[Erin524]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,567041,00.html

This 6yr old kid's father was building a lighter-than-air craft/giant mylar balloon in his backyard to use to chase storms. The little kid got into it somehow, and the balloon got loose.

So, now this kid is apparently trapped 8,000 feet above Colorado. They were talking that the kid could freeze to death before he dies of hypoxia if the balloon doesnt come down soon.

Shepherd Smith on Fox News described the balloon as looking like a "Jiffy-Pop-Popcorn thing".

The balloon was never meant to carry people, and the compartment where the kid is supposed to be (they searched on the ground for the kid and cant find him, so they're pretty sure he's in the balloon...his brother saw him get into it) is made of thin plywood.

It's the freakiest thing I've ever seen on the news. It looks like spaceship, or a giant magic mushroom. Plus, it looks like it's deflating, which could be a good thing if it deflates slowly enough that it would come down gently instead of crashing into the ground.

I'd like to say WT*??!?, but that just doesnt cover this..

[Erin524]

The balloon is down now, and it was empty!

They still have no idea where the kid is...the brother is reported as saying that he thinks the kid could have fallen out.

[Jomar]

the older brother is the one that says the younger boy got in ,,, maybe he wasn't really in it and is hiding now??

I hope that is the case and he didn't fall out somewhere.

but something like that should have some better safety precautions so a kid can't get into this situation.

PS
this family was on wife swap 2x and the dad built the thing.

[Erin524]

I'm hoping the kid just found a great hiding spot somewhere close to his house and is ok...

Or that the older brother was joking when he said the 6yr old was inside.

You do have to wonder where the heck the kid is now...I really hope he didnt fall out of the balloon and they just dont know where that was.

He better be hiding under his bed or in the attic of their house or something.

[Jomar]

I'm sure they are grilling the brother to be sure they are getting the real story..

I sure hope the little kid hasn't fallen out while it was flying away..
he could be seriously injured out in the middle of nowhere or worse.

If it is a prank or a stunt I hope they find out soon and not waste resources looking for a kid that is safe & hiding....

and I hope they bring in search dogs and search the home grounds - as well as try to track the flight path in case they do need to go looking for the boy out in the wilderness..

[Erin524]

Now they're saying there was a "box" that was attached to the bottom of the "cupcake" area of the balloon. They said on Fox News that the brothers told authorities that the box was on the balloon when it took off.

They're looking on all the images from the video to see if they can see if they can pinpoint if that box was on there, and where and when it fell off, if it had fallen off after the point where they started to film the balloon.

There was a bit of time where the news and police helicopters were scrambling, and the travel time to get to where the balloon was that they werent filming. So, if he ever was on the balloon, he could have dropped off before that point.

edited to add:

Fox News just reported (Neil Cavuto) that the brothers were playing and had video cameras, and that there may be some video of the balloon taking off. I looked to see if I could find any links to something confirming that, but cant find anything yet. Cavuto made a comment wondering just why they had video cameras at the ready like that. These kids are known for making youtube videos apparently.

[Kitty]

I hope he's OK......but it sounds pretty hokey to me. Sounds like a publicity stunt or something.

If it's not I hope everyone is unharmed.....including that little boy if his parents find out it's a trick!

[KAOheim]

Boy found in box in attic. Wow, I hope they got paid a lot for the tv stuff they did because this "rescue" is gonna cost a bundle.

[Erin524]

Gosh, I hope that kid's parents can afford to pay for all the manpower and rescue helicopters.

I thought the police searched the house...apparently they didnt do a very good job.

[Dejibo]

turns out his folks were on "wife swap" so I guess they felt they didnt get their full 15 mins of fame.