Should they be charged for the balloon boy incident they caused and lose their children?


I don't think they should besides listen to this quote

"he couple said they were terrified their 6-year-old son Falcon may have been on it.:
Doesn't mean he "Was" on it. And just b/c they lied to the military or whatever you called it doesn't mean they should take the kids away. i mean they were never in any real danger so why should the children have to suffer if all they did was listen to their parents. I listen to my parents and guess what I did stuff I could have gotten in big trouble for like kicking a security guard, I wasn't taken away from my family then so why should these kids have to.

But hey the kid can't be in a bad environment if he told the truth don't cha think? Am I going to be taken away because I am in a bad environment like several, several others.

(what do you all think)

I'm going to move this to General Discussion, as I think it's more appropriate there, and you'll likely get more responses. :D

Lose their children? No.

Should they be charged for the other issues they caused? Yes.

I do fully believe it was a scam.

Well I don't believe it was a hoax.

Parents and kids can say anything under pressure that they don't really mean. For example, my brother got fired from his job of 4 years about a month ago. He and his friend was falsely accused of stealing more than $1,400 worth of items.

His bosses even got the police involved, and the inventory guy...person. Anyways, they accused him of stealing these items because the items weren't in stock and my brother didn't have the guts to say, "I think they were misplaced". Not to mention, his co-worker is dyslexic so my brother (being the manager) has to go over the inventory three times over to see if it's correct.

Maybe his co-workers stole some items, maybe he did the math wrong, or maybe he really did misplace them somewhere and forgot where it was -- the point is, he was force to sign a paper saying he stole the items. His colleagues and other district managers swore that my brother wouldn't ever steal anything (bro's district manager HATES him because he's afraid bro will steal his job).

After all, my brother meets all the quotas, his sales records is above and beyond, all the customers love him and he was slated for another holiday bonus this year. Everyone except the district manager loved him, he was one of the best in the entire state! Well I guess district manager was a coward because he fired my brother over something that has no proof, brother signed a paper stating that he stole -- that went on his criminal record as a misdemeanor I believe.

Luckily, the company declined to press charges against my brother, but his reputation was tarnished by slander all because he was pressured to say something other than the truth. His best friend however, didn't go through with the pressures and actually has a court case against the district manager (good luck to him).

I was thinking that perhaps the media, the police, the national guards, the tabloids, etc. probably scared the parents to admitting that it was a hoax just so they could be left alone. Terrorist prisoners often give out false information to American soldiers to get out of torture, and to be left alone. Perhaps the parents and kids had to lie, after all...... millions probably thought it was a hoax regardless of the sherriff saying anything, and harrassed the parents about it.

Like in my brother's situation.... his district manager, the inventory guy, and the police grilled into his head that he did steal it even without proof...my brother's fear got the best of him and he started to believe that he actually stole the items and they were correct, even if it wasn't true!

Fear can do alot of things, if I were in the parents' shoes and millions of people plus the police swore to me that what I did was a hoax, even if I knew it wasn't true....I'd start believing them and saying that it was just to be left alone.

Also, just because the parents said that they planned it, doesn't make it true. If I recall correctly, they didn't find any concrete evidence that they actually planned it except their word.

I don't think the kids should be taken away. In fact, I don't beleive they should be getting any attention at all for it. It was a hoax, pure and simple, and no that we know about it, we're still giving them the attention that these people want.

I say we ignore them, and move on.

These people wanted to draw attention to themselves.
They didn't get enough publicity from Wife Swap.
They exploited their child for fame.
They called in a fake 911 report.
Temporary seperaion, I believe, is mandatory.

I do believe the parents should be charged. With what, I don't know. I'm not a lawyer or police officier.

I have mixed feelings about taking their children away. For one, if they serve time, the kids will be taken away anyway. Also, what they did could have been dangerous. What if they, or someone else who saw that, decide to up the ante and really put one of their children in danger?

Whatever happens, I really feel sorry for those kids.

I personally believe that this whole Balloon Boy thing is absolutely ridiculous. By putting it on the news, and even on celebrity interview TV shows, what we're doing is giving them exactly what they want. Attention.

I say, punish the parents for the crime of false police reports and drop everything else. By drawing so much attention do it, we're pulling up even more issues, which ends up making more work for the authorities.

I'm not sure exactly what's been going on, since I try not to buy into this shit, but the whole thing is being blown out of proportion and it's just eating up time we could be spending on more substantial things.

I think they should be charged for the incident, but not lose their children.

Actually, from what I have heard, the reason why they are considering taking the kids away from them is not because of the hoax itself. If that were their reasoning, then I would believe it to be inappropriate. However, there was information released some time ago about a few possible incidents of domestic abuse occurring in the household. Neighbors also complained that the husband put his family in danger through his experiments. Now, THAT is a good reason to consider getting social services involved. I never think that taking a child away from their parents is a good thing for the child, emotionally, but if there is real physical abuse going on in that household, then that is a legitimate reason for the children to be taken away. They should not have to be in that kind of environment.

However, this is just what I have taken from the news reports. There has been no proof of domestic abuse so far.

No, I don't think the kids should be taken away.
It was a hoax, and honestly I'm sick of hearing about it. I don't see why it blew up as big as it did, and I just wish it was over with. There's really nothing else to the story, and I'm done with listening to the same thing.
They should, however, be charged with knowingly calling in a false report of something to 911, and getting the military involved. If you hadn't noticed, they DO have better things to do then run around after balloon scams.

it was stupid. they should be punished.

I totally thing it was a hoax, but to have their kids taken away would be a it extreme. However, they should be charged because they cost tax payers big bucks.

When I first heard about this it was virtually 'live'. The balloon was being tracked through the air... and then it landed and they couldn't find the boy. What if they were actually stupid enough to put him inside it for real? What if they originally intended to but realized he was too heavy? They broke -laws- for this stunt. What kind of environment is that for a kid to grow up in? The parents did a very bad thing. At the very least those in the center of involvement should have the proper action taken against them - which should reasonably be several months in jail. The kids will have to be separated from their parents (staying with extended family) for that long, anyway.

Permanently separated? *shrug* I don't care enough to say either way. But the parents are a very bad influence on the children. I've seen families ripped apart over less. I don't wish it on any family... even if it was all in good fun it concerned us all on a national level and now has us all very foul on a national level.

they should be charged for what they did like lying to the military or whatever. but i dont think the kids should be taken away because its not like they were harmed or threatened at all.

They're being charged with several felonies, which I think is perfectly acceptable. It cost over $14,000 to get the two military helicopters in the air to pursue the balloon. And what about all the man hours wasted trying to find a body? Unacceptable.

I don't think the children should be taken away. They were not put in any danger and there was no sign of abuse. Yes, the children were used in the parents scheme for television and fame, but it was not done in a way that was actually harmful to them. I do however believe that the parents should be heavily fined and punished for what they have done. What they did caused a big stir. There was money wasted, being put towards a child that was never missing in the first place. I am going off of the articles I read where the mom said that she was aware that her son was not missing and that they purposely lied to bring more interest to their family. They had been trying to get on several television shows in the past and had been on two seasons of Wife Swap.

I do believe they should be charged and if they are that means jail time. In that case, separation would be inevitable wouldn't it?

I find it irritating that the parents would go this far for some attention. In the end I believe that they should be charged, and with Jail time this will lead to their children being taken away. In the end I feel bad for the Children, they are the ones that are going to suffer from their parents stupidity.

I think they should be charged with the charges that are applicable to what they did, but taking the kids away is a bit much. Even in an attempt to get attention, I can't see someone telling a child to go hide in an attic while mommy and daddy create a ruckus.

Then again, maybe I just have too much faith in humanity.

But they should definitely get punished for all the hoopla that they caused. It took time and resources that could have been spent elsewhere.

Since the news is now digging up things on the Family.

I say the it is mainly the Father that needs help. He should get counseling, while the Mother should get therapy. Because both are very toxic to the upbringing of their children.
No doubt it is probably a fun family life, but their actions are just shocking.

The Father is obviously the head honcho (as they say) of the group, and tells everyone what to do. While the Mother just seems to be a push over who goes along with things because she doesn't know any better.

I was actually underneath it when it happened. I live in Larimer county Colorado, so it was like huge gossip while it was happening.

Personally, I think the parents should be charged, because they're obviously just stunt pullers. They went on TWO different TV shows and Falcon puked on stage on both, and they just sat there smiling at the camera. It almost leads me to believe that they trained him to puke on command to get even more attention.

Those people need help.

[email protected] on command

I doubt that. personally think that Falcon got sick from having to lie.

I think you'd have to do a thorough investigation on the family before their kids got taken away. I know they're publicity fiends but that doesn't necessarily make them bad parents. I just think they'd need investigation/observation to make sure the kids are safe from any stunts or possibly dangerous activities. (Aren't they like storm chasers?)

As far as the charges go - yeah, they need to pay. Even if it wasn't a hoax, you should take a lot more safety precautions with something that massive.