Under watch: Balloon boy dad Richard Heene
Richard and Mayumi Heene, admitting they perpetrated a hoax when they claimed their 6-year-old son Falcon floated away in a giant balloon, when in fact he was in their Fort Collins, Colorado home while the entire nation watched the drama unfold on national television. Flights in and out of Denver International Airport were rerouted and a farmer’s field was destroyed by would-be rescuers when the balloon landed without the boy and authorities feared the worst. Aside from the obvious (“He’s a great liar,” clue # 12 in the chapter entitled “A Supreme Being Complex,” How to Spot Hidden Alcoholics: Using Behavioral Clues to Recognize Addiction in Its Early Stages), Heene is known for his “extreme” risk-taking personality (“Engages in risky behaviors in reckless fashion,” clue # 6 “A Supreme Being Complex”—he is known for chasing tornados and hurricanes with his children in tow); Sheree Silver, who lived at the Heene house for two weeks when she and Mayumi traded families as part of the reality TV show “Wife Swap,” said the household was out of control and “his children went berserk” (clue # 10, “Children are out of control,” in the chapter “Poor Judgment”); and the children, who no doubt learned from their father, swore “nonstop” in front of Silver (clue # 2, “Regularly uses foul language” in the Supreme Being chapter).