Yesterday the Sheriff of Larimer County, Colorado announced that the infamous “Balloon Boy” Heene family would face possible felony charges over a bizarre incident in which authorities tried in vain to rescue a six year old boy thought to have been trapped inside a homemade weather balloon. The boy, Falcon, was ultimately found hiding in the family’s attic. When questioned why he didn’t come out after hearing his family calling for him, Falcon answered “you said we did this for the show.” In two subsequent interviews, Falcon got sick and threw up when asked whether he was really hiding.

The sheriff, who initially insisted that he believed the Heene’s account, claims the whole thing was an elaborate fraud meant to drum up interest in a reality show. The Heene family has been on “Wife Swap” twice and the father is a known publicity-seeker. Authorities searched the Heene home early Sunday morning, seizing computers and documents, and the Sheriff said that they turned up evidence that this was a stunt planned out at least two weeks ago. The Heenes have not yet been arrested or charged, though. Both parents were interviewed by police separately, and The NY Times reports that due to Colorado law cops can’t report whether they confessed.

What’s more is that child protective services have been notified and are investigating the Heenes, who have three boys: Falcon, 6, Ryo, 8, and Bradford, 9. Adding to the evidence that Richard and Mayumi Heene are awful parents is a video of their sons singing a profane song they made up called “Not Pussified.” In one scene, one of the children is shown sitting in a toilet while covered in a black substance meant to look like feces.

Three days after the nation watched the televised image of a silver flying saucer-shaped balloon traveling across the Colorado sky, it turns out the saga of the balloon boy may have been all hot air.

“It has been determined this was a hoax. It was a publicity stunt,” Larimer County, Colo., Sheriff Jim Alderden told reporters Sunday. He said no arrests will be made until the investigation is complete.

Alderden said the hoax was hatched more than two weeks ago by either one or both of 6-year-old Falcon Heene’s parents as a means of landing their own reality TV show. Authorities are investigating whether others are involved.

The Heene family, who spoke to investigators Saturday, may be charged with two felonies: conspiracy and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Denver attorney David Lane, representing parents Richard and Mayumi Heene, says he wishes to avoid “the public spectacle and humiliation” of police arresting them in the presence of their children and that the couple will turn themselves into authorities when the time comes.

On Monday’s Today show, Lane insisted that so far only one side of the story has been heard.

In the meantime, Sheriff Alderden said protective services would look into whether the children should be removed from the home.

The sheriff issued a search warrant on the Heene home Saturday night and removed computers, video equipment and financial records.

The Heenes were locked out of their house during the search and spent the night with a neighbor. They returned at 9:30 a.m. Sunday morning and left an hour later.

[From People]

Gawker has a long exclusive interview with a friend of Richard Heene, who says that Heene initially planned the stunt to make his craft look like a real UFO which would hopefully fool news outlets. He wasn’t aware of any plans to get the children involved. Richard Heene is a total crackpot according to this guy, who says Heene believes the world will end in 2012 and that shape-shifting aliens live among us. The friend of Heene’s also says that the attic is one of those hidden doors in the ceiling without a staircase leading up to it, and in order to access the ladder little Falcon would have needed help.

For all you can say about these people, this has at least been interesting. I don’t think it’s as simple as we think though. I believe that the kid supposedly going missing was a hoax, but wasn’t initially part of the plan. The dad seemed genuinely mad in the home video of the craft getting loose and then the 911 call did sound real. Maybe they did think the kid was on there initially, found him shortly afterwards, and then realized that they could drag it out for the publicity. They did call the news before dialing 911, though, claiming that the TV station had a helicopter. It’s possible the dad is such an angry, unhinged person in general that he’s not faking it when he freaks out.