Dad: It's 'Disgusting' To Suggest Colorado Balloon Drama Was A Hoax

Calling any such talk "crap" and "disgusting," Richard Heene told reporters last night that the nationally televised drama yesterday — when it was thought his six-year-old son Falcon was floating high above Fort Collins, Colo., in a balloon — was not some kind of hoax or publicity stunt.

KUSA-TV in Denver has posted video of Heene talking to reporters about what happened. We'll embed the video in this post as well, in the second section after the "read more" link (we'll put it there because KUSA's player automatically starts and we don't want it to begin playing every time a Two-Way reader opens the blog; our apologies to those coming straight to this post who suddenly hear the audio).

Questions about whether the incident might have been a hoax popped up even as the balloon was still in the air. They were raised again when Falcon, who says he hid in a garage attic and fell asleep during the saga, told CNN that he didn't come out because it was "for the show." Here's what the Denver Post writes about that:

In a later interview on CNN, Falcon was asked again why he hid and didn't come out when he heard his family calling his name.

"You had said that we did this for a show," Falcon said.

His father, Richard Heene, was asked to clarify the comment. He said he was "appalled" at the question and its implication the ordeal was a hoax. He suggested Falcon's response might have stemmed from the family's appearance on the TV show Wife Swap.

After the CNN interview, Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden told The Associated Press that although personnel dealing with the family are convinced that the incident was legitimate and "not a hoax," the department intended to ask the family today "to cooperate with our investigation through answering more questions and resolve this issue."

Update at 8:55 a.m. ET: Here's the report that NPR's Jeff Brady filed for Morning Edition:

Update at 8:10 a.m. ET. The Associated Press reports that:

The 6-year-old boy at the center of the runaway balloon saga got sick twice on national television when he and his father were asked during separate TV interviews what he meant about his comment that "we did this for a show."

Update at 7:48 a.m. ET: On CNN's American Morning a moment ago, Richard Heene said he thinks Falcon was referring to showing the news media where he had hidden, not to being part of a "show" about the balloon.

And there were a few uncomfortable moments when CNN's John Roberts asked the parents about videos they've made of their sons in which the boys can be heard swearing. Richard Heene said his boys are allowed "to cuss" at home.

Again, the KUSA video of Heene speaking about the incident follows: