Balloon Boy Busted!

Criminal charges will be made in Thursday's media frenzy after sheriff's determine the entire event was a media hoax

Little Falcon Heene might be flying high (or not), but Balloon Boy's parents are in big trouble.

Criminal charges are on the way for the "storm-chasing" Richard and Mayumi Heene, Larimer County Sheriff James Alderden stated during a Sunday morning press conference.

"The hoax [was] a planned event for at least two weeks to launch this space craft in order to gain media publicity," says Alderden. "To create a situation where it appeared Falcon was in the craft and his life was in danger with an ultimate goal of...obtaining a contract to do a reality show."

The charges will include filing a false report, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, attempting to influence a public servant and conspiracy.

How about adding successfully fooling an entire nation into caring to the list? (Admit it—you feel as duped as we do!)

Colorado officials have yet to make an arrest in the hoax, but an investigation is still underway.

"We have a lot of work to do. We have to identify co-conspirators, a lot of records to go through," explains Alderden. "Until we do that, we can't submit a case to the district attorney's office. I cannot estimate how long that will take."

The Heenes are not yet in custody, but they are under a watchful eye.

"They are free to do what they will. They are a flight risk, but felony warrants will follow them where ever they go," Alderden promises.

The Sheriff discussed the present demeanor of Ma and Pa Heene, noting that they have been surprisingly cooperative, but unapologetic. "There was no evidence of any remorse," says Alderden.

However, he did make an apology of his own—to the media.

"We did not want to mislead the media," Alderden says on behalf of the of the Larimer County Sheriff's Department. "We were manipulated."

And what about the attic-dwelling six-year-old boy who burst the whole bubble?

Don't worry, the kids won't do any hard time. "The children were 100 percent involved and had guilty knowledge," says Alderden. "Given the age of the children, I seriously doubt they will face any criminal charges."

Child protective services have been notified about the Heene's situation and will be conducting their own investigation into the high-flying fam to determine if the parents are fit to raise the three children.

And so we wait.

Hey, in a way the Heenes are sort of starring in the very reality show they pitched around just a few months ago. We might have suggested going about it differently, but yay for them?