PLN24

The article "Balloon Boy Hoax Parents Plead Guilty", tells the story of the Heene family, AKA, the balloon boy's family, who set up the balloon boy hoax. On Oct. 15 the family called 911, alleging that their 6 year old son, Falcon, was on board their weather balloon which had accidentally taken off from their backyard. Police, Nationak Guard, and other rescue units tracked the weather balloon along Eastern Colorado. Authorities went as far as to delay flights departing from DIA, fearing the balloon could interfere with the flight of an arline. Both local and national news stations interupted normalafternoon TV shows to show live coverage of the drama. Once the weather balloon finally landed and Falcon was not in it,thoughts of concern changed to fear over the possibility of the little boy had fallen out of the balloon during flight. It was later discovered that this sensation story was a hoax masterminded by the Heene's as a ploy to get media attention eventually leading to a reality show for the family. On Dec. 23 it both parents will be sentenced to the consequences of the crime. Both parents face the possibilty of jail time. The Heene's will also be ordered to pay for the costs incurred by authorites during the hoax. This story had all Americans glued to there TV, praying for Falcon's safe return. The Heene's attorney, David Lane,stated that the strictness of the charges reflected the anger of all Americans when they learned the story was a hoax. Overall this was a socially inappropriate act involving authorities from FAA to the local sheriff's department and it never should of happened. Leading the public to believe a child's life was in danger crossed the line of common decency. It also demonstrated how far people will go just to get attention and their spotlight on TV.