boy stuck in balloon over CO

mashedpotato

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/15/colorado.boy.balloon/index.html 

wingedbride

That is awful. But I didn laugh at a mental imagine of a child trapped inside a cheap birthday balloon.

mashedpotato

I just don't understand why people want to build their own aircraft, it never seems to end well.

shanollee

I was just reading this!  I hope they get him down safely, but I couldn't help thinking of all the crazies who think they spot UFO's all the time.  They're in for a treat today

Knottie_22382080

I just don't understand why they would even have it in a place where the kid could get to it or get inside it.  Stupid parents.

Novemberrocks

See, this is why I don't make homemade flying contraptions.  Shiit like this always happens.

lindsayll

You beat me to it, mashed.Can you imagine being 6 and in that thing, going that fast?  Holy crap.  And yeah, I can't believe the parents would leave it so accessible that their 6 year old could untie the holding rope, get in and take off.

CaliopeSpidrman

Why can't kids just get themselves stuck in old refrigerators like they did back in the day?Eek, that is scary.  I hope they get the kid down safely since it seems to be leaking helium.

Novemberrocks

Is it bad that the first thing I thought about after seeing the video was how much I could go for jiffy pop?

FallinAgain

The "News" parts says he might have fallen out??

BermudaBride07

I'm watching the video on MSNBC. It's pretty crazy. They were just saying that if it's all helium in there he would have died within minutes.  I hope they were smart enough to build separate compartments for travelers. This can't end well.

shanollee

I'm not convinced that any part of this contraption was well thought out, so I don't have high hopes here

FallinAgain

I can't fathom how you would even attempt a rescue.

Knottie_22382080

Can't they try to put a net underneath it and airlift it?

CaliopeSpidrman

Did I hear right that the boy's name is Falcon?

lindsayll

It actually had a pretty gentle landing.

CaliopeSpidrman

Will somebody please try to find the kid?!  This is driving me crazy.

FallinAgain

Wait, it landed?  Where are you getting the updates?

wingedbride

The balloon is down. The kid is not inside.

wingedbride

fallin, I am watching on cnn. com

CaliopeSpidrman

I'm watching MSNBC's video.  It landed and there's no kid inside.

FallinAgain

Did he fall out or is he at the family home?  How did they get it to land?  

BermudaBride07

I think it landed on it's own. It was losing helium. They just said they searched the house and the kid isn't there either.

wingedbride

fallin, they don't know at this point. Although his family is not saying he is with them and the media and police are in contact.The kids name is Falcon.

CaliopeSpidrman

It had lost a bunch of helium so one side was hanging down and just sort of acted like a rudder, causing it to float in a circle as it sank lower and lower.  There were a couple guidelines hanging off of it, so I don't know if someone grabbed ahold of one or if it just sank all the way down on its own.  The police have already searched the house. 

mashedpotato

so I heard a rumor this family was on Wife Swap and perhaps this is just a publicity stunt?

Knottie_22382080

Wel lI hope he jumped out and is alive stuck in a tree somewhere.  Or my true crime lover in me is thinking the brother killed him, and stashed the body in the balloon sending it out.  Criminal Minds is a great show to give me ideas. 

FallinAgain

The kids name is Falcon.Do you need further proof that naming your kid after a bird is a bad idea?

wingedbride

holy crap, mashed. I totally thought this was that family as soon as I heard this story. They are crazy as hell.

wingedbride

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/15/falcon-heene-balloon-boy_n_322736.htmlThe dad freaked out several times on the episode. He devalues women. I hated him.

wingedbride

On the show, they pulled the kids out of school regularly to go chase storms. The dad walked around the house using a megaphone shouting out directions and the kids ran around destroying the house because "boys will be boys"/. I realize they could have been padding it a bit for the show, but I do believe that they taught irresponsible behavior to those children and that is why the kid would feel comfortable going out on this. What asshats.