'Balloon Boy' Recap: Where Are Falcon, Richard & Mayumi Heene Now?

In the latest episode of the Netflix documentary series Trainwreck, appropriately titled Balloon Boy, an unusual story from Fort Collins, Colorado, makes its way to our screens. The single common factor between all the incidents featured on Trainwreck so far is the media attention and online buzz generated from them, and in this case, local and national news agencies rightfully went into a frenzy when a six-year-old boy was reported to be stuck inside a homemade flying saucer soaring through the skies. However, the story took an unexpected twist after the authorities suspected that the entire incident might have been faked and the emergency fabricated, all of which is covered in the entertaining Balloon Boy docufilm. 

How did the Heene family suddenly come to the limelight?

An introduction to the Heene family is definitely the first thing to seek out in Trainwreck: Balloon Boy, since this family unit is clearly of an unusual, wacky kind. Richard Heene, the patriarch, had always had a very keen interest in science and technology, with his expertise being in building gadgets and devices from scratch. Although he had never received any formal training in engineering, Richard would keep building stuff at his home, and when he met and fell in love with Mayumi, a Japanese student in the USA, it seemed like a match made in heaven. Although Mayumi did not have the same level of enthusiasm for hands-on experimentation, she definitely supported her husband through all his endeavors. 

Their three young sons, Bradford, Ryo, and Falcon, definitely enjoyed their lives centered around science experiments at all times, and they would help their father out in whatever way possible. The family was always doing out-of-the-way stuff like building electronic gadgets or chasing tornadoes and cyclones just for the fun of the experience, and they were quite loved in the neighborhood as well. One of their neighbors, Dean Askew, who lived right across from their house in Fort Collins, remembers how he always wondered whether Richard had dropped out from MIT or some distinguished engineering college because of his scientific skills. As the Heenes’ backyard was visible from his bedroom window, Dean also recalls seeing the family working on a massive circular object one day, and he was intrigued by what new invention they were about to come up with.

This big circular object was actually a flying saucer that Richard Heene had designed, taking inspiration from “The Jetsons” cartoon. The flying cars in the cartoon were the absolute epitome of scientific invention and futuristic wonder to Richard, just like to many who marveled at the cartoon in their childhood, and he’d wanted to build something like that for a very long time. An inventor at heart, with a tremendous amount of self-confidence, Richard started designing a flying saucer, believing that his invention would not just look cool but would also help avoid traffic on the roads. Thus, a saucer was built by the man and his three sons, and they all eagerly waited for the test day.

The youngest Heene, Falcon, had developed a true knack for doing things that he was told not to do, and as an adventurous young boy of 6, he loved sneaking into the compartment under the flying saucer, simply to have a space of his own. Although this compartment was meant to be filled with helium and not for any human to get into, Falcon would crawl into it, as he fit perfectly into the tight space, and then spend time by himself. This is exactly what started off the whole fiasco on the 15th of October, 2009, as the Heene family gathered to test their flying saucer for the first time. This specific day had been selected as it was Richard and Mayumi’s anniversary, and together they’d started the proceedings of filling up the saucer with helium, with great enthusiasm. However, there seemed to have been a grave mistake, as Mayumi, who was responsible for tying down the tethers carefully to ensure that the saucer, which was conceptually just a large balloon, would not rise up beyond a calculated point just yet. 

But as the tethers had not been properly put in place, the balloon started rising very quickly, and within a couple of minutes, it flew away from the Heenes’ backyard, ascending rapidly because of the helium. Richard was already angry at the fact that his project, worth thousands of dollars, had literally flown away from him, but to make matters worse, Ryo frantically pointed out to his parents an even graver situation. His youngest brother, Falcon, was nowhere to be found, and he had indeed seen little Falcon crawl into the compartment under the balloon, like the child always loved to do. Richard and Mayumi were panicked at the possibility, and when they searched for Falcon everywhere in the house and found no trace of him, they decided to inform the authorities about it.

As the authorities rushed to tackle this bizarre situation, the local news channels were alerted as well, and the incident started being reported on national news programs as well. The local 9News Channel even sent out their own helicopter to track the balloon, and to check if the 6-year-old boy was still inside it. There was already concern that the child could have fallen out at any moment because of the extremely fast speed of the balloon, especially as it had ascended to 7,000 feet. Eventually, the balloon started to descend after an almost two-and-a-half hour flight, as the helium reserves ran out, and the authorities were relieved to finally get it back on land. However, much to their dismay, there was no trace of young Falcon in it. 

What had happened to Falcon?

The news of the balloon being empty absolutely devastated Richard and Mayumi, as they feared the worst, and there was enough reason to do so. One of their neighbors had earlier taken a photo of the flying balloon, with an object seemingly falling down from it. Although the photograph was not clear enough to identify what this object was, most felt that Falcon must have fallen out at this very instant. By now, a police unit was already at the Heene house, along with many media personnel waiting outside, when Bob Heffernan, the leading investigator in the case, heard a sudden commotion at around 4pm. As if by some divine miracle, Falcon had just walked into the house and asked his mother for some food, as he was very hungry, much to the joy of his parents and brothers. 

As it turned out, Falcon had never sneaked into the balloon that morning, but had instead just wandered away from the backyard when nobody was looking. Falcon, now an adult, himself appears in the documentary to reveal what he had done on that fateful day and how he had sneaked into his new favorite hiding spot, the attic inside the garage. He had done this to spend some time alone and had fallen asleep in the attic, only to have woken up out of hunger hours later. He had no idea that he was believed to be missing, and even dead, by some, and did not even know about the balloon fiasco. Falcon remembers being quite surprised and confused as to why there were so many people at their house, and this is why he had run straight back to his parents after waking up. 

This sudden twist meant, most importantly, that the boy of 6 was safe and with his family, but it also instantly raised a lot of doubts on social media and online news forums. As soon as the authorities had been alerted, a police team had reached the Heene house, and yet nobody could find the missing boy. Heffernan addresses the matter in the film, stating that he assumed that some of the policemen had already carried out a thorough search of the house and did not consider personally doing so once again. More importantly, it meant that the police and the media had spent enormous amounts of time and resources chasing a case and a story, respectively, that was not true. 

Minutes after news of Falcon’s miraculous return to his home had been broken to the public, Richard and the entire family came out onto the lawn to speak to news channels, and they all, especially Richard, seemed quite uneasy and out-of-place. While it seemed like the man was a bit shaken by the situation and also nervous in facing the cameras, being the layman that he was, some were quick to point out that he seemed a little on edge, almost as if pretending to be so. But the situation took one more turn when the family sat down for an interview with the “Larry King Live” program on that same evening, and Falcon was directly asked why he did not respond from the attic when his parents and the police called out his name repeatedly. 

Had the Heenes faked the whole emergency situation?

To everyone’s surprise, the young boy answered this question nervously, suggesting that he was only following his parents’ orders, as they had told him to stay put in the attic, as it was all part of a shoot. While Falcon’s mumbled childish words did not state this theory so openly, the implication of his answer was certainly so, and both the police and people on the internet now started to look at the situation differently. In what seemed like a desperate attempt to avoid suspicion, the Heenes appeared on a news program the very next morning, this time to clarify that Falcon was confused about the question on “Larry King Live” and had misunderstood what he had been asked. 

After news of Falcon’s real whereabouts had been revealed, a few news personnel had asked him to show them how he had climbed into the attic in the garage and how he remained hidden, and the boy had reenacted the whole thing. According to the Heenes’ current claim, Falcon thought that he was being asked about this situation and not the original incident from the morning, which is why he mentioned that it had been for a show. In order to prove that they were being truthful, Richard even released a home video that had been taken during the launch of the balloon to the news channels. The family did have a habit of regularly shooting home videos, and this was one such instance, except that it had recorded the frantic moments when the family realized, or believed, that Falcon was in the balloon.

But people on the internet were simply not convinced, and in fact, Richard’s attempts to prove his story ended up making him seem more suspicious. To most people, the young Falcon had innocently let slip the truth during the “Larry King Live” interview, and the home video also appeared like the whole family was just acting frantic and panicked in front of the camera. Within a matter of just a day, it had now started to seem like the Heenes had faked the emergency situation, and it did not take long for a plausible motive to emerge as well. After all, Richard and Mayumi had first met at an acting school, and although they had failed to make any impact in the field, the passion for acting, and especially for appearing in front of the camera, still remained in them. This is seemingly why the couple had agreed to feature on the reality TV show “Wife Swap” on two occasions, and they had seemed quite comfortable in playing out the partly scripted roles. Although Richard argues that he had agreed to be a part of the show because they were paying the family well, and he desperately needed money to keep things afloat, it is hard to imagine a TV show approaching a random family without the latter showing any interest first. 

When viewed all at once, all of Richard Heene’s acts, ranging from his passion for chasing storms with his family to his avid interest in making scientific and electric innovations, almost playing out the stereotypical role of the ‘home-schooled mad scientist,’ made him appear to be an attention-seeker. Even his habit of constantly taking home videos made it apparent that he was always looking for an opportunity to become famous, and eventually rich, by showing off his personality and unusual lifestyle to the world. Even in the moments after Falcon had been found, the police remember Richard being very enthusiastic to go out and speak to the media, basically to make an appearance in front of the cameras, even though Richard claims that he was advised by the police to do so in order to send the media personnel away. Therefore, this present incident, which was now being called the ‘Balloon Boy Hoax’ by the media, appeared to have been a publicity stunt to get some quick attention and fame.

What Finally Happened To The Heenes?

The authorities had grown incredibly suspicious by now, and Jim Alderden, the Larimer County Sheriff, had already been brought into the investigation. The sheriff’s office called Robert to the office, pretending to return his air balloon to him, while in reality they wanted to make him sit for a polygraph test, and they managed to convince him to do so as well. But Robert kept applying all the well-known techniques used to fake a polygraph test, and so nothing conclusive could be found from this test. This was enough for the police to directly reveal their suspicions about the family, and they picked up Mayumi for questioning from her house. 

In an interrogation session that was recorded and which is shown in Trainwreck: Balloon Boy as well, Mayumi eventually confirmed the theory that the whole thing had been a setup and that they had trained Falcon to go and hide in the garage attic. However, when this video was used as evidence, Mayumi claimed, and she continues to say so, that her English was not good enough at the time, because of which she could not really understand what was being said to her. There was enough reason to doubt her claim, as Mayumi Iizuka had pursued and completed a degree in English while in Japan, and she had then moved to the United States to complete three more years of college education. It seemed quite unconvincing that she did not understand the English words being spoken to her during the interrogation, particularly the word ‘hoax,’ which is quite commonly used.

The Heenes hired David Lane as their lawyer, and he claims that the DA eventually came to him with a plea deal, in which Richard was to plead guilty and accept a prison sentence of 30 days, failing which Mayumi would be deported back to Japan, as she was not an official citizen yet. However, Jim Alderden claims that such a deal being offered was highly unlikely and suggests that Lane must have actually presented the deal to his client, Richard, in such a manner so that the man would accept the terms. Ultimately, the Heenes did agree to this deal, and Richard pled guilty in court, while Mayumi also pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge. Richard was sentenced to 90 days in prison, and Mayumi was sentenced to 20 days, although she was to serve her sentence through community service, without having to actually spend time behind bars.

After the Heenes served all their sentences and were finally back to their normal lives, they decided to move away from Fort Collins in order to avoid the media and intruding neighbors. They moved to Florida, where they are still living to this day, on a private property that Richard keeps guarded almost like a fortress, with thick metal gates and three guard dogs. In 2020, the governor of Colorado, Jared Polis granted an official pardon to Richard and Mayumi, shortly after which Mayumi also got her official US citizenship. It is not clear what the family now does for a living, but they still continue to claim that none of what had happened on the 15th of October, 2009, had been faked for any ulterior motive. 

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