Latest news with #Japanese-born
Japan Forward
a day ago
- General
- Japan Forward
Historic Crested Ibis Release Set for June 2026 in Ishikawa
このページを 日本語 で読む The city of Hakui, located on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, has been selected as a release site for the crested ibis ( toki ). The toki is a Special Natural Monument designated by the Japanese government. On January 1, 2024, the Noto Peninsula was struck by a powerful earthquake that claimed 625 lives, including disaster-related deaths. Residents in the affected region have long awaited the return of these iconic birds to Noto's skies — a symbol of recovery and hope. On July 16, a council made up of four cities, five towns, and the prefectural government met in a conference room at Noto Airport in Wajima City. They decided to release the ibises in the Minamigata district of Hakui, a city near Kanazawa. This will be the first time crested ibises are released into the wild on Japan's mainland. Ishikawa was the last place on Honshu (Japan's main island) where wild ibises were seen. Once common throughout Japan, their population declined sharply due to pesticide use and environmental degradation. In 1981, the government captured the last five wild ibises in Ishikawa and moved them to Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture for breeding. In 2003, the final Japanese-born ibis died, rendering the species extinct in Japan. Since then, birds gifted from China have been bred in captivity and released into the wild. The population has since grown to about 580 individuals. To establish a self-sustaining population outside Sado, the national government began searching for new release sites. Ishikawa volunteered. With support from local farmers, the prefecture started building feeding habitats by increasing populations of loaches, pond snails, and other prey species. These efforts were recognized, and in February of this year, Noto was officially chosen as a new release site. A sign marking the crested ibis release model district, created by local high school students, in Hakui City, Ishikawa Prefecture. (©JAPAN Forward by Mika Sugiura) Minamigata was selected for its expansive rice paddies — sufficient to support the planned release of 15 to 20 birds — and its rich biodiversity, comparable to that of Sado. One local farmer, Eiji Hamada, has been preparing by creating biotope feeding areas in Hakui. "Twenty years ago, I dreamed of seeing ibises return to Hakui," he said. "I even printed a toki design on the rice bags I use to store my harvest. I can't believe that dream is actually coming true. It's overwhelming." Eiji Hamada practices environmentally friendly rice farming to support the crested ibis. (©JAPAN Forward by Mika Sugiura) To provide a better environment for the birds, Hamada cut his use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers by half. He also placed ibis decoys in the biotope, hoping the real birds will recognize them and feel encouraged to stay. He hopes other farmers will follow his lead. "The first step is helping the birds settle," he said. "Eventually, I hope rice grown in these eco-friendly paddies will command higher prices. I also hope the ibises will attract tourism like on Sado." The bag Hamada uses for brown rice, featuring a crested ibis design he created 20 years ago. He added red as a wish for the bird's release to become a reality. — Hakui City, Ishikawa Prefecture. (©JAPAN Forward by Mika Sugiura) "I'm so glad I've lived to see the day when ibises fly over their homeland again," said Yoshio Muramoto, a Hakui resident who turned 100 this April. He has spent more than 70 years involved in ibis conservation. Muramoto last saw a wild toki nearly 50 years ago. "At the time, I feared the ibis would disappear from Japan forever. It was heartbreaking," he said. Muramoto dreams of seeing crested ibises fly again over Hakui's skies. — Hakui City, Ishikawa Prefecture. (©JAPAN Forward by Mika Sugiura) He has worked closely with China to protect the species and even built a museum dedicated to the ibis on his property to help educate local children. In recognition of his efforts, Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko visited the museum in 2025. "We also get visits from rare storks here in Hakui," Muramoto added. "Just imagining the day when ibises and storks fly side by side in the skies fills me with excitement." Muramoto built a private crested ibis museum for local children. Hakui City, Ishikawa Prefecture (©JAPAN Forward by Mika Sugiura) He also attended the first ibis release ceremony on Sado. "I want to live to see the release here in Hakui next year," he said. The people of Ishikawa are united in their hope that the crested ibis will take flight as a symbol of their recovery. Author: Mika Sugiura このページを 日本語 で読む
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Sport
- Perth Now
Update in alleged A-League betting fraud
An offer to resolve charges against a former A-League soccer player accused of betting corruption has been rejected by prosecutors, a court has been told. Riku Danzaki, 25, was arrested by police in late May amid an investigation into allegations of gambling corruption during the A-League season. The Japanese-born player, who played 49 games with Western United until his contract finished at the end of the last season, was charged with 10 offences including four counts of engaging in conduct that would corrupt a betting outcome, four counts of facilitating corrupt conduct and using corrupt conduct information for betting. Riku Danzaki totalled six goals and 10 assists across 49 league games. NewsWire / Nadir Kinani Credit: News Corp Australia At the time of his arrest, Victoria Police alleged four matches in April and May 2025 had been subject to 'player to be carded wagering manipulation'. Mr Danzaki appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday morning with the assistance of a Japanese interpreter as lawyer Lewis Winter asked the court for a three week adjournment. He did not enter a plea. Mr Winter told the court he'd put forward an offer to resolve the case with diversion, which allows some first-time accused people to avoid a criminal conviction by meeting conditions, and was awaiting a response from prosecutors. 'I would be seeking around three weeks,' he said. 'I am confident it would be considered by them.' Mr Danzaki attended court with his lawyer Lewis Winter (right). NewsWire / Nadir Kinani Credit: News Corp Australia Mr Danzaki's case was adjourned by Magistrate Tara Hartnett until August 13. But a few hours later, as a second soccer player accused of involvement in the alleged betting corruption, Yuta Hirayama, 27, appeared in court, a police prosecutor indicated diversion would not be accepted for Mr Danzaki. 'I've spoken to Mr Winter … diversion is not going to be on the table,' the prosecutor said. Mr Hirayama, who played last season with the Bayside Argonauts after several years playing for clubs in Queensland, was arrested the same day as Mr Danzaki on May 30. Bayside Argonauts striker Yuta Hirayama is expected to return to court. NewsWire / Nadir Kinani Credit: News Corp Australia He was charged with 16 offences including 11 counts of using corrupt conduct information for betting purposes and four counts of facilitating conduct that corrupts or would corrupt a betting outcome. Lawyers acting for Mr Hirayama told the court the matter has been resolved with a plea however the case was stood down until the afternoon sitting. Mr Hirayama is expected to return to the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday afternoon.
Eater
14-07-2025
- General
- Eater
One of Japan's Most Celebrated Ramen Chefs Brings Award-Winning Noodles to the San Gabriel Valley
After an eight-month stint at Westfield Century City, Ramen Ochi reopens in Rowland Heights on July 15. Yuichi Ochi, a Japanese-born chef with over 31 ramen awards, is leading the charge from the new space where diners can opt for kaarage, gyoza, and four different types of ramen broth in the San Gabriel Valley's former Ajisen Ramen. Ramen Ochi hopes to impress the region with a chicken, pork, and beef broth, requiring the chef to supervise for 10 hours. In Japan, nikutama is referred to as 'three-beasts broth,' with a thick, gravy-like consistency, and is served with noodles that blend domestic and imported wheat with tapioca flour without using eggs. This can be served as a full broth bowl or dry. Chef Ochi prepares three other broths on-site, starting with a savory nitoryu broth made with tonkotsu and seafood. The slightly sweet sanjyu relies on a long simmer of soy sauce or shoyu. Ochi's creamy gyokai tonkatsu broth leans in on the pork and fish notes. Chef Ochi also uses soft filtered water in his kitchens, which he says better extracts the umami from bones and the noodle texture. Pork belly or a chashu pork bowl is also available, as well as ground pork and chive-stuffed gyoza, and traditional Japanese fried chicken, also known as kaarage. Ochi brought along some personal effects to the restaurant, including 200-year-old armor and his grandmother's hand-painted obi kimono made in 1940. Both are placed next to the restaurant's entrance. According to a spokesperson, the decision to close Westfield Century City was based on finding a location that could best serve the public outside of a food court. The restaurant is on the top floor of a corner shopping mall on Fullerton and Colima Roads. Southern California's ramen options are extensive, with longtime operators like Little Tokyo's 49-year-old Kouraku, as well as Japanese imports like Mensho Tokyo, Afuri Ramen, and Tonchin opening in recent years. Ochi is also the grandson of Ochi Katsuhisa, who founded Ochi Corp in 1965. The younger Ochi joined the company in 2010 and managed eight restaurant locations throughout Japan while studying ramen and other cultural dishes before becoming the company's lead in 2016. Chef Ochi won the 2015 honors at Japan's largest ramen festival, Dai Tsukemen Haku, and countless gyoza festival nods over the years. Beginning July 15, Ramen Ochi is open at 18253 Colima Road, unit #104, Rowland Heights, CA, 91748, Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. until 2:30 p.m., then for dinner from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Friday until 10 p.m. Saturday hours are from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday. Nikutama ramen. Interior of Ramen Ochi with 200-year-old armor. Dining room. Chef Yuichi Ochi. Eater LA All your essential food and restaurant intel delivered to you Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
The Irish Sun
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
I was six-year-old ‘Balloon boy' who sparked £42k rescue op watched by millions…innocent comment exposed my dad's ‘hoax'
'MY family and I made an experimental flying saucer. It wasn't supposed to fly and it took off. I think my six-year-old boy got inside. He's in the air.' This bizarre emergency call from frantic father Richard Heene, in 2009, sparked a nationwide rescue operation, watched in real time as millions of TV viewers held their breath and prayed for 'Balloon boy' Falcon. Advertisement 12 The Heene family are now speaking out about the incident in a new Netflix documentary 16 years after the incident Credit: Getty 12 Falcon was eventually discovered emerging from his garage's attic Credit: Splash News 12 Millions tuned in to watch the balloon - believed to have 6 year old Falcon inside - float away Credit: Balloon Boy Over the next few hours, every news channel beamed images of the huge balloon - which measured 20ft across - as it sailed across Colorado. But when it finally landed, little Falcon was nowhere to be seen - prompting a ground search over an area of 55 miles. Now, 16 years later, the Heene family have spoken out for the first time about the infamous 'hoax' in the Netflix documentary Trainwreck: Balloon Boy which also features interviews with neighbours, reporters and police that reveal Richard's hunger for fame. And the family reveal how one innocent comment from Falcon, in the aftermath of the drama, turned the public against them and made them hate figures. Advertisement Read More Features "Everything blew up," says Richard. "It was like the biggest nightmare ever.' Self-styled adventurer and inventor Richard, his Japanese-born wife Mayumi and their children Bradford, 10, Ryo, eight and Falcon, six – were a lively family, according to neighbours, Dean Askew and Tina Chavez, whose bedroom overlooked their backyard. 'Richard was this big energy, constantly pacing, talking 100 miles an hour,' recalls Tina. 'He was super smart,' adds Dean. 'He could build anything. He could put electrical things together. One time I looked out the window and noticed he was working on something. It looked like a silver disc.' Advertisement Most read in The Sun Exclusive When he wasn't inventing things he liked to take the family in the car to chase hurricanes. 'We like to chase a thrill,' explains a grown-up Bradford in the documentary. 'Dad was always making us look at science experiments on YouTube. We were super interested in UFOs.' Balloon boy hoax parents convince the world son, 6, is trapped in out-of-control inflatable Inspired by the 1960s cartoon series the Jetsons, set in Orbit City where everyone flew around in personal space cars, Richard came up with a design for his own "flying saucer". 'I just thought, 'What if everybody could be flying around like The Jetsons?' It would be wonderful,' he says. 'Everybody could be pulling out of their garage in flying saucers, going to school and work and you wouldn't have all this traffic.' Advertisement In 2009, he set about building his space age dream machine with his family in their backyard in Colorado. 'Dad would make me video pretty much every experiment but, at the same time, keep my brothers in check," says Bradford. "Falcon was pretty wild and chaotic. He was always touching stuff he wasn't supposed to and loved to hide in the bottom of the flying saucer.' The saucer was, in effect, a silver helium-filled balloon with a small compartment underneath. Advertisement 'It was not designed to have people in it,' says Richard. 'It was a place that had access to put the helium in.' Swept away Bradley's footage of the creating of the saucer – 20 feet wide by six feet tall – is shown in the documentary. It took them just two weeks to assemble. Richard says the plan was to keep it tethered so that it hovered at 20 feet and they could study its movements. But on test day, 15 October, 2009, it broke free of its mooring and was swept into the air and carried off at speed. Video footage shows Richard shouting in anger and then in despair as Bradley tells him that he saw his brother crawl inside. Advertisement 12 The balloon broke free from its tether and ended up crashing down in a field Credit: Handout 12 The family quickly found themselves under intense media scrutiny Credit: AP:Associated Press 12 The flying saucer balloon was assembled in their backyard in just two weeks Credit: © 2025 Netflix, Inc. Falcon had a reputation for hiding but a search of the home and his usual places came to nothing and Richard made the memorable 911 emergency call, claiming his son had been swept away. Advertisement 'I heard all the screaming and yelling and the chaos in their backyard,' remembers Dean. 'My son, Brennan ran back and explained, 'Dad, they said Falcon got in the balloon and it took off.' I thought, 'This cannot be happening.'' With the balloon heading towards the airport, and possibly into the path of air traffic, panic set in. Richard contacted a TV news channel asking them to follow it in their helicopter. This dramatic aerial footage then interrupted all the major news channels schedules across the country, keeping viewers riveted. Bob Heffernan, an investigator at Larimer County Sheriff's Office, visited the family and searched the property three times looking for Falcon before having to accept the awful inevitability that the young lad was up and away in a flying saucer. Advertisement Media vans and reporters swarmed outside the Heene house. After nearly two hours the saucer began to descend and made a surprisingly gentle landing. But there was no sign of Falcon. Had he fallen out? At one point, a neighbour phoned Heffernan to say that she had taken a photograph of a small object falling from the flying saucer and police feared it could be Falcon. 'How do you deal with that?" Richard asks. "What if one of my stupid experiments killed my son?' On that day I was trying to sneak into the flying sauce...I wanted to live in that little compartment Falcon As a ground search got underway, tracking the flight path over 55 miles, Bob Heffernan was standing in the family kitchen when, around 4pm he heard a great commotion. Falcon had turned up. Advertisement 'On that day I was trying to sneak into the flying saucer,' he tells the documentary. 'I wanted to live in that little compartment. 'After dad yelled at me a few times for being in there I was scared and thought, 'You know what? I'm just not going to be here.' So, I made my way up to my new hiding spot in the garage attic and just chilled there for a while and fell asleep. 'It wasn't until I woke up later that I started hearing weird noises, people and cars. I walked down and there are a lot of people there. It's crazy.' Mum Mayumi says: 'I couldn't believe it when I saw him. We rushed up to him and hugged him. It was the greatest surprise I ever had.' Advertisement Tables turn With news outlets desperate to talk to him, Richard went outside and thanked the police and news channel for the helicopter and then agreed to be interviewed live at home with his family for Larry King's TV show. That was when things started to crash down around him. 12 The site of a black object falling from the balloon sparked fears that Falcon had fallen out Credit: CNN 12 Multiple searches of the family home failed to uncover Falcon's hiding place Credit: Reuters 12 Emergency services descended on the balloon once it landed but Falcon wasn't inside Credit: AP:Associated Press Advertisement News anchor, Wolf Blitzer, was sitting in for King and, with millions watching, the answer to his first question threw the family's story up in the air. Blitzer asks Falcon if he had heard his family calling his name when they were searching for him. To his dad's evident surprise, he replies, 'Yes.' Richard then asks his son why he didn't come out and Falcon looks at him and drops the bombshell – 'You guys said that we did this for the show.' A stunned Richard mutters, 'Damn' and can't look at the camera as Blitzer asks him what Falcon meant by that comment. He stammers, 'I have no idea. I think he was talking about the media asking him a lot of questions.' Advertisement The interview turned the tide against Richard, making him the target of hostility from the public who now believed it was all just a hoax. Reporters did some more digging into the family and discovered that a year earlier Richard and Mayumi took part in the TV reality show, It would be helpful if they ended up in the news or got their name out their somewhere...I think that's what their motivation was for this whole hoax Heffernan Two days after the launch of the spaceship, Bob Heffernan and Larimer County Sheriff information officer Jim Alderden, acting as press officer for the family, persuaded Richard to take a polygraph lie detector test. But his behaviour, as shown in the documentary, was bizarre. Advertisement 'It was obvious Mr Heene was employing countermeasures by tensing up, not answering questions directly and doing some mind exercises as well as almost comically pretending to fall asleep,' says Alderden. 'These are published techniques of things that you can do to try to defeat a polygraph.' The test was inconclusive but when Mayumi took one, she failed. Afterwards, questioned by Heffernan, her comments amounted to a confession that the entire thing was, indeed a hoax. When directly asked if it was a hoax and that they lied to make themselves marketable, she nods. Heffernan then says, 'Did you tell the boys what you were doing?' She quietly replies, 'We told them. Yes.' He pushes further – 'Did you tell them to act like their brother had gone up in the balloon?' Mayumi answers, 'Yeah. Something like that.' Advertisement In the documentary, however, the family now deny that it was all pretence and insist they were telling the truth throughout. 12 An interview Wolf Blitzer led to the nation turning against them Credit: CNN 12 Falcon now builds tiny homes for a living Credit: © 2025 Netflix, Inc. 12 Richard Heene and Mayumi were eventually pardoned by the Governor of Colarado Credit: AP Advertisement 'Back then, my English was worse, and the word 'hoax' itself, I misunderstood,' says Mayumi. But Heffernan and Jim Alderden aren't buying it. 'She had a degree in English from Japan, went to three more years of college in the United States. There was not a language barrier,' says Alderden. 'I learned that the Heene's had been working very hard to try to get themselves a TV show,' says Heffernan. 'It would be helpful if they ended up in the news or got their name out their somewhere. And I think that's what their motivation was for this whole hoax.' Criminal charges were brought for conspiracy, contributing to delinquency of a minor, false reporting to authorities and attempting to influence a public servant. Advertisement In court, Richard pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 days in jail while Mayumi received a 20-day sentence and had to sign in at the jail each day but then go out to perform community service. They were also ordered to pay the $42,000 (£32,000) cost of the rescue operation. Richard tells the programme that Mayumi was threatened with deportation to Japan if he did not plead guilty but Heffernan denies this. Looking back on it, I was six years old and all these adults took whatever I said, and they're able to just string together what they thought was something else and make it so big Falcon The family later moved to Florida to start a new life and, in a surprise move in 2020, the Governor of Colorado granted Richard and Mayumi a pardon, stating, 'It's time for all of us to move on.' Advertisement 'I was surprised that the governor pardoned him without reaching out to us in law enforcement or anybody that had been involved,' says Alderden. 'The thing that upset me is that he did it without having Richard make any sort of admission as to his guilt.' 'To get pardoned makes a statement that I'm a good person,' says Richard. 'Everything that you said about me before was not true. That's how I feel about it.' As for Falcon, whose brief comment caused such a stir, he now says: "I think it's crazy how I was able to just say a single sentence and affect the whole state of the country. "I remember feeling bad that I did something wrong. But looking back on it, I was six years old and all these adults took whatever I said, and they're able to just string together what they thought was something else and make it so big. It's baffling.' Advertisement Meanwhile, Richard continues to work on his inventions. 'With the flying saucer coming to an end, it's kind of a sad story because I loved it,' he says. 'But that doesn't hold me back. I'm working on something new. And it's going to be really big.' Trainwreck: Balloon Boy is available to watch on Netflix from Tuesday, 15 July
Scottish Sun
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
I was six-year-old ‘Balloon boy' who sparked £42k rescue op watched by millions…innocent comment exposed my dad's ‘hoax'
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) 'MY family and I made an experimental flying saucer. It wasn't supposed to fly and it took off. I think my six-year-old boy got inside. He's in the air.' This bizarre emergency call from frantic father Richard Heene, in 2009, sparked a nationwide rescue operation, watched in real time as millions of TV viewers held their breath and prayed for 'Balloon boy' Falcon. 12 The Heene family are now speaking out about the incident in a new Netflix documentary 16 years after the incident Credit: Getty 12 Falcon was eventually discovered emerging from his garage's attic Credit: Splash News 12 Millions tuned in to watch the balloon - believed to have 6 year old Falcon inside - float away Credit: Balloon Boy Over the next few hours, every news channel beamed images of the huge balloon - which measured 20ft across - as it sailed across Colorado. But when it finally landed, little Falcon was nowhere to be seen - prompting a ground search over an area of 55 miles. Now, 16 years later, the Heene family have spoken out for the first time about the infamous 'hoax' in the Netflix documentary Trainwreck: Balloon Boy which also features interviews with neighbours, reporters and police that reveal Richard's hunger for fame. And the family reveal how one innocent comment from Falcon, in the aftermath of the drama, turned the public against them and made them hate figures. "Everything blew up," says Richard. "It was like the biggest nightmare ever.' Self-styled adventurer and inventor Richard, his Japanese-born wife Mayumi and their children Bradford, 10, Ryo, eight and Falcon, six – were a lively family, according to neighbours, Dean Askew and Tina Chavez, whose bedroom overlooked their backyard. 'Richard was this big energy, constantly pacing, talking 100 miles an hour,' recalls Tina. 'He was super smart,' adds Dean. 'He could build anything. He could put electrical things together. One time I looked out the window and noticed he was working on something. It looked like a silver disc.' When he wasn't inventing things he liked to take the family in the car to chase hurricanes. 'We like to chase a thrill,' explains a grown-up Bradford in the documentary. 'Dad was always making us look at science experiments on YouTube. We were super interested in UFOs.' Balloon boy hoax parents convince the world son, 6, is trapped in out-of-control inflatable Inspired by the 1960s cartoon series the Jetsons, set in Orbit City where everyone flew around in personal space cars, Richard came up with a design for his own "flying saucer". 'I just thought, 'What if everybody could be flying around like The Jetsons?' It would be wonderful,' he says. 'Everybody could be pulling out of their garage in flying saucers, going to school and work and you wouldn't have all this traffic.' In 2009, he set about building his space age dream machine with his family in their backyard in Colorado. 'Dad would make me video pretty much every experiment but, at the same time, keep my brothers in check," says Bradford. "Falcon was pretty wild and chaotic. He was always touching stuff he wasn't supposed to and loved to hide in the bottom of the flying saucer.' The saucer was, in effect, a silver helium-filled balloon with a small compartment underneath. 'It was not designed to have people in it,' says Richard. 'It was a place that had access to put the helium in.' Swept away Bradley's footage of the creating of the saucer – 20 feet wide by six feet tall – is shown in the documentary. It took them just two weeks to assemble. Richard says the plan was to keep it tethered so that it hovered at 20 feet and they could study its movements. But on test day, 15 October, 2009, it broke free of its mooring and was swept into the air and carried off at speed. Video footage shows Richard shouting in anger and then in despair as Bradley tells him that he saw his brother crawl inside. 12 The balloon broke free from its tether and ended up crashing down in a field Credit: Handout 12 The family quickly found themselves under intense media scrutiny Credit: AP:Associated Press 12 The flying saucer balloon was assembled in their backyard in just two weeks Credit: © 2025 Netflix, Inc. Falcon had a reputation for hiding but a search of the home and his usual places came to nothing and Richard made the memorable 911 emergency call, claiming his son had been swept away. 'I heard all the screaming and yelling and the chaos in their backyard,' remembers Dean. 'My son, Brennan ran back and explained, 'Dad, they said Falcon got in the balloon and it took off.' I thought, 'This cannot be happening.'' With the balloon heading towards the airport, and possibly into the path of air traffic, panic set in. Richard contacted a TV news channel asking them to follow it in their helicopter. This dramatic aerial footage then interrupted all the major news channels schedules across the country, keeping viewers riveted. Bob Heffernan, an investigator at Larimer County Sheriff's Office, visited the family and searched the property three times looking for Falcon before having to accept the awful inevitability that the young lad was up and away in a flying saucer. Media vans and reporters swarmed outside the Heene house. After nearly two hours the saucer began to descend and made a surprisingly gentle landing. But there was no sign of Falcon. Had he fallen out? At one point, a neighbour phoned Heffernan to say that she had taken a photograph of a small object falling from the flying saucer and police feared it could be Falcon. 'How do you deal with that?" Richard asks. "What if one of my stupid experiments killed my son?' On that day I was trying to sneak into the flying sauce...I wanted to live in that little compartment Falcon As a ground search got underway, tracking the flight path over 55 miles, Bob Heffernan was standing in the family kitchen when, around 4pm he heard a great commotion. Falcon had turned up. 'On that day I was trying to sneak into the flying saucer,' he tells the documentary. 'I wanted to live in that little compartment. 'After dad yelled at me a few times for being in there I was scared and thought, 'You know what? I'm just not going to be here.' So, I made my way up to my new hiding spot in the garage attic and just chilled there for a while and fell asleep. 'It wasn't until I woke up later that I started hearing weird noises, people and cars. I walked down and there are a lot of people there. It's crazy.' Mum Mayumi says: 'I couldn't believe it when I saw him. We rushed up to him and hugged him. It was the greatest surprise I ever had.' Tables turn With news outlets desperate to talk to him, Richard went outside and thanked the police and news channel for the helicopter and then agreed to be interviewed live at home with his family for Larry King's TV show. That was when things started to crash down around him. 12 The site of a black object falling from the balloon sparked fears that Falcon had fallen out Credit: CNN 12 Multiple searches of the family home failed to uncover Falcon's hiding place Credit: Reuters 12 Emergency services descended on the balloon once it landed but Falcon wasn't inside Credit: AP:Associated Press News anchor, Wolf Blitzer, was sitting in for King and, with millions watching, the answer to his first question threw the family's story up in the air. Blitzer asks Falcon if he had heard his family calling his name when they were searching for him. To his dad's evident surprise, he replies, 'Yes.' Richard then asks his son why he didn't come out and Falcon looks at him and drops the bombshell – 'You guys said that we did this for the show.' A stunned Richard mutters, 'Damn' and can't look at the camera as Blitzer asks him what Falcon meant by that comment. He stammers, 'I have no idea. I think he was talking about the media asking him a lot of questions.' The interview turned the tide against Richard, making him the target of hostility from the public who now believed it was all just a hoax. Reporters did some more digging into the family and discovered that a year earlier Richard and Mayumi took part in the TV reality show, Wife Swap in which husbands swap wives for two weeks, suggesting they were keen on media attention. It would be helpful if they ended up in the news or got their name out their somewhere...I think that's what their motivation was for this whole hoax Heffernan Two days after the launch of the spaceship, Bob Heffernan and Larimer County Sheriff information officer Jim Alderden, acting as press officer for the family, persuaded Richard to take a polygraph lie detector test. But his behaviour, as shown in the documentary, was bizarre. 'It was obvious Mr Heene was employing countermeasures by tensing up, not answering questions directly and doing some mind exercises as well as almost comically pretending to fall asleep,' says Alderden. 'These are published techniques of things that you can do to try to defeat a polygraph.' The test was inconclusive but when Mayumi took one, she failed. Afterwards, questioned by Heffernan, her comments amounted to a confession that the entire thing was, indeed a hoax. When directly asked if it was a hoax and that they lied to make themselves marketable, she nods. Heffernan then says, 'Did you tell the boys what you were doing?' She quietly replies, 'We told them. Yes.' He pushes further – 'Did you tell them to act like their brother had gone up in the balloon?' Mayumi answers, 'Yeah. Something like that.' In the documentary, however, the family now deny that it was all pretence and insist they were telling the truth throughout. 12 An interview Wolf Blitzer led to the nation turning against them Credit: CNN 12 Falcon now builds tiny homes for a living Credit: © 2025 Netflix, Inc. 12 Richard Heene and Mayumi were eventually pardoned by the Governor of Colarado Credit: AP 'Back then, my English was worse, and the word 'hoax' itself, I misunderstood,' says Mayumi. But Heffernan and Jim Alderden aren't buying it. 'She had a degree in English from Japan, went to three more years of college in the United States. There was not a language barrier,' says Alderden. 'I learned that the Heene's had been working very hard to try to get themselves a TV show,' says Heffernan. 'It would be helpful if they ended up in the news or got their name out their somewhere. And I think that's what their motivation was for this whole hoax.' Criminal charges were brought for conspiracy, contributing to delinquency of a minor, false reporting to authorities and attempting to influence a public servant. In court, Richard pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 days in jail while Mayumi received a 20-day sentence and had to sign in at the jail each day but then go out to perform community service. They were also ordered to pay the $42,000 (£32,000) cost of the rescue operation. Richard tells the programme that Mayumi was threatened with deportation to Japan if he did not plead guilty but Heffernan denies this. Looking back on it, I was six years old and all these adults took whatever I said, and they're able to just string together what they thought was something else and make it so big Falcon The family later moved to Florida to start a new life and, in a surprise move in 2020, the Governor of Colorado granted Richard and Mayumi a pardon, stating, 'It's time for all of us to move on.' 'I was surprised that the governor pardoned him without reaching out to us in law enforcement or anybody that had been involved,' says Alderden. 'The thing that upset me is that he did it without having Richard make any sort of admission as to his guilt.' 'To get pardoned makes a statement that I'm a good person,' says Richard. 'Everything that you said about me before was not true. That's how I feel about it.' As for Falcon, whose brief comment caused such a stir, he now says: "I think it's crazy how I was able to just say a single sentence and affect the whole state of the country. "I remember feeling bad that I did something wrong. But looking back on it, I was six years old and all these adults took whatever I said, and they're able to just string together what they thought was something else and make it so big. It's baffling.' Meanwhile, Richard continues to work on his inventions. 'With the flying saucer coming to an end, it's kind of a sad story because I loved it,' he says. 'But that doesn't hold me back. I'm working on something new. And it's going to be really big.' Trainwreck: Balloon Boy is available to watch on Netflix from Tuesday, 15 July
