FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) -- It looked like something straight out of science fiction and sounded like a parent's worst nightmare: a flying saucer-shaped helium balloon zooming across the skies of Colorado with a boy named Falcon inside.
Or so it seemed.
After a spectacle that dominated cable television and captivated people across the nation, 6-year-old Falcon Heene was found safe at his home Thursday hiding in a cardboard box in the garage rafters. (12 images)
Editor's note: Since the publishing of this entry, authorities have accused the Heene family of perpetrating a hoax over their son's feared disappearance in a balloon to promote a reality show. The Heenes have denied the balloon incident was a hoax.
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Falcon Henne, center, 6, is shown outside his home Oct. 15, in Ft. Collins, Colorado. Falcon was found hiding in the attic of his family home after his siblings had erroneously reported that he was riding aboard an experimental balloon built by his father. Media helicopters, military aircraft and the FAA all assisted in tracking down the wayward balloon, which landed in a field in Weld County, Colorado. Getty Images / John Moore
Falcon Heene, center, 6, stands in the garage where he earlier climbed up PVC pipes to hide in the attic Oct. 15, in Ft. Collins, Colo. Getty Images / John Moore
Falcon Heene is hugged by his mother, Mayumi, after a news conference outside the family's home, Thursday, Oct. 15, in Fort Collins, Colo. The Denver Post / Cyrus McCrimmon
Six-year-old Falcon Heene is shown with his father, Richard, outside the family's home in Fort Collins, Colo., after Falcon Heene was found hiding in a box in a space above the garage on Thursday, Oct. 15. AP / David Zalubowski
Falcon Heene, left, greets neighborhood friends outside his home Oct. 15, in Ft. Collins, Colo. Getty Images / John Moore
Falcon Heene, left, 6, and brother Ryo, 8, are shown outside their home Oct. 15, in Ft. Collins, Colo. Getty Images / John Moore
Falcon Heene, center, 6, is shown outside his home Oct. 15, in Ft. Collins, Colo. Getty Images / John Moore
Falcon Heene, receives a pizza delivery at his home Oct. 15, in Ft. Collins, Colo. Getty Images / John Moore
Falcon Heene, center, 6, stands with brothers Brad, 10, left, and Ryo, 8, outside their home Oct. 15, in Ft. Collins, Colo. Getty Images / John Moore
Six-year-old Falcon Heene sits cross-legged on the roof of his family's van outside his home in Fort Collins, Colo., after the little boy was found hiding in a box in a space above the garage on Thursday, Oct. 15. AP / David Zalubowski
Six-year-old Falcon Heene sits in the box of his family's pickup truck outside their family's home in Fort Collins, Colo., after he was found hiding in a box in a space above the garage on Thursday, Oct. 15. AP / David Zalubowski
Falcon Heene, left, 6, climbs over the family car with brother Ryo, 8, outside their home Oct. 15, in Ft. Collins, Colo. Getty Images / John Moore
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