A man from Colorado in the US rejected the idea that a search-and-rescue mission triggered by the belief that his son had lifted off in a home-made balloon was trick to get attention.

Colorado authorities said they would ask to question the members of his family but they did not believe it was a hoax.

the man’s son, 6-year-old Falcon Heene, was subsequently discovered alive and well hiding in the attic of his house. This was a happy ending for the nail biting incident for which people thought he was in a silver flying balloon. The incident was broadcast live on American television as the vessel drifted over Colorado. When the balloon finally landed, authorities found no one inside, prompting fears he had fallen to the ground.

After being found, the boy explained that he hid in the attic because he was affraid of being scolded by his father.

But later the same day, the boy aroused suspicions after being asked by Larry King on his CCN show why he had remained hidden when people were screaming his name. The boy answered that his parents had instructed to do so for the show.

The parents, Richard and Mayumi Heene, as well as their three sons have appeared on “Wife Swap”, an American television reality show in which families exchange mothers to take on family issues.