Balloon boy" case was a hoax

The bizarre flight of a home-made helium balloon, thought to have a 6-year-old boy aboard, was a hoax and publicity stunt, a Colorado sheriff said on Sunday.

"It has been determined that this is a hoax, that it was a publicity stunt and we believe we have evidence at this point to indicate that this was a publicity stunt in hopes to better market themselves for a reality show," Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden told reporters at a press conference.

He said the family faced several charges.

The sight of the flyaway balloon on live television gripped U.S. viewers for more than two hours on Thursday as the silver flying saucer-shaped contraption raced across the Colorado sky, tracked by U.S. National Guard helicopters before the boy, Falcon Heene, was found alive and well in his attic.

Questions were raised after Falcon was asked during an interview on CNN why he had stayed in hiding so long when family members and other searchers were desperately calling his name.