Balloon Boy Family Moves To Florida

[Family Ties Forever!]

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Balloon Boy Family Moves To Florida
Heenes Leave Site Of Son's Fateful Balloon Trip

Posted: Friday, September 3, 2010
Updated: 1:32 pm CDT September 3, 2010

Fort Collins, Colo. -- The family at the center of the balloon boy hoax has moved out of the house where the fateful trip began, leaving Colorado for Florida. Richard and Mayumi Heene and their three boys have moved to Bradenton, Fla., where Richard Heene will continue working in construction, state court officials said. The Heenes reported in October that their 6-year-old son had floated away in a homemade UFO-shaped helium balloon, touching off a scramble of dozens of emergency responders and two Colorado National Guard helicopters.

The boy wasn't on the balloon and was later found at his home in Fort Collins, about 60 miles north of Denver. Authorities accused the Heenes of staging a hoax to get publicity for reality TV shows they were trying to pitch.
Richard Heene pleaded guilty to a felony count of attempting to influence a public servant and served a 30-day jail term. Mayumi Heene pleaded guilty to filing a false report and served a 20-day jail term.

Jon Sarche, a spokesman for the State Court Administrator's Office, said the Heenes' probation has been transferred to Florida. Terms of their probation include not selling their story or profiting from the saga until December 2013. They also must make regular monthly payments toward $36,000 in restitution ordered by the court. The Heenes also were fined $8,000 by the Federal Aviation Administration for launching an aircraft that wandered into the path of planes at Denver International Airport, briefly forcing the closure of a runway.

The Larimer County sheriff's office and other agencies had sought $48,000 for responding to the Oct. 15 incident. Richard and Mayumi Heene, and their sons, left Colorado Monday and arrived in Florida Thursday, Sarche said. Television footage of the house they lived in just outside of Fort Collins showed the family left behind belongings including plates, tools, chairs and appliances.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[Family Ties Forever!]

That's strange that they left their belongings behind. I guess they wanted to live somewhere else so they moved to Florida.

[HuntingtonM15]

I'm glad that they have to pay restitution. I hope that no one is interested in buying their story when they are able to sell it.

[Mee_Too]

Originally Posted by HuntingtonM15

I'm glad that they have to pay restitution. I hope that no one is interested in buying their story when they are able to sell it.

I agree on both points...probably most people aren't interested in their story now, and will be even less interested 3 years from now.

[ZeldaGilroy]

I am actually surprised they still have custody of their children or that Child Protective Services would let them leave the state with them. I do not think those children are safe with these two loons.

I saw both episodes of Wife Swap where they appeared, and while I am sure the show is somewhat scripted and edited to make things look even crazier than reality, I was appalled by the lack of supervision and care for those kids. Plus exploiting your own child in the hopes of getting your own reality show ought to be considered child abuse.

Wherever they choose to live, I hope someone is looking out for those little boys!

[catlover79]

Oh no - they are headed to the Land of the Stupidest Criminals in America!!!!! Like Billie, I too am surprised that these kids are still in their parents' custody after that whole fiasco.

[phoebe7165]

Originally Posted by catlover79

Oh no - they are headed to the Land of the Stupidest Criminals in America!!!!! Like Billie, I too am surprised that these kids are still in their parents' custody after that whole fiasco.

I was going to make some kind of comment like "Great. Florida. We already have enough idiots living here, go someplace else!!", but I live here, too!!LOL

At least they're living on the other side of the state from me!!

[catlover79]

At least they're not going to Pensacola.

[catlover79]

Originally Posted by Mee_Too

I agree on both points...probably most people aren't interested in their story now, and will be even less interested 3 years from now.

If the public even remembers it!!!

[old grouch]

Did they travel from Colorado to Florida in a hot air balloon???

[Marvo301]

Originally Posted by old grouch

Did they travel from Colorado to Florida in a hot air balloon???

Up, Up, and awayyy!!! In my beautiful Balloon!!

[catlover79]

Originally Posted by Marvo301

Up, Up, and awayyy!!! In my beautiful Balloon!!

[Doodyville10019]

It's very, very difficult to get anyone to listen to you (or get their attention) when you are trying to sell an idea for a TV show, be it reality or fiction. That's why I feel, IMO, the authorities blew this whole thing way out of proportion and the Heenes did nothing wrong.

[Lee]

Originally Posted by Doodyville10019

It's very, very difficult to get anyone to listen to you (or get their attention) when you are trying to sell an idea for a TV show, be it reality or fiction. That's why I feel, IMO, the authorities blew this whole thing way out of proportion and the Heenes did nothing wrong.

Did nothing wrong? It was a deliberate hoax with the intention of causing a
state of panic where they lived in Colorado. I believe law enforcement reacted
appropriately to this situation. They had to spend precious man hours looking
for this little boy who had been reported missing and was not actually missing
at all. What if a child like this boy had been in real danger-being kidnapped
and molested or possibly killed by a pedophile, for exmaple. I suppose you
would have really slammed law enforcement then for not being around when
that child needed to be saved from that situation. You are a sick person.

[Janice]

They probably got tired of the remarks and dirty looks, so they got out of Dodge. White trash.