I am sure most of our readers were glued to the television sets for almost two hours this afternoon, hoping and praying for the safety and life of 6-year-old Falcon Heene, if he happened to be aboard the ill-fated silvery balloon.
We all held our breath when the balloon more-or-less-gently touched down in a field, and while the rescuers and emergency personnel searched for the boy and, at the time we thought, fortunately, did not find the boy inside.
As I am writing this, the frantic search efforts and the stories and the rumors continue.
There are reports of a basket, or a box, being attached to the balloon and that someone saw “something” fall from the balloon. There is even a picture showing a dark dot at some distance underneath the balloon.
According to the Austin American-Statesman, a few minutes ago:
Larimer County sheriff’s spokeswoman Kathy Messick said one of the boy’s two older brothers saw 6-year-old Falcon Heene get into a box that was attached to the balloon with pegs. The box was not found when the balloon landed; several people reported seeing something fall from the balloon while it was in the air.
I hope that the boy wasn’t aboard any such basket, and that he will still be found alive and well.
What intrigues me is the following:
I have to assume that the boy’s parents were—probably accompanied by authorities—watching the same pictures of the balloon flight we were watching, clearly showing no basket, no anything underneath the balloon.
Why didn’t they immediately tell the authorities that the basket was no longer there, so that search and rescue efforts could immediately start along the route of the balloon, and precious minutes, even hours, would not be wasted tracking the flight of an empty balloon.
I an sure we’ll soon know the answers. But, what is really important is that young Falcon will still be found alive and well. All else is unimportant at this moment.
UPDATE: I have just heard that young Falcon has been found safe and sound. Thank God.
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.