by Eric Sorensen
I tend to believe the parents were genuinely afraid their son had somehow gone up in the balloon. Three things happened in quick succession: the balloon got away, another son suggested he had seen six-year-old Falcon climb in, and calls out to Falcon were met with silence. He had been there a short time before. Now he and the balloon were both suddenly gone.
Any parent who has temporarily lost a child knows how panic can overtake one's sober analysis of an emerging crisis. Maybe it didn't make a lot of sense that Falcon would have been in the balloon compartment – and not yelled out. Though a ballooning expert did say the homemade balloon was strong enough to carry 80 pounds – the youngster weighed fewer than 40 pounds.
Falcon Henne, 6, is shown outside his home in Ft. Collins, Colorado. Photo by John Moore, Getty Images.
And while the family's history of self-promotion in videos and on reality TV shows prompted many to think this was a publicity stunt, the police investigators who were with the family throughout seem persuaded that the stories from Falcon and his parents were true — that the search was not a hoax. Police, will, however, conduct more interviews this weekend.
What no one is disputing is that the dad had scolded Falcon earlier, and was furious again when the balloon escaped. It seems more believable that he was willing to hide for that reason, than the suggestion that a very active six-year-old could hold out in an attic as a joke for five hours.
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Finally, the fact that the child was afraid to come out for such a long time may raise questions not so much about the family, than the parenting in that family.
Eric is Global National's Washington Bureau Chief. This blog was published October 16, 2009.
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