Family of boy in balloon incident to hold news conference

A crowd of reporters and others is gathering in front of the house of the Fort Collins couple in the media spotlight after it was feared their 6 years old drifted off in a home made helium balloon.

Richard Heene announced to reporters early this morning that he would have a news conference at 10 a.m. to make a big announcement.

The family has been in the news since Thursday when the balloon Richard Heene had in his backyard broke free of its tethers. Richard and Mayumi Heene reported their son, 6-year-old Falcon, was on board.

That set off a frantic search that included law enforcement agencies, the Colorado Air National Guard and TV helicopters. The balloon landed in a field about 50 miles from Fort Collins and no one was on board.

Sheriff's investigators found the boy in the rafters of his family's garage where he said he hid because he thought he was in trouble.

The family has faced questions about whether the whole incident was a hoax. The Larimer County sheriff's department has said there's no indication of that, but wants to talk to the family again.