Holy!!!

Totally Live right now...

6 year old kid floats away on an experimental balloon...

http://www.cnn.com/video/flashLive/live.html?stream=stream1

This has just made my day.

Wow. I hope that little dude's OK.

Not likely. The balloon is 2,000 feet above ground level in Colorado in the cold season.

It makes me sick to say it but this kid is probably gone if he is in the balloon.

is it just going in circles?

and am I the only one thinking - Grab the nearest helicopter?

Is it just me or is there little audio? And where is the boy? Inside? Is he breathin helium this whole time? What's going on? Why is this kid's name Falcon? Why are these parents idiots? I want answers.

its at 7,000 ft.

I'm not a professional, but I imagine the kid will suffocate if he's surrounded by helium and no oxygen. Also he probably sounds funny as hell, but I think he's not gonna be in good shape. I feel bad for the kid, but I wanna know why the parents allowed this to happen, and why I need a license to drive a car but people don't need a license to reproduce.

I don't think he's IN the balloon, at least that's not the impression I got. They called it an "experimental aircraft" which, to me, suggests there's a passenger compartment. Probably that thing at the bottom.

If this kid isn't breathing oxygen he's gone.

oh....gets better....

read this: http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/21306839/detail.html

Dad apparently has issues and the family has been shown on "Wife Swap"

"The structure at the bottom of the balloon that the boy is in is made of extremely thin plywood and won't withstand any kind of a crash at all," said Erik Nilsson, Larimer County Emergency Manager.

Deputies from Larimer and Weld counties are tracking the balloon as it drifts. Experts said it could remain airborne for up to 12 hours.

This was never meant to carry anybody," said Larimer County sheriff's spokeswoman Eloise Campbell.

Larimer County fire dispatchers asked if Airtracker 7 could use an outside speaker to ask the boy if he has a valve to release helium.

"Is there a way to release some of the helium that this kid may know?" the dispatcher asked. "Maybe we can get him to lower it."

FAA spokesman Mike Fergus said the agency has been notified and it was unclear whether traffic controllers had picked it up on radar.

The balloon may drift into air traffic control corridors used by Denver International Airport, based on its current location and direction. Deputies alerted DIA air traffic controllers to warn them about letting aircraft fly through the area.

7News confirmed the boy is the son of Richard and Mayumi Heene appeared on an episode of ABC's "Wife Swap."

Richard Heene has been described by friends as a sort of "mad scientist." He has a Web site, call The Psyience Detectives, which "investigates the mysteries of science and psychic phenomenon."

Is there a reason they can't intercept this thing with a helicopter? Maybe send a John Mclane wannabe down a ladder from the chopper to cut a hole in to make it descend faster?

captainzib wrote: Is there a reason they can't intercept this thing with a helicopter? Maybe send a John Mclane wannabe down a ladder from the chopper to cut a hole in to make it descend faster?

sounds like a Bruce Willis Movie...

So the article says it wasn't designed to hold passengers, so I'm thinkin the kid has been trying to breathe helium, and I don't see a good outcome to this.

Dad is officially an idiot.

Can they do a fly by with long weighted strands of duct tape and snag him out of the air?

"Nobody on Board..."

Balloon's on the ground, no boy inside, he either fell out, or is back home dropping a deuce.

someone has created a site already!!

http://www.whereisballoonboy.com/

Not only that but it has almost 6000 views already.

He's probably holed up in the woods in a nearby neighborhood. I know if I just let Dad's crazy mylar balloon contraption loose by accident I would be runnin' scared.

Found hiding in the garage

Grtechguy wrote: Found hiding in the garage

A GRMer wannabe!

Wow east coast mojo called it...

Actually I think Cap'nZiB called that one.

I'm just glad the lil' dude didn't take an unexpected flight today. I do think the parents ought to be spanked though.

Parents should be billed for use of public emergency response teams.

That 6 year old just trolled the entire nation.

He's got a bright future ahead of him, methinks.