an8}Now, I'm even more afraid
because it's real,
279
00:12:53,647 --> 00:12:55,566
{\an8}and all we can do is shoot a picture.
280
00:12:56,400 --> 00:12:58,319
{\an8}You know, you're watching a NASCAR wreck,
281
00:12:58,402 --> 00:13:00,988
{\an8}and there ain't a doggone thing
you can do about it.
282
00:13:01,071 --> 00:13:03,073
{\an8}[suspenseful music playing]
283
00:13:05,075 --> 00:13:07,286
{\an8}I am watching the TV
284
00:13:07,369 --> 00:13:12,416
{\an8}when MSNBC breaks
into a Barack Obama town hall.
285
00:13:12,500 --> 00:13:15,169
{\an8}Um, I'm gonna ask all three of you
to hang on just a minute
286
00:13:15,252 --> 00:13:18,172
{\an8}because we have
rather an incredible breaking news story
287
00:13:18,255 --> 00:13:19,840
{\an8}that we're following right now.
288
00:13:19,924 --> 00:13:22,968
[man 3] I thought, "Wait a minute.
What's going on here?"
289
00:13:23,803 --> 00:13:27,807
It looks like
this Jiffy Pop popcorn-type thing
290
00:13:27,890 --> 00:13:29,975
floating across the-- the sky.
291
00:13:31,101 --> 00:13:34,271
{\an8}As a journalist, I am looking at this,
292
00:13:34,355 --> 00:13:37,233
{\an8}and I'm thinking,
"You couldn't even make it up."
293
00:13:37,316 --> 00:13:40,069
{\an8}[male reporter] Vinny, our floor director,
said he thought he saw
294
00:13:40,152 --> 00:13:42,112
{\an8}a small arm sticking out of there.
295
00:13:42,196 --> 00:13:45,157
{\an8}[Robert] It's like this train wreck
right in front of you.
296
00:13:45,241 --> 00:13:46,909
It's so horrifying.
297
00:13:46,992 --> 00:13:49,036
And then everybody broke
into their programming.
298
00:13:49,620 --> 00:13:53,624
{\an8}[Kim] It is like
a horrific version of the movie Up.
299
00:13:53,707 --> 00:13:58,045
{\an8}They saw the door was unlocked
and that when it took off that the boy…
300
00:13:58,128 --> 00:14:03,050
{\an8}I'm flipping through the channels,
and this has gone from a hyper-local story
301
00:14:03,133 --> 00:14:05,886
{\an8}-to ABC, NBC, CBS…
-[speaking indistinctly]
302
00:14:05,970 --> 00:14:08,097
{\an8}…CNN, Fox News.
303
00:14:08,180 --> 00:14:11,183
An incredible drama
playing out on live television.
304
00:14:11,267 --> 00:14:12,935
Everyone starts covering this thing.
305
00:14:13,018 --> 00:14:16,772
These pictures are coming to us from KUSA.
We're getting them right now on the fly.
306
00:14:16,856 --> 00:14:17,857
This is all live.
307
00:14:17,940 --> 00:14:20,609
There's only one compartment.
And he's just breathing in helium.
308
00:14:20,693 --> 00:14:21,777
He could get asphyxiated.
309
00:14:21,861 --> 00:14:23,362
The story completely blew up.
310
00:14:23,445 --> 00:14:25,447
[dramatic music plays]
311
00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:28,242
[text messages chiming]
312
00:14:30,369 --> 00:14:33,455
{\an8}[female reporter 1] We also know
the Colorado National Guard is involved.
313
00:14:33,539 --> 00:14:36,292
And this is
kind of an Apollo 13 situation.
314
00:14:36,917 --> 00:14:37,751
[music stops]
315
00:14:37,835 --> 00:14:39,920
[Robert] I'm worried,
"Is the kid gonna fall out?"
316
00:14:40,004 --> 00:14:44,967
"Are we gonna watch
a small child die on national TV?"
317
00:14:45,050 --> 00:14:47,011
[timer beeping]
318
00:14:47,094 --> 00:14:50,556
[male reporter] Police say Richard Heene
is inside the house right now.
319
00:14:50,639 --> 00:14:53,559
The Larimer County Sheriff's Office
is also on hand.
320
00:14:54,727 --> 00:14:57,730
[Dean] We've seen
all the different media vans pull up.
321
00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:00,900
Reporters were walking the neighborhood.
322
00:15:01,901 --> 00:15:04,528
They'd come up to our house
and knock on our door.
323
00:15:04,612 --> 00:15:06,697
"Can we get a statement?"
"No, you can't." You know.
324
00:15:08,574 --> 00:15:10,075
[Richard] We couldn't afford cable.
325
00:15:10,576 --> 00:15:12,828
So I was in the dark
as to what was going on.
326
00:15:13,579 --> 00:15:15,497
But one of the cops
told me I gotta stay put.
327
00:15:15,998 --> 00:15:19,001
[impatiently] And I'm like,
"I can't just stand here and do nothing."
328
00:15:19,084 --> 00:15:21,378
I needed to know
what the hell was going on.
329
00:15:22,046 --> 00:15:25,299
You know, there was a thousand things
going through my mind,
330
00:15:25,382 --> 00:15:27,009
and I really felt helpless.
331
00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:31,722
"Oh my God, what are we gonna do?"
You know. "Is he gonna be safe?"
332
00:15:31,805 --> 00:15:34,391
-[phone ringing]
-[suspenseful music playing]
333
00:15:34,475 --> 00:15:37,645
That's when we received
the report of a neighbor
334
00:15:37,728 --> 00:15:42,232
claiming she had taken photographs
of something falling from the spaceship.
335
00:15:43,484 --> 00:15:44,985
[camera shutter clicks]
336
00:15:47,363 --> 00:15:50,783
[voice breaking] They are not sure,
but it could be Falcon.
337
00:15:53,869 --> 00:15:56,705
[Bob] It isn't the--
the best-quality photo,
338
00:15:56,789 --> 00:15:58,707
and it could be a bird,
339
00:15:58,791 --> 00:16:02,878
but we have to assume
that there's some credibility to it.
340
00:16:02,962 --> 00:16:04,046
[music fades]
341
00:16:04,672 --> 00:16:06,507
How do you deal with that? It's like…
342
00:16:06,590 --> 00:16:09,718
What if one of my stupid experiments
killed my son?
343
00:16:13,430 --> 00:16:15,933
-[timer beeping]
-[suspenseful music plays]
344
00:16:16,016 --> 00:16:19,853
[female reporter] It's clear that
the helium is leaving at a quicker rate.
345
00:16:19,937 --> 00:16:21,563
{\an8}He'll be descending more quickly,
346
00:16:21,647 --> 00:16:26,235
{\an8}and, um, um, this is-- I don't know
how much longer he'll stay in the air.
347
00:16:27,653 --> 00:16:30,698
[Brian Willie] I'm on this road,
and Jimmy, the pilot of Sky9,
348
00:16:30,781 --> 00:16:34,034
{\an8}told me that I should be
just underneath it at any moment.
349
00:16:35,202 --> 00:16:39,498
When I finally see it,
my heart's pumping because it's deflating,
350
00:16:39,581 --> 00:16:42,001
and I can see
that it's deflating and lowering.
351
00:16:43,419 --> 00:16:46,296
[female reporter 1] And as you can see,
it's losing a lot of helium.
352
00:16:46,380 --> 00:16:47,631
[Brian] I have no idea
353
00:16:47,715 --> 00:16:50,217
how long it's gonna be in the air
or where it's going.
354
00:16:50,801 --> 00:16:52,886
And I had an eight-year-old son,
at the time,
355
00:16:52,970 --> 00:16:57,141
and I just keep thinking about
what I would be going through as a dad.
356
00:16:57,224 --> 00:17:02,271
[male reporter 1] It is clearly losing
a tremendous amount of gas. Yes.
357
00:17:02,354 --> 00:17:05,315
[male reporter 2] I think
he's less than 200 feet off the ground.
358
00:17:05,399 --> 00:17:08,152
{\an8}[male reporter 3] He's going down.
He's at 100 feet. This is ending.
359
00:17:08,235 --> 00:17:10,404
[gravel crunching under tires]
360
00:17:10,487 --> 00:17:14,366
[Brian] I jump out, grab my camera,
and I just start running.
361
00:17:18,287 --> 00:17:21,790
[male reporter 1] He's coming down now.
Here it goes. Yeah, he's coming down now.
362
00:17:23,417 --> 00:17:27,046
-Very softly. Very softly.
-[male reporter 4] Look at that.
363
00:17:27,755 --> 00:17:28,922
[male reporter 1] Oh my God.
364
00:17:30,466 --> 00:17:31,675
[Brian] As the balloon lands,
365
00:17:31,759 --> 00:17:36,221
I'm now the only person on the ground
that is live with video.
366
00:17:36,305 --> 00:17:38,474
[tense music playing]
367
00:17:38,557 --> 00:17:40,309
[reporter 1] It's ended,
and it's ended well.
368
00:17:40,392 --> 00:17:43,353
{\an8}All we need to know is,
"How is little Falcon Heene?"
369
00:17:43,437 --> 00:17:44,980
{\an8}[female reporter 2] And that's all.
370
00:17:45,981 --> 00:17:48,525
[Brian] The first responders
are poking holes in it,
371
00:17:48,609 --> 00:17:49,777
they're searching through it.
372
00:17:49,860 --> 00:17:53,530
They turn it over,
and they're looking for the door.
373
00:17:54,907 --> 00:17:56,992
And I have to report what's going on.
374
00:17:57,076 --> 00:17:58,786
[man] Find the door on this thing.
375
00:17:58,869 --> 00:17:59,745
[music fades]
376
00:17:59,828 --> 00:18:02,498
{\an8}[reporter 1] Brian, what are you seeing
there next to the balloon?
377
00:18:02,581 --> 00:18:05,834
{\an8}[Brian] Well, I've got, uh,
some information
378
00:18:05,918 --> 00:18:09,755
{\an8}that, um, I'm not quite sure
how to-- how to say,
379
00:18:09,838 --> 00:18:14,301
{\an8}but, uh, I don't believe that they found
anybody, uh, with this balloon.
380
00:18:14,384 --> 00:18:16,136
-[reporter 2] Oh my goodness.
-[Brian] Um…
381
00:18:16,220 --> 00:18:17,721
I don't, uh…
382
00:18:18,263 --> 00:18:20,641
[microphone crackling]
383
00:18:21,183 --> 00:18:23,060
[Brian inhales, sighs]
384
00:18:23,143 --> 00:18:26,313
{\an8}[male reporter] Apparently, KUSA,
their photojournalist is on the scene,
385
00:18:26,396 --> 00:18:29,817
{\an8}he's saying that there was nobody
in, uh, this compartment.
386
00:18:30,526 --> 00:18:35,823
{\an8}It was gut-wrenching, telling the world
that there was no boy in this balloon.
387
00:18:35,906 --> 00:18:37,199
[gloomy music playing]
388
00:18:41,120 --> 00:18:47,918
I was expecting, "It's landed.
We found him. He was safe."
389
00:18:51,505 --> 00:18:53,340
Then where is he? Did he fall out?
390
00:18:57,177 --> 00:18:59,179
There's no way he-- he would be alive.
391
00:19:03,183 --> 00:19:07,062
Take Lewis with you, um, and start at 36.
392
00:19:07,146 --> 00:19:09,022
[Bob] The ground search was underway,
393
00:19:09,106 --> 00:19:12,943
and we were hoping
that we would be able to find Falcon
394
00:19:13,569 --> 00:19:15,612
somewhere along the flight path.
395
00:19:17,781 --> 00:19:20,742
[Dean] They had to go back
over the whole 55 miles.
396
00:19:21,493 --> 00:19:23,537
We thought, "Okay, you know,
397
00:19:23,620 --> 00:19:26,039
we're getting ready
to have a community funeral."
398
00:19:32,421 --> 00:19:34,423
[music ends]
399
00:19:37,968 --> 00:19:39,178
[beeps]
400
00:19:39,261 --> 00:19:41,013
[Bob] I'm standing in the kitchen.
401
00:19:41,513 --> 00:19:44,516
All of a sudden,
I started hearing commotion, screaming.
402
00:19:45,559 --> 00:19:47,060
I didn't know what was going on.
403
00:19:47,144 --> 00:19:52,357
I… don't know if they had gotten word
that I hadn't gotten or what.
404
00:19:52,441 --> 00:19:54,276
[tense piano notes playing slowly]
405
00:19:55,235 --> 00:19:57,779
At first, I couldn't even believe it.
406
00:19:57,863 --> 00:19:58,989
[inhales sharply]
407
00:19:59,072 --> 00:20:01,575
And, then, look again.
408
00:20:01,658 --> 00:20:03,243
I just remember turning around.
409
00:20:03,952 --> 00:20:05,204
Oh my God.
410
00:20:05,287 --> 00:20:07,289
Falcon! [laughs]
411
00:20:07,372 --> 00:20:09,333
-You're home!
-[uplifting music plays]
412
00:20:09,416 --> 00:20:11,793
I can still see him, in my-- in my head,
413
00:20:11,877 --> 00:20:14,588
little, small six-year-old Falcon
standing there.
414
00:20:14,671 --> 00:20:15,839
[music intensifies]
415
00:20:15,923 --> 00:20:19,343
[Mayumi] Richard rushed out to him
and hugged him.
416
00:20:21,053 --> 00:20:24,765
[laughing] And then
we didn't leave him alone anymore.
417
00:20:24,848 --> 00:20:30,562
I couldn't believe it.
It was the greatest surprise I ever had.
418
00:20:35,609 --> 00:20:37,194
[music ends]
419
00:20:39,571 --> 00:20:41,782
[Falcon] I was very confused
at the reaction.
420
00:20:42,866 --> 00:20:46,119
I'm just like, "Hey, Mom, I'm hungry."
421
00:20:46,203 --> 00:20:49,665
And they're just, like, freaking out.
They're like, "Oh!"
422
00:20:49,748 --> 00:20:53,418
He said, "Why are you guys crying?"
423
00:20:53,502 --> 00:20:55,254
[laughing] Something like that.
424
00:20:56,004 --> 00:20:59,424
I said, "Man, you really had us worried.
Where the hell were you?"
425
00:21:00,175 --> 00:21:04,179
When Falcon tells us where,
I couldn't believe it.
426
00:21:04,263 --> 00:21:05,597
[tense music plays]
427
00:21:05,681 --> 00:21:07,683
[Falcon speaking indistinctly]
428
00:21:08,809 --> 00:21:11,937
[Falcon] On that day, I was trying
to sneak in the flying saucer
429
00:21:12,020 --> 00:21:15,107
because, well, it's a flying saucer.
430
00:21:15,190 --> 00:21:16,483
It's really cool.
431
00:21:17,526 --> 00:21:20,112
[Falcon grunting and giggling]
432
00:21:20,195 --> 00:21:23,156
There's a little compartment there
that is perfect for my size.
433
00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:25,033
I wanted to live in there, you know?
434
00:21:25,742 --> 00:21:28,036
[Richard] Falcon, get out now! Come here!
435
00:21:29,162 --> 00:21:32,291
What the hell are you doing?
Get outta there now!
436
00:21:33,625 --> 00:21:36,086
[Falcon] Once he yelled at me a few times,
I was scared.
437
00:21:36,169 --> 00:21:38,839
And I was like, "You know what?
I'm just not gonna be here."
438
00:21:38,922 --> 00:21:43,135
And then I remember wanting
to go inside and just chill out for a bit.
439
00:21:43,885 --> 00:21:46,138
I made my way through the house
440
00:21:46,221 --> 00:21:50,350
up to my new hiding spot,
the garage attic.
441
00:21:50,434 --> 00:21:51,435
[snoring]
442
00:21:51,518 --> 00:21:56,064
I just chilled there for a while,
and then I got bored, fell asleep.
443
00:21:56,148 --> 00:21:57,774
[suspenseful music playing]
444
00:21:57,858 --> 00:22:00,986
And then it wasn't until I woke up later
445
00:22:01,069 --> 00:22:05,115
that I started hearing weird noises,
like people or cars, maybe.
446
00:22:05,699 --> 00:22:11,246
Then, eventually, I succumbed
to my hunger and… boredom.
447
00:22:11,330 --> 00:22:13,206
And then I walked down there,
and I'm like,
448
00:22:13,290 --> 00:22:16,543
"Holy, there's a lot of people here.
This is crazy."
449
00:22:16,626 --> 00:22:17,669
[indistinct radio chatter]
450
00:22:17,753 --> 00:22:20,922
I literally could not get past
all the legs and stuff.
451
00:22:22,132 --> 00:22:24,217
And then one guy's like, "Who are you?"
452
00:22:24,301 --> 00:22:25,552
-[music stops]
-[laughs]
453
00:22:25,635 --> 00:22:28,388
We have, uh, got breaking news tonight.
454
00:22:29,181 --> 00:22:32,517
The, uh, child has been found alive.
455
00:22:32,601 --> 00:22:35,520
The six-year-old boy
was never in the balloon.
456
00:22:35,604 --> 00:22:37,314
He was in the house.
457
00:22:37,397 --> 00:22:39,399
{\an8}[texts chiming]
458
00:22:41,568 --> 00:22:43,070
{\an8}[Robert] He was at the house?
459
00:22:44,821 --> 00:22:47,866
You had police searching the entire house,
460
00:22:47,949 --> 00:22:50,160
and they couldn't find a six-year-old boy?
461
00:22:50,243 --> 00:22:51,953
[disorienting sting]
462
00:22:52,871 --> 00:22:54,915
[Bob] I know that is a priority
463
00:22:54,998 --> 00:22:58,293
each and every time
we have a missing child case,
464
00:22:58,377 --> 00:23:01,922
is search the home,
search the home, search the home.
465
00:23:02,506 --> 00:23:05,300
And I had thought we had done it.
466
00:23:05,842 --> 00:23:08,929
I thought we had done it
thorough enough, um,
467
00:23:09,721 --> 00:23:11,598
but obviously we hadn't.
468
00:23:11,681 --> 00:23:13,683
[tense drumbeat plays]
469
00:23:16,061 --> 00:23:18,563
-[reporters clamoring]
-[camera shutters clicking]
470
00:23:20,107 --> 00:23:24,486
[Robert] You can just imagine
the calls going out from producers saying,
471
00:23:24,569 --> 00:23:26,905
"You need to get to this house right now."
472
00:23:26,988 --> 00:23:28,031
[honking horn]
473
00:23:28,115 --> 00:23:31,993
So you have cars
flooding this neighborhood,
474
00:23:32,661 --> 00:23:35,205
and journalists going up
to the Heenes' front door
475
00:23:35,288 --> 00:23:38,542
and trying to get an interview,
but the Heenes are not talking.
476
00:23:38,625 --> 00:23:40,585
[man speaking indistinctly]
477
00:23:41,920 --> 00:23:44,381
[Jim] Our press information officer
approached me and said,
478
00:23:44,464 --> 00:23:46,800
"Sheriff, this is bigger
than I can handle."
479
00:23:46,883 --> 00:23:48,552
"Would you take it over?"
480
00:23:48,635 --> 00:23:50,554
[dramatic music playing]
481
00:23:50,637 --> 00:23:56,435
Sometimes the man at top
just has to, uh, man up and-- and do it.
482
00:23:57,060 --> 00:24:00,814
Authorities still don't know for sure
whether he was ever inside the balloon,
483
00:24:00,897 --> 00:24:03,024
although his, uh, brothers
who are outdoors…
484
00:24:03,108 --> 00:24:05,735
[Jim] I met Richard,
Mayumi, and the children,
485
00:24:06,361 --> 00:24:10,615
and Richard decided that he wanted
to go out and address the media.
486
00:24:12,242 --> 00:24:14,453
[Richard] I did not wanna talk
to the press,
487
00:24:14,536 --> 00:24:15,454
but they told me,
488
00:24:15,537 --> 00:24:17,914
"If you don't talk to them,
give them something,
489
00:24:18,790 --> 00:24:20,792
they'll follow you around for two weeks."
490
00:24:21,334 --> 00:24:24,004
And I thought, "Oh my fucking God."
491
00:24:26,131 --> 00:24:28,258
I said, "Well, can you come out with me?"
492
00:24:31,219 --> 00:24:33,013
This is Richard, the father.
493
00:24:33,096 --> 00:24:36,725
He's, obviously, a little, uh, intimidated
with all these cameras and stuff,
494
00:24:36,808 --> 00:24:38,185
so be gentle, all right?
495
00:24:38,268 --> 00:24:41,480
[Richard] So I had to transition
from all that crap that just happened.
496
00:24:42,147 --> 00:24:45,150
I tried to… have a good composure.
497
00:24:45,233 --> 00:24:47,194
I really, really wanna thank
498
00:24:47,277 --> 00:24:49,779
the local police department
of Larimer County.
499
00:24:49,863 --> 00:24:52,282
But all I wanted to do
was run back in the house.
500
00:24:52,365 --> 00:24:56,703
I wanna thank the news helicopters
that were helping out in the search.
501
00:24:56,786 --> 00:25:01,249
It was weird because they were rung out,
but they also seemed kind of disconnected.
502
00:25:01,333 --> 00:25:03,251
Okay, uh, any other questions?
503
00:25:04,294 --> 00:25:05,587
We needed our time.
504
00:25:06,296 --> 00:25:10,550
I needed to cherish the time with my son
after what just happened.
505
00:25:12,010 --> 00:25:15,013
But people kept pushing me
and pushing me and pushing me.
506
00:25:15,096 --> 00:25:18,016
You know, "Go do this interview.
Go do that."
507
00:25:20,810 --> 00:25:23,396
So I agreed to this one producer,
508
00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:27,067
"Yeah, fine,
I'll do the show, uh, for Larry King."
509
00:25:27,150 --> 00:25:28,902
-[tense music plays]
-[timer beeps]
510
00:25:29,528 --> 00:25:31,238
It was set to be in the evening.
511
00:25:32,572 --> 00:25:36,535
Camera guys, sound guys walked in,
directors, producers.
512
00:25:37,327 --> 00:25:42,290
I said, "Richard, when you go
on Larry King, it's worldwide."
513
00:25:42,874 --> 00:25:46,127
And he was like,
"It's okay, we can handle it."
514
00:25:47,254 --> 00:25:48,588
[Richard] I felt nervous.
515
00:25:49,214 --> 00:25:51,550
My kids were confused.
516
00:25:52,175 --> 00:25:56,054
But I felt a sense of, uh, pressure
that I had to keep going.
517
00:25:56,930 --> 00:25:57,806
Not only that…
518
00:25:57,889 --> 00:26:00,016
[sputtering] …it was live television.
519
00:26:00,100 --> 00:26:01,309
[theme music plays]
520
00:26:02,978 --> 00:26:05,564
We wanna welcome our viewers
in the US and around the world.
521
00:26:05,647 --> 00:26:07,691
{\an8}I'm Wolf Blitzer
sitting in for Larry tonight.
522
00:26:07,774 --> 00:26:10,902
{\an8}Wanna go right out
to Fort Collins, uh, Colorado.
523
00:26:10,986 --> 00:26:13,321
{\an8}I don't know if Falcon can hear me,
but was he--
524
00:26:13,405 --> 00:26:15,824
{\an8}'Cause I know, at some point,
he fell asleep in that garage.
525
00:26:15,907 --> 00:26:18,326
{\an8}Did he hear you screaming out,
"Falcon, Falcon"?
526
00:26:19,327 --> 00:26:22,914
Uh, he's asking, Falcon, did you hear us
calling your name at any time?
527
00:26:22,998 --> 00:26:24,457
-Mm.
-You did?
528
00:26:24,541 --> 00:26:25,542
You did?
529
00:26:26,376 --> 00:26:27,627
Why didn't you come out?
530
00:26:28,587 --> 00:26:29,421
Um…
531
00:26:31,381 --> 00:26:35,218
You guys said… that, mm…
532
00:26:36,970 --> 00:26:38,555
we did this for the show.
533
00:26:39,222 --> 00:26:40,140
Man.
534
00:26:40,849 --> 00:26:42,183
-[tense music plays]
-No.
535
00:26:43,268 --> 00:26:44,978
Wait, what did he say?
536
00:26:45,061 --> 00:26:45,979
[sighs]
537
00:26:46,479 --> 00:26:48,148
[Richard] My earpiece was
super, super loud.
538
00:26:48,231 --> 00:26:51,776
I got a major hiss,
and I don't know what he said.
539
00:26:52,444 --> 00:26:57,449
So I kind of blew it off,
like, you know, "What-- Whatever he said."
540
00:26:57,532 --> 00:26:59,409
Our reaction was like a…
541
00:27:00,660 --> 00:27:01,828
"What?" [chuckles]
542
00:27:01,911 --> 00:27:05,582
I remember I was shocked when he said, um,
we did this for a show, Falcon.
543
00:27:06,166 --> 00:27:08,251
I didn't know
what the fuck he was talking about.
544
00:27:08,335 --> 00:27:11,546
I looked at Dean,
and I thought, "Here it goes."
545
00:27:11,630 --> 00:27:13,840
"It's gonna take
a whole new other spin now,
546
00:27:14,507 --> 00:27:15,884
from that one little comment."
547
00:27:15,967 --> 00:27:18,887
[producer] I appreciate it was hard
to hear, but I think you did hear him,
548
00:27:18,970 --> 00:27:20,430
because you say, "Man."
549
00:27:21,473 --> 00:27:25,185
Well, yeah,
I mean, I did hear him faintly,
550
00:27:25,268 --> 00:27:27,228
but I didn't understand anything he said.
551
00:27:27,312 --> 00:27:30,023
{\an8}[Wolf] What-- What did he mean,
"We did this for the show"?
552
00:27:30,857 --> 00:27:32,776
{\an8}Um, I have no idea.
553
00:27:32,859 --> 00:27:34,861
{\an8}I think he was talking
about the, uh, media.
554
00:27:34,944 --> 00:27:37,072
{\an8}They've been asking him
a lot of questions.
555
00:27:37,155 --> 00:27:40,241
He's only six, just six years old,
556
00:27:40,325 --> 00:27:42,243
and people read into that
557
00:27:42,327 --> 00:27:44,454
whatever fuckin' thoughts
they wanted to read into.
558
00:27:44,537 --> 00:27:46,373
[ominous music playing]
559
00:27:46,456 --> 00:27:50,210
And after that is when everything blew up.
560
00:27:50,293 --> 00:27:51,419
[dramatic string music plays]
561
00:27:51,503 --> 00:27:55,674
"Did it for a show." Everyone's wondering
what exactly did he mean. The family says…
562
00:27:55,757 --> 00:27:57,759
{\an8}[texts chiming]
563
00:28:00,887 --> 00:28:05,558
{\an8}All that money wasted looking for a boy
that was naughty. Get the… man.
564
00:28:05,642 --> 00:28:09,938
I think it's crazy how I was able
to just say a single sentence
565
00:28:10,021 --> 00:28:12,023
and affect the whole state of the country.
566
00:28:12,107 --> 00:28:15,568
{\an8}[male reporter] From the ordeal in the air
to an ordeal on air
567
00:28:15,652 --> 00:28:19,114
{\an8}with one pressing question,
"Was it all an elaborate hoax?"
568
00:28:19,197 --> 00:28:21,533
The family are gonna get in trouble.
569
00:28:21,616 --> 00:28:23,076
{\an8}[texts chime]
570
00:28:23,159 --> 00:28:24,452
{\an8}[grunts uncomfortably]
571
00:28:25,370 --> 00:28:27,997
[sputtering] It was like
the biggest nightmare ever.
572
00:28:28,081 --> 00:28:30,208
And I'm like, "Oh my God."
573
00:28:30,291 --> 00:28:32,127
-[music fades]
-[dramatic sting]
574
00:28:33,670 --> 00:28:38,341
In the morning, we all asked Falcon,
"What are you talking about?"
575
00:28:38,425 --> 00:28:39,259
[chuckles nervously]
576
00:28:39,342 --> 00:28:43,430
Falcon said, uh,
before the interview happened,
577
00:28:43,513 --> 00:28:47,100
so many cameramen
was in the garage asking Falcon
578
00:28:47,183 --> 00:28:49,477
how did he get up in the attic.
579
00:28:50,019 --> 00:28:51,104
"Can you show me?"
580
00:28:52,397 --> 00:28:54,858
[male reporter] Falcon,
that's how you get up, through there?
581
00:28:54,941 --> 00:28:56,234
[people talking indistinctly]
582
00:28:56,317 --> 00:28:59,863
[Falcon] I still remember
that reporter's face vividly.
583
00:28:59,946 --> 00:29:01,114
[laughs]
584
00:29:01,197 --> 00:29:02,574
I remember his face,
585
00:29:02,657 --> 00:29:04,993
and I remember him asking me the question,
586
00:29:05,660 --> 00:29:08,037
"Could you show me
how you go up there for my show?"
587
00:29:08,121 --> 00:29:09,706
And I said, "Yeah, sure."
588
00:29:09,789 --> 00:29:11,249
[young Falcon talking indistinctly]
589
00:29:11,332 --> 00:29:13,710
[Richard] I do remember going,
like, "Oh my God."
590
00:29:14,294 --> 00:29:16,504
"I'd better get on some other show
591
00:29:16,588 --> 00:29:19,340
to prove
that it was not a publicity stunt."
592
00:29:19,424 --> 00:29:22,719
Richard, Mayumi, Falcon,
brothers Bradford and Ryo.
593
00:29:23,428 --> 00:29:28,308
{\an8}You know, the message boards
are lit up this morning with skeptics.
594
00:29:28,391 --> 00:29:32,353
{\an8}-[tense, intriguing music playing]
-You had said, "We did this for a show"?
595
00:29:32,437 --> 00:29:36,524
{\an8}There were a lot of cameras
out front-- in front of our yard,
596
00:29:36,608 --> 00:29:38,735
{\an8}and we were, of course, uh,
getting interviewed.
597
00:29:38,818 --> 00:29:41,321
{\an8}[Diane Sawyer] Falcon, you okay there?
598
00:29:41,404 --> 00:29:43,364
{\an8}I think they really thought
it'd help them.
599
00:29:43,448 --> 00:29:45,200
{\an8}Mom, I feel like I'm gonna vomit.
600
00:29:45,700 --> 00:29:46,701
{\an8}[Mayumi] Oh…
601
00:29:46,785 --> 00:29:50,288
{\an8}But then Falcon
starts getting sick being on TV.
602
00:29:50,371 --> 00:29:51,706
He doesn't wanna do this,
603
00:29:51,790 --> 00:29:56,628
and, now, it's playing out
almost like a circus sideshow.
604
00:29:56,711 --> 00:29:59,172
{\an8}[Richard] Should we take you
to the bathroom?
605
00:29:59,255 --> 00:30:00,089
{\an8}Yeah.
606
00:30:00,173 --> 00:30:03,635
{\an8}[Dean] You'd thought they'd have said,
"We're gonna go to a commercial
607
00:30:03,718 --> 00:30:05,303
{\an8}while he gets himself together."
608
00:30:05,386 --> 00:30:09,682
{\an8}No! No. They just went at it, you know.
609
00:30:09,766 --> 00:30:11,810
{\an8}[Diane] Is he okay?
Is somebody gonna go with him?
610
00:30:11,893 --> 00:30:14,687
{\an8}Mayumi, do you wanna run with him?
That's okay.
611
00:30:14,771 --> 00:30:16,189
{\an8}-Is that okay?
-[Diane] Sure.
612
00:30:16,272 --> 00:30:17,649
{\an8}-Okay.
-[Diane] We understand.
613
00:30:17,732 --> 00:30:19,234
{\an8}-[Falcon coughing]
-[Mayumi] Thank you.
614
00:30:19,317 --> 00:30:22,278
{\an8}[Tina] Falcon's poor little body
is upset, distressed,
615
00:30:22,362 --> 00:30:23,655
{\an8}and he's throwing up,
616
00:30:23,738 --> 00:30:26,241
{\an8}and questions are coming at them.
617
00:30:26,324 --> 00:30:29,285
{\an8}And I feel like I have to go out
and defend them.
618
00:30:29,369 --> 00:30:32,622
{\an8}They are, um, inventors.
619
00:30:32,705 --> 00:30:35,959
{\an8}They want that type of attention,
not about their-- their babies being lost.
620
00:30:36,042 --> 00:30:38,336
This was not a joke.
621
00:30:38,419 --> 00:30:41,506
So I was, you know, giving them
the benefit of the doubt.
622
00:30:41,589 --> 00:30:43,174
[indistinct conversations]
623
00:30:44,425 --> 00:30:50,306
The local and national news
starts to report on who the Heenes are.
624
00:30:50,390 --> 00:30:53,935
Richard Heene claims
he's a storm chaser and an inventor.
625
00:30:54,018 --> 00:30:56,229
{\an8}[reporter 1] His kids apparently use
foul language a lot.
626
00:30:56,312 --> 00:30:58,773
{\an8}I mean, there are a lot of things
that jump out as red flags.
627
00:30:58,857 --> 00:31:01,317
{\an8}[reporter 2] Richard Heene
says he's chosen to raise his family
628
00:31:01,401 --> 00:31:03,027
{\an8}unafraid of adventure.
629
00:31:03,111 --> 00:31:05,321
{\an8}-[shouting indistinctly]
-[Mayumi chuckles]
630
00:31:05,405 --> 00:31:09,868
{\an8}And then you find out that the guy
and his wife were on Wife Swap.
631
00:31:09,951 --> 00:31:11,494
-[music ends]
-[dramatic whoosh]
632
00:31:11,578 --> 00:31:15,331
[Richard] Did you not sign up
to swap lives with another woman?
633
00:31:15,415 --> 00:31:19,085
[loudly] Did you? Did you?
No, I'm talking. I asked a question.
634
00:31:19,168 --> 00:31:21,379
-[amusing music plays]
-[softly] She wants to get down.
635
00:31:23,256 --> 00:31:25,758
{\an8}Are you getting down
or are you sitting down?
636
00:31:26,342 --> 00:31:31,097
{\an8}I was on the TV show Wife Swap
with Richard and Mayumi Heene.
637
00:31:32,557 --> 00:31:36,185
It's gonna be a new adventure, yeah!
638
00:31:36,269 --> 00:31:40,815
[Sheree] When I saw
the flying saucer on the TV, I thought,
639
00:31:40,899 --> 00:31:44,569
"I don't know why they were saying
the kid was in the balloon,
640
00:31:44,652 --> 00:31:46,654
but I knew that he wasn't."
641
00:31:47,155 --> 00:31:49,240
[female producer] How did you know
that he wasn't?
642
00:31:50,700 --> 00:31:52,368
I'm a psychic.
643
00:31:52,452 --> 00:31:53,703
[dramatic music plays]
644
00:31:53,786 --> 00:31:57,248
[Richard] The bottom line is you're lazy,
and you don't wanna do a damn thing.
645
00:31:57,332 --> 00:31:58,750
And you suck!
646
00:32:00,001 --> 00:32:04,380
When I saw the balloon,
what went through my head was,
647
00:32:05,006 --> 00:32:08,760
"Richard did this purposely."
That was my first reaction.
648
00:32:08,843 --> 00:32:10,178
I told you no meat.
649
00:32:10,261 --> 00:32:12,472
He was trying to get attention.
650
00:32:12,555 --> 00:32:13,514
Look at you, man!
651
00:32:13,598 --> 00:32:16,434
Richard, I told you no meat.
You'll be cleaning it up--
652
00:32:18,019 --> 00:32:19,646
[gentle piano music plays]
653
00:32:19,729 --> 00:32:23,024
But as I got
to know Mr. Heene on the show,
654
00:32:23,608 --> 00:32:27,904
I saw that he was a very caring person
about his children.
655
00:32:27,987 --> 00:32:30,740
And I just couldn't imagine
656
00:32:30,823 --> 00:32:33,201
that he would purposely say
657
00:32:33,284 --> 00:32:36,245
-that his son was in the balloon.
-[music ends]
658
00:32:37,580 --> 00:32:38,581
Boys!
659
00:32:38,665 --> 00:32:40,166
[Mayumi and boys laughing]
660
00:32:40,249 --> 00:32:43,127
[Jim] Realizing that they had
some exposure to television
661
00:32:43,211 --> 00:32:46,714
made it possible
that the emotions they expressed,
662
00:32:46,798 --> 00:32:48,800
as this incident unfolded,
663
00:32:48,883 --> 00:32:51,177
were acting and were not genuine.
664
00:32:51,260 --> 00:32:53,596
-[female producer] Had you seen Wife Swap?
-No.
665
00:32:54,097 --> 00:32:58,685
And as you can tell from my attire,
I'm kind of into the Western genre.
666
00:32:58,768 --> 00:33:01,854
You know, the values
in those early television shows,
667
00:33:01,938 --> 00:33:05,942
those are kind of my values, you know,
truth, honesty, the American way.
668
00:33:06,025 --> 00:33:08,987
People were accusing us
of being fame-hungry
669
00:33:09,070 --> 00:33:10,780
because we were on Wife Swap,
670
00:33:10,863 --> 00:33:12,573
which is completely not true.
671
00:33:13,241 --> 00:33:15,827
I'd have never done Wife Swap
in a million years.
672
00:33:15,910 --> 00:33:19,038
It sounded gross to me,
but then they offered to pay us.
673
00:33:19,622 --> 00:33:20,623
And we needed money.
674
00:33:21,249 --> 00:33:23,668
-[intriguing music plays]
-[reporters clamoring]
675
00:33:24,502 --> 00:33:28,297
[Richard] On Friday,
there was so much backlash coming in,
676
00:33:28,381 --> 00:33:30,925
and everybody starts criticizing us.
677
00:33:32,051 --> 00:33:35,555
And we needed a way to prove to everybody
678
00:33:35,638 --> 00:33:38,349
yeah, it was a real,
accidental thing that happened,
679
00:33:38,433 --> 00:33:40,018
and it was very, very dangerous.
680
00:33:41,352 --> 00:33:44,063
And that's why we released those clips.
681
00:33:44,897 --> 00:33:48,109
{\an8}A Fox News alert,
it's a brand-new video just in to Fox.
682
00:33:48,192 --> 00:33:50,695
{\an8}We've got some home video, we're told,
683
00:33:50,778 --> 00:33:55,825
{\an8}that shows the moment that
that notorious balloon left the ground.
684
00:33:56,325 --> 00:33:59,704
Look, it's a real project.
We didn't make this stuff up.
685
00:34:01,164 --> 00:34:03,916
-Mayumi, the tethers! You didn't put…
-[Mayumi] What?!
686
00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:08,421
[Robert] When I saw that, I thought
the emotion that Richard showed
687
00:34:08,504 --> 00:34:13,009
seemed so over the top
and really playing for a camera.
688
00:34:13,593 --> 00:34:15,011
{\an8}[reporter] In the following chaos,
689
00:34:15,094 --> 00:34:17,680
{\an8}Richard Heene
doesn't seem to hear his older son,
690
00:34:17,764 --> 00:34:20,600
{\an8}who repeatedly yells,
"Falcon is in the ship!"
691
00:34:20,683 --> 00:34:22,685
{\an8}-[Bradford] Dad, Falcon's in there!
-[Richard] Where?
692
00:34:22,769 --> 00:34:25,063
{\an8}-[Bradford] In the ship!
-[Richard and Mayumi] What?!
693
00:34:25,146 --> 00:34:26,981
It was reality television show-acting.
694
00:34:27,065 --> 00:34:30,109
[reporter] This video is only gonna
add fuel to the fire, perhaps,
695
00:34:30,193 --> 00:34:31,694
that this could, in fact, be a hoax.
696
00:34:31,778 --> 00:34:33,905
{\an8}The police insisted yesterday
they didn't think it was.
697
00:34:33,988 --> 00:34:35,656
{\an8}They said they weren't gonna file…
698
00:34:35,740 --> 00:34:37,742
[Richard] Some comments said,
"They're faking it."
699
00:34:37,825 --> 00:34:39,869
I'm like, "You gotta be shitting me."
700
00:34:39,952 --> 00:34:41,245
"There's no way."
701
00:34:42,038 --> 00:34:42,872
Look at it.
702
00:34:42,955 --> 00:34:46,209
I mean, there wasn't, like, you know,
some kind of production.
703
00:34:46,292 --> 00:34:48,044
{\an8}-[screams]
-You didn't put the tether down.
704
00:34:48,127 --> 00:34:50,546
{\an8}-Jesus Christ!
-Falcon was in there! Falcon was in there!
705
00:34:50,630 --> 00:34:54,175
{\an8}[Richard] I was yelling at him
because I was beyond angry.
706
00:34:54,258 --> 00:34:56,844
It was completely 100% real.
707
00:34:56,928 --> 00:35:00,348
And I just thought giving these guys clips
would, uh, solve the issue,
708
00:35:00,431 --> 00:35:01,265
but it didn't.
709
00:35:01,349 --> 00:35:02,475
[tense music plays]
710
00:35:02,558 --> 00:35:03,559
Come here.
711
00:35:04,310 --> 00:35:05,770
Okay, see that?
712
00:35:06,729 --> 00:35:09,190
There's light out there,
a lot of light, okay?
713
00:35:09,732 --> 00:35:11,943
How-- How are we gonna sleep?
Look at this.
714
00:35:12,652 --> 00:35:14,654
I told them, "No more interviews."
715
00:35:14,737 --> 00:35:18,616
"The story's done. We're done."
But they're still out there.
716
00:35:21,119 --> 00:35:23,329
[door knocker clacking]
717
00:35:24,122 --> 00:35:25,957
[male reporter] Mr. Heene,
please come out.
718
00:35:26,791 --> 00:35:28,626
[Richard] Saturday rolls around,
719
00:35:28,709 --> 00:35:33,339
and right around noon I get a call
from, I believe it was, Heffernan,
720
00:35:33,422 --> 00:35:35,967
uh, stating I could come down
to the sheriff's office
721
00:35:36,050 --> 00:35:37,593
and pick up my flying saucer.
722
00:35:39,303 --> 00:35:42,890
So I went down. I was excited.
"Hey, I'm gonna get my flying saucer."
723
00:35:43,724 --> 00:35:46,644
And then he says,
"Before I give you your flying saucer,
724
00:35:46,727 --> 00:35:49,564
mind if I ask you a few questions
so we can clear things up?"
725
00:35:49,647 --> 00:35:52,525
And he asked me
if I wouldn't mind taking a polygraph.
726
00:35:52,608 --> 00:35:53,943
[music ends]
727
00:35:54,026 --> 00:35:58,281
I had no intention of ever releasing
the balloon to him at this point,
728
00:35:58,364 --> 00:36:01,242
but I did use that tactic
729
00:36:01,826 --> 00:36:05,121
to get his cooperation
to come into the sheriff's office.
730
00:36:05,204 --> 00:36:06,247
[talking indistinctly]
731
00:36:06,330 --> 00:36:09,584
That was a message I tried to leave him,
that I believed him,
732
00:36:09,667 --> 00:36:11,544
we believed him,
and we're on the same side.
733
00:36:11,627 --> 00:36:13,504
[female producer]
What are you actually thinking?
734
00:36:13,588 --> 00:36:16,591
Well, actually, I'm thinking I'm hoping
that we can get him on a polygraph
735
00:36:16,674 --> 00:36:19,135
and, you know, get an admission.
736
00:36:19,218 --> 00:36:21,512
I can just imagine you
walking out of here today,
737
00:36:21,596 --> 00:36:24,056
going up to those cameras
and giving them the what-for,
738
00:36:24,140 --> 00:36:26,976
and say, "Guess what?
I took the polygraph and I passed it."
739
00:36:27,059 --> 00:36:28,186
[suspenseful music plays]
740
00:36:28,269 --> 00:36:30,563
I'm feeling,
"Okay, I'll take the polygraph."
741
00:36:31,147 --> 00:36:33,441
"I'll pass, I get my flying saucer,
and I go home."
742
00:36:33,941 --> 00:36:37,612
When you spoke to 911, did you know
Falcon was not in the balloon?
743
00:36:37,695 --> 00:36:38,529
No.
744
00:36:39,030 --> 00:36:41,741
Okay, I gotta get some circulation here.
745
00:36:42,241 --> 00:36:46,078
[Jim] It was obvious Mr. Heene
was employing countermeasures.
746
00:36:47,496 --> 00:36:50,917
You know, tensing up, uh,
not answering questions directly,
747
00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:54,629
but having to think of them
and doing some mind exercises,
748
00:36:54,712 --> 00:36:58,132
as well as almost comically pretending
to fall asleep.
749
00:36:59,508 --> 00:37:01,427
These are the published techniques
750
00:37:01,510 --> 00:37:04,263
of things that you can do
to try to defeat a polygraph.
751
00:37:04,347 --> 00:37:06,140
Can I stand up for a second? I gotta…
752
00:37:06,224 --> 00:37:07,308
God, this…
753
00:37:07,391 --> 00:37:09,685
-What's up?
-No, I'm just dozing off.
754
00:37:09,769 --> 00:37:10,978
[operator] Okay.
755
00:37:11,062 --> 00:37:12,396
[Richard] I'm really tired.
756
00:37:12,480 --> 00:37:15,316
I believe it was something
like 50, 54 hours I hadn't slept.
757
00:37:16,067 --> 00:37:17,485
[operator] Take some deep breaths.
758
00:37:20,071 --> 00:37:21,030
-Good.
-Good?
759
00:37:21,113 --> 00:37:23,824
[Richard] And I've been a diabetic
since I was 15 years old.
760
00:37:25,076 --> 00:37:28,162
So I prick my finger, I test myself,
761
00:37:29,288 --> 00:37:31,958
and my blood sugar has skyrocketed.
762
00:37:32,667 --> 00:37:35,962
Okay, Richard, you are gonna have to focus
and concentrate.
763
00:37:36,629 --> 00:37:39,257
And then, uh, he gets upset.
764
00:37:39,340 --> 00:37:43,135
So really, really focus
on keeping your eyes open.
765
00:37:43,219 --> 00:37:44,845
[Richard] I don't know why he's upset.
766
00:37:44,929 --> 00:37:49,058
I'm answering everything truthfully,
everything that he asked me.
767
00:37:49,141 --> 00:37:50,685
The polygraph was inconclusive.
768
00:37:50,768 --> 00:37:54,230
I couldn't get a reading because
of the countermeasures that he employed.
769
00:37:54,313 --> 00:37:56,857
-[reporters clamoring]
-[camera shutters clicking]
770
00:37:56,941 --> 00:37:59,860
So now we transition to Mayumi.
771
00:38:04,282 --> 00:38:06,867
Mayumi is brought
into the sheriff's office,
772
00:38:06,951 --> 00:38:09,453
and we're gonna try
to give her a polygraph.
773
00:38:12,081 --> 00:38:15,710
[Bob] We're talking to Richard too,
so we're getting both stories, okay?
774
00:38:16,502 --> 00:38:19,839
[Mayumi] After the polygraph,
Bob Heffernan said,
775
00:38:19,922 --> 00:38:22,049
"Your polygraph has failed."
776
00:38:22,133 --> 00:38:25,678
And, uh, I said, "Really?"
777
00:38:25,761 --> 00:38:27,305
I wish, uh…
778
00:38:28,014 --> 00:38:32,018
I really wish, uh, one of us
can stay with the kids,
779
00:38:32,935 --> 00:38:34,812
but that may not happen.
780
00:38:35,313 --> 00:38:38,607
[Bob] She was tearful
and proceeded to tell me
781
00:38:38,691 --> 00:38:41,319
that, "Yes, this was a hoax,"
782
00:38:41,402 --> 00:38:45,865
and she was, in fact, making a confession.
783
00:38:45,948 --> 00:38:49,452
Did you guys build this
for the purpose of this hoax?
784
00:38:49,535 --> 00:38:51,454
Is that the whole purpose of building it?
785
00:38:51,537 --> 00:38:53,414
Um, honestly,
786
00:38:53,497 --> 00:38:58,627
this, uh, uh, experiment itself
was not only for this.
787
00:38:58,711 --> 00:39:01,672
Back then, my English was worse,
788
00:39:01,756 --> 00:39:06,427
and the word "hoax" itself,
I misunderstood.
789
00:39:06,510 --> 00:39:10,848
[Bob] This was all a… a hoax, okay.
790
00:39:10,931 --> 00:39:13,434
[Jim] She had
a degree in English from Japan,
791
00:39:13,517 --> 00:39:16,937
went to three more years of college
in the United States.
792
00:39:17,021 --> 00:39:18,773
There was not a language barrier.
793
00:39:18,856 --> 00:39:22,318
[Bob] You're finally saying,
"Yeah, we lied,
794
00:39:22,401 --> 00:39:24,028
and the reason it was a hoax is
795
00:39:24,111 --> 00:39:27,531
we were just trying
to make ourselves marketable."
796
00:39:27,615 --> 00:39:31,285
I also learned that the Heenes
had been working very hard
797
00:39:31,369 --> 00:39:34,622
to try to get themselves a TV show.
798
00:39:34,705 --> 00:39:37,333
It would be helpful
if they ended up in the news
799
00:39:37,416 --> 00:39:39,377
or got their name out there somewhere.
800
00:39:39,460 --> 00:39:42,296
And I think
that's what their motivation was
801
00:39:42,380 --> 00:39:43,589
for this whole hoax.
802
00:39:44,298 --> 00:39:45,674
That makes no sense.
803
00:39:45,758 --> 00:39:48,844
-[music fades]
-Why would I even consider doing something
804
00:39:48,928 --> 00:39:50,554
that's gonna turn on me,
805
00:39:50,638 --> 00:39:52,264
potentially sending me to jail?
806
00:39:52,348 --> 00:39:54,809
Like, how am I gonna get
a TV show doing that?
807
00:39:54,892 --> 00:39:57,395
[Bob] Did you tell the boys
what you were doing?
808
00:40:00,606 --> 00:40:01,649
We told them.
809
00:40:01,732 --> 00:40:04,110
[Bob] How'd you get them
to go along with it?
810
00:40:04,193 --> 00:40:07,738
Did you just ask them to act like
their brother got up in the balloon?
811
00:40:11,409 --> 00:40:12,493
Yeah.
812
00:40:16,080 --> 00:40:17,206
Something like that.
813
00:40:18,290 --> 00:40:24,046
After her interview, I had enough
to proceed with criminal charges.
814
00:40:24,130 --> 00:40:26,090
[dramatic string music plays]
815
00:40:29,468 --> 00:40:31,929
[reporter 1] They're heading back
to the house right now.
816
00:40:32,721 --> 00:40:35,766
[reporter 2] Last night, police seized
evidence from the Heene home,
817
00:40:35,850 --> 00:40:39,603
{\an8}and of the four charges the department
hopes to file over the next few days,
818
00:40:39,687 --> 00:40:41,647
{\an8}two are Class 4 felonies,
819
00:40:41,730 --> 00:40:46,110
{\an8}which carry up to six years of jail time
and $500,000 in fines.
820
00:40:47,111 --> 00:40:48,362
[dramatic sting]
821
00:40:49,321 --> 00:40:52,241
[Richard] We go from Thursday
being an emergency situation
822
00:40:52,908 --> 00:40:55,828
to Sunday, now, we're wanted felons.
823
00:40:58,831 --> 00:41:02,835
And a woman approached me,
gave me a number and said,
824
00:41:02,918 --> 00:41:05,546
"You should call this attorney.
His name's David Lane."
825
00:41:08,340 --> 00:41:10,050
{\an8}[David] It's the Sunday
after the incident,
826
00:41:10,134 --> 00:41:12,553
{\an8}and they came in from Fort Collins.
827
00:41:14,472 --> 00:41:17,641
It was very clear
that Richard and Mayumi loved those kids
828
00:41:18,184 --> 00:41:20,561
with all their s-- their hearts and souls.
829
00:41:21,145 --> 00:41:24,815
Mayumi's English was-- was not good, um,
830
00:41:24,899 --> 00:41:31,780
so we were explaining words to her,
like "hoax" and "fraud."
831
00:41:32,364 --> 00:41:34,033
[Bob] You assumed he was in the attic?
832
00:41:34,116 --> 00:41:35,159
No, I didn't.
833
00:41:35,242 --> 00:41:39,163
And then I saw the video
of Mayumi's so-called "confession."
834
00:41:39,246 --> 00:41:40,456
It really wasn't a confession.
835
00:41:41,248 --> 00:41:43,751
[Bob] Where was Falcon?
Was Falcon in the attic?
836
00:41:43,834 --> 00:41:44,919
[intriguing music playing]
837
00:41:45,002 --> 00:41:46,879
I really didn't know.
838
00:41:46,962 --> 00:41:50,424
When you're dealing with someone
without a good grasp of the language,
839
00:41:50,508 --> 00:41:53,969
these leading questions
are pretty much guaranteed
840
00:41:54,053 --> 00:41:57,181
to get false statements
out of a-- a suspect.
841
00:41:57,264 --> 00:41:59,600
[Bob] And you knew
he was somewhere in the house,
842
00:42:00,100 --> 00:42:01,936
but you didn't know
he was up in the attic?
843
00:42:02,019 --> 00:42:02,895
No.
844
00:42:02,978 --> 00:42:04,438
I told David Lane, I said,
845
00:42:04,522 --> 00:42:08,901
"I am not confessing
to these charges. No way."
846
00:42:09,777 --> 00:42:12,029
He said, "Before you do anything,
847
00:42:12,112 --> 00:42:15,616
what you gotta do
is go look into the case of Tim Masters."
848
00:42:16,242 --> 00:42:19,078
{\an8}Tim Masters is innocent, all right?
849
00:42:19,161 --> 00:42:20,704
{\an8}[people cheering and applauding]
850
00:42:21,288 --> 00:42:23,082
[David] I represented Tim Masters
851
00:42:23,165 --> 00:42:25,918
in a lawsuit
against the prosecutors in Larimer County
852
00:42:26,001 --> 00:42:27,586
for a murder he didn't commit.
853
00:42:27,670 --> 00:42:29,838
[male reporter] Masters was convicted
of killing a woman
854
00:42:29,922 --> 00:42:32,091
whose body had been found near his home.
855
00:42:32,174 --> 00:42:33,175
His attorneys claimed
856
00:42:33,259 --> 00:42:36,011
prosecutors withheld crucial evidence
from the defense,
857
00:42:36,095 --> 00:42:38,180
an allegation
the district attorney denies.
858
00:42:38,264 --> 00:42:39,723
[tense music plays]
859
00:42:39,807 --> 00:42:42,268
[David] I was thinking,
"These cops are corrupt."
860
00:42:43,477 --> 00:42:45,646
He was falsely imprisoned for ten years.
861
00:42:45,729 --> 00:42:48,691
And I'm like,
"Oh… I'm not going through this."
862
00:42:48,774 --> 00:42:50,317
I thought there's a good chance
863
00:42:50,401 --> 00:42:52,736
they're getting screwed
by the system here.
864
00:42:52,820 --> 00:42:56,699
I'll work pro bono,
and we can work out details later.
865
00:42:56,782 --> 00:42:58,909
And I'll jump in and see what I can do.
866
00:42:59,660 --> 00:43:02,788
David Lane's known throughout Colorado
for being anti-police.
867
00:43:02,871 --> 00:43:06,292
I can tell you the Larimer County
Sheriff's Office is not corrupt,
868
00:43:06,375 --> 00:43:08,627
nor was
the Fort Collins Police Department,
869
00:43:08,711 --> 00:43:10,838
nor is the judicial system
in Larimer County.
870
00:43:10,921 --> 00:43:13,048
They were interested
in getting convictions.
871
00:43:14,008 --> 00:43:17,761
And when you have
a media frenzy like you had here,
872
00:43:17,845 --> 00:43:21,640
it could result in an injustice
for Richard and his family.
873
00:43:22,891 --> 00:43:26,854
{\an8}Until I can look at what the evidence is
in this case,
874
00:43:26,937 --> 00:43:28,897
{\an8}you know, uh, we're left in the dark
875
00:43:28,981 --> 00:43:32,067
{\an8}in terms of what the Sheriff's Department
claims they've got.
876
00:43:32,151 --> 00:43:35,195
{\an8}I don't think a whole lot of David Lane.
He's-- He's a media whore.
877
00:43:35,279 --> 00:43:36,864
I didn't think they had anything.
878
00:43:36,947 --> 00:43:37,906
[music fades]
879
00:43:39,033 --> 00:43:43,495
Then the DA comes to us
with this so-called deal.
880
00:43:44,330 --> 00:43:48,834
They said, "Richard, we want you
to take a felony conviction."
881
00:43:49,668 --> 00:43:52,254
"We want you to agree to 30 days in jail."
882
00:43:52,921 --> 00:43:57,176
"If you do that,
Mayumi can plead to a misdemeanor
883
00:43:57,259 --> 00:44:00,179
that will not cause her
to be deported back to Japan."
884
00:44:00,262 --> 00:44:02,931
And I'm thinking to myself,
"You motherfuckers."
885
00:44:03,015 --> 00:44:06,185
"You're gonna-- You're threatening
to deport the kids' mom?"
886
00:44:07,102 --> 00:44:08,520
You know. "Over this?"
887
00:44:09,772 --> 00:44:11,857
"What the hell's wrong with you people?"
888
00:44:11,940 --> 00:44:13,942
[intriguing music plays]
889
00:44:16,820 --> 00:44:20,366
[Mayumi] If I try to fight in the court,
890
00:44:20,449 --> 00:44:22,701
and if I lose it,
891
00:44:23,243 --> 00:44:28,248
I might… need to leave country.
892
00:44:29,124 --> 00:44:33,796
And then, which means,
I won't be able to see kids,
893
00:44:33,879 --> 00:44:36,423
I won't be able to see Richard.
894
00:44:38,467 --> 00:44:41,053
[Jim] Nothing like that
ever came from my office.
895
00:44:41,136 --> 00:44:44,390
And knowing the district attorney as I do,
896
00:44:44,473 --> 00:44:48,352
it's highly inconceivable
that they would have pressured them
897
00:44:48,435 --> 00:44:50,062
to accept a plea deal.
898
00:44:52,022 --> 00:44:55,192
So we're facing
all these felonies and misdemeanors
899
00:44:55,275 --> 00:44:58,153
that could result
in Mayumi getting deported.
900
00:44:58,654 --> 00:45:01,365
It could result
in our children being taken away.
901
00:45:02,032 --> 00:45:03,575
Uh, I go to jail.
902
00:45:04,243 --> 00:45:06,120
What the hell are we gonna do?
903
00:45:06,620 --> 00:45:08,622
-[dramatic sting]
-How are the kids doing, Richard?
904
00:45:09,248 --> 00:45:12,751
[Richard] So we go to court,
and I told David,
905
00:45:12,835 --> 00:45:16,547
"I am not going to plead guilty.
Why can't I fight this?"
906
00:45:16,630 --> 00:45:19,508
He goes, "Well, you can,
and I could probably win."
907
00:45:21,009 --> 00:45:23,470
"But your wife,
you need to think about her."
908
00:45:24,680 --> 00:45:27,975
[sputtering] And I'm like,
"I can't plead guilty."
909
00:45:28,058 --> 00:45:29,059
[music fades]
910
00:45:34,523 --> 00:45:35,733
Good morning, Your Honor.
911
00:45:36,233 --> 00:45:37,609
How do you plead?
912
00:45:39,111 --> 00:45:39,945
[David] Guilty.
913
00:45:41,071 --> 00:45:42,531
[judge] Mr. Lane, I've read the file…
914
00:45:42,614 --> 00:45:45,826
[Richard] Then I thought, "I need this
over and done with as fast as possible."
915
00:45:45,909 --> 00:45:49,538
[sputtering] We've gotta push this aside,
so we can get on with our lives.
916
00:45:49,621 --> 00:45:51,123
[tense music playing]
917
00:45:51,206 --> 00:45:55,335
{\an8}Richard and Mayumi Heene, the couple
behind the now infamous Balloon Boy Hoax,
918
00:45:55,419 --> 00:45:56,962
{\an8}well, they now know their fate.
919
00:45:57,045 --> 00:45:59,256
{\an8}[male reporter] Richard Heene
will spend 30 days in jail.
920
00:45:59,339 --> 00:46:01,550
{\an8}His wife received a 20-day sentence.
921
00:46:01,633 --> 00:46:03,594
{\an8}She will sign in at the jail each day,
922
00:46:03,677 --> 00:46:05,804
{\an8}but then go out
to perform community service.
923
00:46:06,889 --> 00:46:08,807
[David] Richard took one for the family.
924
00:46:12,770 --> 00:46:16,815
I'm a crier, sorry.
This really brings some tears to my eyes.
925
00:46:16,899 --> 00:46:19,943
-[female producer] Why is that?
-It's just so unfair.
926
00:46:23,572 --> 00:46:27,493
{\an8}The motto at the sheriff's office is,
"You lie, you die."
927
00:46:27,576 --> 00:46:29,161
There's no second chances.
928
00:46:31,413 --> 00:46:34,875
{\an8}[Bradford] When my dad went to jail,
it, like, really hit me.
929
00:46:35,375 --> 00:46:40,297
In a way, kind of my fault
because I overreacted a ton.
930
00:46:41,757 --> 00:46:45,427
I kept telling him Falcon was in there
because I believed he was in there,
931
00:46:47,054 --> 00:46:48,764
and he wasn't. [chuckles uncomfortably]
932
00:46:48,847 --> 00:46:49,973
[sniffles]
933
00:46:50,057 --> 00:46:54,603
I remember feeling bad
that I did something wrong…
934
00:46:54,686 --> 00:46:56,021
[reporters clamoring in video]
935
00:46:56,104 --> 00:47:00,067
…but just looking back on it now,
it's like I-- I was six years old,
936
00:47:01,276 --> 00:47:03,487
and all these adults took whatever I said,
937
00:47:03,570 --> 00:47:08,575
and they're able to just string together
what they thought was something else
938
00:47:08,659 --> 00:47:10,661
and make it so, so big.
939
00:47:10,744 --> 00:47:12,704
It's-- It's like-- It's baffling.
940
00:47:12,788 --> 00:47:13,747
[music ends]
941
00:47:14,456 --> 00:47:15,582
[dramatic sting]
942
00:47:16,625 --> 00:47:20,295
[Richard] I finished my jail time.
I'm done. I finished it.
943
00:47:20,379 --> 00:47:24,424
And I called my probation officer,
and I'm like, "I wanna move."
944
00:47:25,551 --> 00:47:28,345
There's just too much attention.
It's too much.
945
00:47:29,346 --> 00:47:32,891
I mean, there were, uh, neighbors,
there was the press.
946
00:47:33,559 --> 00:47:36,436
I wanted all those fucking people
just to go away.
947
00:47:37,563 --> 00:47:38,605
And so we left.
948
00:47:40,691 --> 00:47:44,361
[Falcon] I had to get out of school.
I had to stop seeing my friends.
949
00:47:44,444 --> 00:47:46,613
And that, like, really makes me mad, like…
950
00:47:47,114 --> 00:47:49,867
Like, how did-- how did this happen,
you know?
951
00:47:49,950 --> 00:47:51,952
[intriguing music plays]
952
00:47:53,620 --> 00:47:57,958
[Tina] The last time we saw the Heenes
was just prior to them going away.
953
00:47:59,293 --> 00:48:03,171
I knocked on the door. They didn't answer.
We tried to talk to the boys.
954
00:48:03,255 --> 00:48:05,465
The boys would say,
"Hi, we can't talk to you anymore."
955
00:48:06,633 --> 00:48:12,222
Um, it felt very hurtful at that point.
I had my mind set that it was a hoax.
956
00:48:12,723 --> 00:48:15,517
It's kind of crazy
to imagine that this is where he was.
957
00:48:16,143 --> 00:48:17,644
Then he fell asleep.
958
00:48:18,937 --> 00:48:21,690
Richard pulled
on the heartstrings of our family.
959
00:48:21,773 --> 00:48:23,609
He pulled on the heartstrings of a nation.
960
00:48:23,692 --> 00:48:25,611
He pulled on the heartstrings
of the world.
961
00:48:25,694 --> 00:48:27,154
That was so unfair.
962
00:48:27,654 --> 00:48:29,907
So unfair for somebody to do that.
963
00:48:29,990 --> 00:48:32,367
Richard just played us all.
[chuckles in disbelief]
964
00:48:33,994 --> 00:48:34,912
[music fades]
965
00:48:34,995 --> 00:48:38,874
[Sheree] I think everybody has
a belief system,
966
00:48:38,957 --> 00:48:43,045
and they like to say
this is who someone is.
967
00:48:43,128 --> 00:48:48,175
But people like Richard
are not regular people.
968
00:48:48,258 --> 00:48:49,635
They're complicated.
969
00:48:50,302 --> 00:48:55,057
So if you think you know him,
you probably don't.
970
00:48:56,808 --> 00:48:58,810
[pensive string music plays]
971
00:49:00,187 --> 00:49:03,732
[Richard] After this whole incident,
we came to Florida…
972
00:49:03,815 --> 00:49:05,108
[dogs barking]
973
00:49:05,192 --> 00:49:06,526
…and started a new life.
974
00:49:08,612 --> 00:49:11,740
We found this place,
and this place feels like a fortress.
975
00:49:13,158 --> 00:49:17,454
It's a place where you can hide
and just forget about what happened.
976
00:49:18,705 --> 00:49:21,375
Good boy! Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!
977
00:49:28,048 --> 00:49:32,177
To get pardoned makes a statement
in that, you know, I'm a good person.
978
00:49:32,678 --> 00:49:35,681
Everything that you said about me before
was not true.
979
00:49:35,764 --> 00:49:37,182
That's how I feel about it.
980
00:49:37,891 --> 00:49:39,685
This one, we gotta cut right here.
981
00:49:39,768 --> 00:49:41,770
[Jim] I was surprised
the governor pardoned him
982
00:49:41,853 --> 00:49:44,356
without reaching out
to us in law enforcement
983
00:49:44,439 --> 00:49:46,191
or anybody that had been involved.
984
00:49:46,274 --> 00:49:47,609
The thing that upset me is
985
00:49:47,693 --> 00:49:52,572
that he did it without having Richard make
any sort of admission as to his guilt.
986
00:49:52,656 --> 00:49:55,117
We-- We want the water to flow
the whole span…
987
00:49:55,200 --> 00:49:59,204
[Mayumi] After the pardon,
I became a US citizen officially.
988
00:49:59,287 --> 00:50:00,205
[Richard laughs]
989
00:50:00,288 --> 00:50:01,957
And now, I don't need to worry
990
00:50:02,040 --> 00:50:05,460
about being separated
from kids and my husband.
991
00:50:06,920 --> 00:50:09,214
[Richard] Guys, I wanna see
what this looks like. Seriously.
992
00:50:09,923 --> 00:50:12,801
With the flying saucer coming to an end,
993
00:50:12,884 --> 00:50:15,095
it's kind of a sad story
because I loved it.
994
00:50:15,595 --> 00:50:17,305
But that doesn't hold me back.
995
00:50:17,389 --> 00:50:18,432
All right.
996
00:50:19,433 --> 00:50:20,350
I like it.
997
00:50:20,434 --> 00:50:21,935
I'm working on something new…
998
00:50:22,019 --> 00:50:22,894
[music fades]
999
00:50:22,978 --> 00:50:24,479
…and it's gonna be really big.
1000
00:50:25,397 --> 00:50:28,108
-[female producer] Really?
-Yeah. [laughs]
1001
00:50:28,191 --> 00:50:29,651
[tense music playing]
1002
00:50:29,735 --> 00:50:31,236
[dramatic string music plays]